The British School Al Khubairat is committed to becoming a centre of sporting excellence for the region. We have three top class coaches from the UK who have joined the already strong PE department. Colin Wells, a former Sussex and England cricketer, is now Director of Cricket; professional rugby player Ed Lewsey is Director of Rugby; and Kellie Pomeroy, UK regional level netball coach and winner of County Durham Sports Coach of the Year 2008, is Director of Netball. These coaches are making a huge impact on the provision and standard of sport at the school.
The school now runs a very popular specialist coaching programme which caters for all levels of participation. This has been enthusiastically embraced, with more than 500 students from across the school now taking part in one or more training sessions a week for rugby, cricket, football and netball. We also have weekly training sessions for basketball, swimming, hockey, volleyball, badminton and trampoline as well as fitness sessions in our fitness suite which offers a wide range of equipment.
Participation in PE and sport is viewed as an integral part of a pupil’s experience. Not only do students have the opportunity to study A-level and GCSE PE but also, from Foundation Stage through to Year 11, follow the PE National Curriculum. Many of our GCSE and A-level PE students also take part in the UK accredited course, Sports Leaders Award.
Competitive fixtures are also an important, and growing, part of sporting life at The British School. Some of the more regular fixtures include: The Abu Dhabi Schools Leagues in which we play competitive matches in rugby, football, cricket, hockey and netball, and friendly fixtures in basketball. Similar fixtures are also played against some select schools in Dubai. Our football squads take part in weekly fixtures in the Al Jazira Schools Football League; we have several rugby squads participating in the Arabian Gulf Schools Rugby League; a number of competitive primary swimming galas take place throughout the year; and we also have a very strong sailing team, including primary and secondary students, who take part in regular regattas. At the Dubai 7s Rugby tournament 2010, the BSAK senior boys rugby team won the U18 Tournament by 40 points to nil in front of a crowd of over 20,000 spectators and the BSAK senior girls netball team won the 2011 Inter Gulf Netball Trophy in Al Ain.
International tours are now becoming an established fixture on The British School sporting calendar. We currently run a Rugby tour to Beijing, Football and Rugby tours to Hong Kong and Netball tours to Bahrain and Beijing. We will also soon be offering a Cricket tour to the UK, as well as tours to other destinations such as Singapore. We also host international visitors for Rugby, Cricket and Netball. Some of our recent guests have included Harrow, Stowe and Whitgift schools from the UK. And our biggest sports tours are the secondary and primary ski trips, with 100 secondary students and 50 primary students visiting Austria every February.
The PE department works diligently to provide as much opportunity as possible to all students in a safe environment. In addition, pupils are encouraged to develop their skills and knowledge of a particular activity while combining all the fun elements of taking part in sport. We also understand that for students, achieving high standards in sport is vitally important and we make every effort to ensure this happens.
The school has a thriving extra curricular programme, including the following sports: football, rugby, netball, swimming, volleyball, basketball, trampoline, gymnastics, athletics, fitness, hockey, cricket, badminton, rounders and table tennis.
We also have a very popular weekly programme of inter-House sports matches for students from Year 3 upwards.
Overall, PE and sport is a fundamental part of students' development at The British School. Whether it be House sport or the 1st IV rugby team, sport is something that is enjoyed by students, staff and parents.
