Over the summer half term, Tunbridge Wells School Sports Partnership hosted a ‘World Cup’ themed Multi Skills Academy at Angley School A Sports College. Primary Schools were asked to select one Talented and Gifted athlete to attend from Key Stage 2. The course ran each day from Tuesday May 30 to Friday June 2 and included a range of cross-curricular activities. Sports Leaders from Angley assisted throughout the week.

Each day, the young athletes took part in a Multi-Skills practical session in which they completed a circuit of skills stations designed to improve physical literacy. Stations tested balance, speed, flexibility, agility, coordination, throwing, striking, catching, fielding and strength. Towards the end of the week the athletes even designed their own stations using different pieces of equipment.

Tuesday – Day 1

AM: Students were assigned a World Cup Country and asked to use their ICT skills to design an eye-catching fact sheet on that country. Using the internet together with a world map they found out where their country was located and what the National Flag looked like. They also investigated climate, currency, language, national dishes and tried to identify some of the top players in their country’s World Cup football team.

AM: First practical Multi Skills session on the Addison Arena

PM: Students designed their own footballs in the colour schemes of their World Cup country.

PM: We finished the day with another practical session on the Addison Arena. The session was hockey but players were asked to think about some of the things that can be learnt through both hockey and football and which aspects of physical literacy were important to enable players to perform in both.

Wednesday – Day 2

AM: We traveled up to Wimbledon Rugby Club where the group completed their second Multi-Skills circuit of the week. Athletes were asked to try and improve on their scores from the first day.

PM: From Wimbledon we took the tube to Chelsea Football Club where we were taken on a guided tour of Stamford Bridge Stadium and the museum. We were shown the changing rooms, the press room and were able to have a photo taken in the dug-outs. This was the day that Shevchenko signed for the club but unfortunately we didn’t see any famous faces!

Thursday – Day 3

AM: The athletes were asked to design their own Multi-Skills station on the Addison Arena.

AM: Angley School Sports Leaders took part in a small-sided England v Scotland football match while the Academy students took part in the Gary Lineker Challenge! They were all asked to take on the role of a football reporter and to record match facts, the attitudes of players and coaches, the playing conditions and the type of game it was.

PM: After lunch they used the laptops to type up a match report from the game and interviewed some of the players and coaching staff to obtain some useful quotes.

PM: To finish the day, players were put into teams and took part in a mini World Cup tournament. England, Sweden, Pararguay and Trinidad and Tobago competed in a round robin format competition with Sweden declared the eventual group winners. Sweden even won the ‘Super Cup’ when they took on a team of Sports Leaders who were all a minimum of 3 years older than the Academy leaders!

Friday – Day 4

AM: Again we started with a Multi Skills session. Athletes completed the same circuit as they had done on Tuesday and kept a record of their points scored to monitor improvements.

AM: Former England International Gary Stevens came along to share his experiences with the Academy. He spoke at length about his career and displayed some personal memorabilia including an England shirt from Mexico 1986, signed by the full team and a selection of medals including one from the 1984 UEFA Cup Winners Final. The students then took it in turns to ask questions in a press conference style. Gary then led a coaching session on The Addison Arena focusing on close dribbling skills.

PM: Danny Crates, a current British Paralympic Athlete gave a motivational speech to the group about overcoming obstacles to achieve success. He then offered advice to the group during an Athletics session outside where the group rotated between running, jumping and throwing activities.

PM: To finish the day, parents were invited to attend a presentation where certificates and prizes were given out. The Academy athletes were a fantastic group to work with and each one was a credit to their school.

Our thanks to all the schools and students that participated in this Multi Skills Academy.