Sports at Ratcliffe

Sporting Opportunities Available at Ratcliffe

All students have an opportunity to become involved in a range of sporting activities during their time at Ratcliffe College, from the Nursery School and Junior Department, right through to the Sixth Form. Traditional team sports, and their accompanying fixtures, are seen as a vital part of Ratcliffe life and the development of our pupils. These fixtures take place occasionally during the week but are predominantly on Saturdays. Also, there is a wide variety of other options available, either during P.E. lessons, games lessons, or during after-school clubs. Outside of the major team games, fixtures are also run for a number of other teams such as football, swimming galas, golf tournaments, basketball, squash and equestrian events. All pupils are taught by dedicated P.E. staff who hold a wide range of interests and specialisms. There are seven members of the P.E. department who are assisted by Sports Graduates throughout the year, and ably supported by staff of other academic disciplines who help to run our many teams.

The facilities at the School are excellent, set within a beautiful 100-acre estate and include the following:

• a sports hall with 5 badminton courts, basketball court, netball court, indoor cricket nets and a dedicated squash court;

• a recently developed fitness suite, containing brand new cardio-vascular and resistance training machines, as well as a free weights section;                                                                               

• a floodlit, all-weather Astroturf for hockey and football;

• tennis/netball courts;

• an athletics track;

• a wide range of high quality rugby, cricket, football and rounders pitches;

• brand new outdoor cricket nets;

• a heated, indoor, 25-metre swimming pool.

In the Senior School, team games are a major focus of the department. Games lessons are run within the curriculum and are supplemented by after-school training sessions for team members.

The major sports are as follows:

• Autumn Term – Boys’ Rugby and Girls’ Hockey

• Spring Term – Boys’ Hockey and Girls’ Netball

• Summer Term – Boys’ Cricket and Girls’ Tennis & Rounders

In P.E. lessons pupils look to broaden their range of activities and are introduced to a wide variety of options, in order to stimulate their interest and also to promote a positive attitude towards life-long involvement in physical activity. Further games are covered, such as basketball, badminton and softball, but these lessons look to develop our pupils as all-round athletes. The opportunities available include orienteering, team-building, health related exercise, gymnastics, trampolining, athletics, swimming and life-saving. Extra-curricular clubs offer more specialist opportunities, such as fencing, table tennis, running, squash, dance and Tae Kwon Do.

GCSE, AS and A Level P.E. are popular academic subjects at the School and a number of recent leavers have gone on to study sports-related courses at university.

In the Nursery School and Junior Department, lessons are also taught by dedicated P.E. specialists where the main emphasis in the Nursery to Year 3 is upon the learning of fundamental motor skills. Games lessons in Years 4 - 6 focus on the main team games of rugby, netball, hockey, tennis and rounders, with regular fixtures being arranged. P.E. lessons for all Year groups focus on swimming, dance, gymnastics and athletics.