Sports

St Thomas’s Catholic Primary School in Tean is celebrating being given two prestigious sporting awards.  The school has been awarded the Bronze Quality Mark by the Youth Sport Trust for its commitment to physical education (PE) and sport and has achieved the School Games Gold Mark Award for the 2018/19 academic year.

The School Games Mark is a Government led award scheme launched in 2012, facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community, and St Thomas’s are delighted to have been recognised for their success.

The Youth Sport Trust Quality Mark provides schools with a nationally recognised badge of excellence for PE and school sport. Aligned to Ofsted guidance, supporting the PE and Sport Premium, the award comprises a series of benchmarking statements against the following criteria: Overall vision for PE, physical activity and school sport, quality of PE, quality of school sport, quality of physical activity and the use of PE, physical activity and sport as a catalyst for wider learning.

“We are so pleased to have been awarded these quality marks as they recognise our commitment to delivering the best possible sporting experiences for the young people at our school. It is imperative that PE and school sport is portrayed in an engaging way that enables young people to have positive experiences.  This means that they are able to live healthy and active lives whilst achieving their personal best in school and throughout life.  We are looking forward to making further progress within our PE and school sport curriculum to allow us to hopefully achieve the Silver Quality Mark in the future.”  commented Mrs Sarah Baxter, Principal at the school.  “I also would like congratulate Miss Charlotte Leyland, our PE Lead in school, and our students for all their hard work and fantastic levels of commitment."

Footballers at Painsley Catholic College, Cheadle, are celebrating their latest victory which has seen the team win the title and cup for the best team in Staffordshire.

The team has performed consistently well all year and as yet, remains unbeaten.  The County final was played away against Thomas Alleyne’s High School in Uttoxeter and was a close game (1-1) decided on penalties.

“The boys are a great team, highly skilled and with a great understanding of team play.” commented Football Coach and PE Teacher at Painsley Catholic Academy, Mr Paul Allen.  “They really deserve this win and should be congratulated on their commitment and attitude.

“The first round of the cup saw us play away at De Ferrers Academy in Burton-Trent, where the team won 2-1.  We scored the winning goal in injury time and during the game, James Wright, our goalkeeper, saved two penalties, one of which was the last kick of the game.

“In the quarter final we played Trentham High School at home. It was a very close match but we ended up winning 4-3. The semi-final was played away against Excel Academy (Stoke-on-Trent) where the Painsley team won 5-0 in a comfortable match qualifying to face Thomas Alleyne’s in the final.  The final game was close and despite a strong start ended 1-1 going straight to penalties.  Painsley achieved a 100% record in the shootout, with four out of four goals scored, taking them to victory and winning them the title.  Well done!”

Students from Year 5 and Year 6 from St Thomas’ Catholic Primary School, Tean, came in third place at the recent Staffordshire High 5 County Netball Tournament held at Fenton Manor Sports Hall.   

The top ten teams from all over the County were at the competition and the standard of netball was extremely high. St Thomas’ were in group A and played four group games, with them finishing in first position in their group. They then went through to the semi-final to play St Theresa’s Primary School, Trent Vale, who they unfortunately lost to in the last minute, with the end score being 3-2. The team then played in a third / fourth place play off against Shobnall Primary School and won 2-1, finishing the tournament as the 3rd best team in Staffordshire. 

“High 5 is a great way for children to get active and enjoy themselves.  A key part of High 5 is players rotating round positions. This means that all the children get to experience every position on court and makes for fitter more adaptable players as they get older.  Our team played really well, demonstrating some fantastic skills and team work. I am very proud of them all.”commented Miss Charlotte Leyland, PE Coordinator at St Thomas’s.