Sport

Sam Naismith, our Deputy Headmaster, was Director of Sport at his previous school and has coached the England under-18 hockey squad. He wants sport to play a significant part in the life of the West London Free School. He does not regard sport as a diversion for the less academically able, but an intellectual exercise as much as a physical one.

"As the Roman poet Juvenal put it: 'Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano'," he says (It is to be prayed that the mind be sound in a sound body).

Our aim is to provide a broad curriculum, offering a range of sports for all the children at the school. We want to challenge and stimulate the less athletic pupils, as well as the most athletically gifted.

The sports we hope to offer over the course of the next five years are: athletics, cricket, gymnastics, hockey, netball, rounders, rugby, softball and tennis. Girls will major in hockey in Michaelmas term and netball in the Lent term. Boys will major in rugby in the Michaelmas term and hockey in the Lent term. In Trinity term, both boys and girls will major in cricket and they'll also do rounders, athletics and softball. Tennis will be introduced in KS4.

Extra-curricular activities

We want to supplement our core offer with a range of after-school activities and Saturday morning clubs in areas such as badminton, fencing, fitness training, rowing, squash and ultimate frisbee.

In the first years we hope to develop large team squads in a handful of sports so that we can play inter-school fixtures at two or three different levels within each year group. In hockey, for instance, we hope to have an A team, a B team and a C team so we can compete at every level with neighbouring schools.

Overseas tours are planned for the future.

Inter-house competitions are also going to a big feature of the school and we want every pupil to represent their house in at least three sports per year. These competitions will take place every term, culminating in a sports day during Trinity term to which all parents will be invited.

Parental Involvement

• Help your child bring the right kit on the right day.

• Support your child when he or she is selected to compete in school fixtures. School sport will come before club sport and if your child is selected to represent the school, he or she will be expected to do so.

• Help us run the after-school clubs and activities.

• Respect our 'no note' policy. We believe that if a child is fit for school, he or she is fit for sport. Many injuries or illnesses mean it is impossible to take a full and active part in some sports, but the teacher in charge will expect your child to change for the lesson and will find suitable activities for him or her to do, such as coaching, umpiring or refereeing.

Facilities

PE lessons will take place in the school's assembly hall, but most games will be taught off-site. In the first year, games will be taught at the University of Westminster's sports ground in Chiswick and at the playing fields belonging to Burlington Danes, a nearby Academy. In the long term, we intend to lease our own playing fields.