Game On! Primary School Pupils Show Off Footy Skills in Whole-Trust Tournament

On Friday 22nd March, over 140 pupils from Year 4 to 6 took part in a 6-a-side football tournament at GOALS, Norwich.  

The tournament involved pupils from six primary schools across Norfolk and East Suffolk including Charles Darwin Primary, Cobholm Primary Academy, Diamond Academy, Great Yarmouth Primary Academy, Norwich Primary Academy, and Stradbroke Primary Academy. The event is part of the trust-wide Primary Sports Competition, which also includes events in dodgeball and athletics.   

The pupils were full of enthusiasm as they arrived at GOALS and were directed for team photos to commemorate the day. These photos will be printed and framed to take pride of place at the relevant school. Following a lunch break and a briefing by the Trust Sports Coordinator, Paul Wayman, the games kicked off across the nine pitches in a round-robin tournament.  

The atmosphere was electric with pupils who weren’t involved in the active games excitedly cheering for their peers from the sidelines. A fun day was had by all with pupils delighted to show off their fantastic football skills. The games were played in great spirit and the pupils were a credit to their school in terms of performance, effort and sportsmanship. 

Promoting the value of determination, pupils were encouraged to try their best and not to give up when things got tough. Instead, when things weren’t going their way, they showed great resilience to keep on going and work as a team, as we believe allowing our pupils to succeed through determination in a supportive environment is extremely important for their personal development. 

The day’s matches were made possible thanks to the support of students and sports leaders from Thomas Paine Sixth Form and Hethersett Academy. These sports leaders took on roles such as: refereeing, score keeping, results desk, central timing as well as nominating students for the player of the tournament awards.  

Thomas Paine sports leaders said: 

“After experiencing the vibrant atmosphere of this tournament, we are inspired to help out at more Trust events in the future. It gave us a great opportunity to develop and showcase our leadership qualities through officiating, managing and organising the games today”

 

Also on hand were student reporters from Cobholm Primary Academy, with cameras, clipboards and press-style lanyards. Maria said:

“We all did really well, as well as all of the schools. There was lots of great sportsmanship showed by all teams. I hope everyone had fun!” 

The results for each Year group can be seen in the table below: 

Pupils who showed exceptional gameplay, sportsmanship and determination were nominated by secondary sports leaders for Player of the Tournament for each Year group. The winners of these categories are listed below:  

Whole Trust Sports Coordinator, Paul Wayman said: 

“Once again, it is a pleasure to work with talented people from across the Trust to enable young people to participate in sport and lead in a variety of roles. Despite the chilly weather, the primary students played with bundles of enthusiasm and the excitement all around was clear to see. Additionally, it was great to see our Inspiration Trust Secondary students acting as leaders and positive role models for the primary-aged participants.” 

Inspiration Trust prides itself on its sports provision which not only includes a nationally-recognised sports curriculum, but includes half-termly Trust-wide sports competitions. Through taking part in sporting competitions our students are given the chance to shine outside of the classroom and learn vital skills such as the importance of teamwork, determination, patience, and perseverance. It is also proven that taking part in sport encourages higher standards of achievement, improves cognitive function, and improves overall well-being through having fun and making friendships.