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Original poster

Tiffin Boys - Saturday sports?

12 replies

Sunnyside12 · 11/03/2025 08:47

Hi - any Tiffin boys parents here? Just wondering what the expectations have been for Saturday sports?

Do the boys have a choice as to whether they apply for teams with Saturday fixtures, or do they get picked based on performance in games?

We have other commitments on a Saturdays we would rather not have to lose, but hadn't quite spotted that Saturday sports are compulsory if selected. Just wondering if others had experience of this at Tiffin?

OP posts:
Linens · 11/03/2025 09:49

Hello
The only teams that tend to play on a Saturday are A and B. If your son gets picked it’s normally fairly early on in the term although my son did make rugby A in Dec on year 8 having been in C in year 7.
In order to get picked generally they will be going to the after school/lunch practices. For cricket it was almost self nominate!
In fact we could not do any Saturday fixtures for the entirety of year 7 until the Jan of year 8 because my son had a religious commitment. The teachers were completely fine with it and he continued to play in the midweek games and train with the A/Bs. He’s now free to play on Saturday games and has a match every Saturday.
At the pre game practice the teachers go round and ask who is free and if any say no they just write the name down and move on.
It is not an issue.
My son plays rugby and football A team, he does not play cricket so I cannot feed back in that.

Linens · 11/03/2025 10:05

My only other input is that it’s quite a big deal to be A or B team and in rugby especially they have a thing where they all put in £10 and have pizza parties etc. My son was still included despite not actually playing on Saturdays. Football is perhaps a bit less camaraderie but massive cachet, almost the whole year turned out for the first few practices trying to get picked. If you think your son is sporty and has a chance to be in the team and your commitment is at all moveable it might be worth thinking about it.

Kaff83 · 11/03/2025 10:06

We will also be starting in September so can't offer any experience-based wisdom, but we talked to the assistant headteacher (I think) about it when we went for a tour last week and he was very relaxed about it - it sounded like it's up to the boys how involved they want to get in the sports teams/matches.

Original poster
Sunnyside12 · 11/03/2025 10:49

That's super helpful - thanks both!! We spoke with one of the staff members at the offers tour be he made it sound almost compulsory if they get picked. It's probably something that will evolve over time but we'd like to keep most Saturdays clear in Y7 if possible.

@Linens - how has your son got on at the school in general? We don't know anyone already there so it's a bit nerve wracking!!

OP posts:
SneakyScarves · 11/03/2025 12:08

The short answer is that it’s not compulsory. However, in our experience (at a school similar to Tiffin) there would probably be some pressure for him to play if he’s picked for the top teams - particularly rugby as they need quite a few players (15 a side plus subs) to field a team.

Hopefully you can wait and see if he is picked for those teams before making any changes to your schedule as it can be very competitive! But if he does get chosen, it might be worth rearranging things so he can attend. It would help him make friends quickly and feel part of the school.

Ladybowes · 11/03/2025 12:54

No pressure at all for our experience. DS is in year 7 and he is involved as much as suits him. And that seems to be the experience of most of his friends regardless of how sporty they are.

Linens · 11/03/2025 13:19

@Sunnyside12 he is absolutely thriving. Having an amazing time. None of them know anyone so don’t worry about that. I think the 180 boys come from 150 schools or something like that. Quite a lot is made of being a Tiffin boy and being proud of that, they all (well the ones I know well) have a lot of self worth and high expectations of themselves. Any behaviour issues are so minor as to be not even worth mentioning. It’s a fabulous school, we are very lucky.

Original poster
Sunnyside12 · 11/03/2025 14:07

Ladybowes · 11/03/2025 12:54

No pressure at all for our experience. DS is in year 7 and he is involved as much as suits him. And that seems to be the experience of most of his friends regardless of how sporty they are.

Thanks for this; we can play things by ear if that's the case!!

OP posts:
Original poster
Sunnyside12 · 11/03/2025 14:08

Linens · 11/03/2025 13:19

@Sunnyside12 he is absolutely thriving. Having an amazing time. None of them know anyone so don’t worry about that. I think the 180 boys come from 150 schools or something like that. Quite a lot is made of being a Tiffin boy and being proud of that, they all (well the ones I know well) have a lot of self worth and high expectations of themselves. Any behaviour issues are so minor as to be not even worth mentioning. It’s a fabulous school, we are very lucky.

Glad to hear that, hoping my DS enjoys it too!

OP posts:
TB2025 · 01/05/2025 18:43

Does anyone know if there is a WhatsApp group set up for new Y7 parents? I know there is one for the Girls school. I’m keen to connect with others as my DS only knows one other boy going and I imagine I will have a few questions.

Original poster
Sunnyside12 · 01/05/2025 19:40

@TB2025my DS is joining in September, but I’m not aware of any groups, perhaps it’s something to start at the new boys day or the second-hand uniform sale?

OP posts:
Kaff83 · 01/05/2025 21:50

@Sunnyside12 @tb2025 I'm on one - do you want to DM me your numbers? No one is saying anything yet but it's a start!

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