Making ‘Move to Think’ a success
At Rupert House, we are incredibly proud of our Sports provision and we are always looking for ways to improve and provide our pupils with the best possible start on their sporting journey.
The positive association between physical activity and academic performance has long been established. Numerous research studies have shown the positive impact of movement on cognitive skills and attitudes, classroom behaviours and achievements - both academic and sporting. Studies have also shown that increased time spent on physical activity is not likely to detract from academic performance even when less time is given to those subjects.
Rupert House is bringing the scientific evidence to enhance the learning experiences of our children.
As part of the school’s move to full co-education, we have re-structured our sports department to include a Head of Boys sport and he, together with the Director of Sport, is revolutionising the way in which we teach sport to our pupils.
A significant part of this is a whole school initiative linking the body and mind to benefit our children both academically, behaviourally and physically. This is a program we call ‘Move to Think’.
From Reception to Year 2, a ‘Multi-Skills Approach’ is used to develop movement, thinking and communication skills early on. This provides the foundation for many different sports and physical activities and equips each child with vital skills as they move into Prep.
By the end of Year 2, children will be expected to have attained a high standard of physical capabilities and attributes and be “physically literate” to enable them to play and enjoy multiple sport specific activities successfully from Year 3 onwards.
In Prep, we offer a wide variety of curriculum PE activities and sports with competitive fixtures against other local Prep schools played every term. The school’s main sports are Rugby, Hockey, Football, Netball, Cricket and Athletics.
This core sporting curriculum is supplemented by a wide range of enrichment sports added to our daily physical education programme and an increased variety of after-school sports clubs including rowing, bell boating, kayaking, breakdancing, yoga, pilates and martial arts.
We understand that sport is as much about attitude as it is about ability. We believe pupils should learn to value participation, develop team spirit, enjoy camaraderie and appreciate the need for sportsmanship whilst being competitive.
Our ultimate aim with the ‘Move to Think’ initiative is to provide a daily dose of physical activity for every child, every day, of every week, of every term.
This short video gives you a glimpse into how we've been putting the initiative into practice so far this term.