Opportunities that lead to success

Research undertaken by the Institute of Education at London’s University College recently revealed that participation in organised sports and after school clubs serves to improve children’s academic performance.

Funded by the Nuffield Foundation as part of the Millennium Cohort Study, the research analysed performance data of more than 6,400 children throughout the UK with a particular focus on finding correlation between physical activity and attainment.

Strikingly, results show that children who take part in regular organised sports and physical activity at the ages of 5, 7 and 11 are one and a half times more likely to reach a higher than expected level in maths and English at the end of Year 6.

At Wandsworth Prep, the school day is not limited to 08.30 to 15.30. Either side of the morning and afternoon, the school and its surrounds are a veritable hive of activity which sees children of all ages honing their skills, discovering new passions and exploring their abilities. Before school, children can join our Archery or Football Club or, when, pens and pencils have been packed away, can test their stamina in cross-country, develop self-discipline and focus in martial arts, sharpen physical strength and agility in ballet or sharpen teamwork or collaboration in athletics.

In line with the findings of the research, our children achieve exceptionally well in relation to national norms in both English and maths when they leave us, aged 11. We have always taken the view that academic attainment is not achieved solely by what happens in the classroom, more so by a curriculum which allows children to practise and perfect the skills through a range of opportunities which will lead to success.

Bridget Saul - Headteacher