Annual School Football Festival kicks off

One of the biggest school football festivals in the country takes place this week as almost a thousand youngsters from across the district take to the field.

The Bradford District Schools 5 v 5 Football Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary this year at the start of a big week for football in the district.

The tournament kicks off today at Keighley’s Marley Activities and Coaching Centre.

There will be 120 teams of boys and girls between the ages of eight and 14 taking part in the festival.

The event, organised by Bradford Council’s Sport & Culture Service is for the first time supported by Bradford based Square Apple Café.

Bradford Council’s assistant director of sport and culture Phil Barker said: “Primary and secondary school pupils from all over the district will be taking part in this five-a-side festival and I hope friends and relatives will go along and give them some support.

“It is important that young people are provided with enjoyable opportunities to take part in physical activity and sport.

“It is a big sporting week with Bradford City going for promotion on Saturday in the league one play off final against Millwall. We hope everyone at the five-a-side festival can take inspiration from the Bantams and give it their all.”

All members of the winning and runner-up squads in each of the six age groups ( from under nines up to under 14s) will receive a leather football and commemorative t-shirt respectively. Every participant at the event will also receive an attendance certificate.

Opportunities for children to get active over the February half-term

Children across the Bradford district are invited to try out some new sports, reignite an interest in more traditionally popular sports or bust some moves dance at classes over the February half-term holidays.

Bradford Council’s sport and leisure service is organising the Base Camps and Dance Camps which are the ideal way to keep youngsters occupied during the school break.

The Base Camps offer the opportunity for children aged 5 to 13 to try out activities like trampolining, dodge ball and volleyball as well as have a go at more popular sports such as football, cricket, basketball and athletics.

The camps will take place at Zara Sports Centre Heaton from Monday 20 to Friday 24 February and at Richard Dunn Sports Centre from Tuesday 21 to Thursday 23.

The sessions run from 9am to 3.30pm and kids will need to bring suitable kit with trainers and a packed lunch with drinks.

Children can attend the full five day or three day camps or can just do individual days.

The five day camp cost £56 for the first child and £42 for additional children. The three day camp costs £34 per child £26 for additional children and day sessions cost £14 a child. Bradford Leisure cardholders (formerly Passport to Leisure) can take part in day sessions for £11.

The Dance Camps are being led by Dance for Life and include street dance, break dance and musical theatre. On the final day of Dance Camp the youngsters will hold a performance to show off their newly acquired skills.

The Dance camps will be at Zara Sports Centre Heaton from Monday 20 to Friday 24 February from 10am – 3.00pm. Children can attend the full five day or can just do individual days.

The five day camp costs £50 for the first child and £38 for additional children and day sessions cost £12. Bradford Leisure cardholders (formerly Passport to Leisure) can take part in day sessions for £9.

Coun Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Sport and Sustainability, said: “Our Base Camps and Dance Camps are always very popular and are a great way for youngsters to try things, improve their skills and make new friends in a safe and enjoyable environment. I’m sure they will have lots of fun.”

Places are limited so booking is essential. People can book online at www.bradford.gov.uk/sport or telephone Bradford Council’s Community Sports and Activities Development Unit on 01274 522750 or email sportsunit@bradford.gov.uk
 

Feb half term Dance Camp information

Over 1000 young people to take part in the February Bradford Winter School Games 2017

Pupils playing basketball in The Bradford Winter School Gams

The Bradford Winter School Games finals day will involve approximately 1000 young athletes from across Bradford, competing to be crowned Bradford Schools Champions as well as securing team places for the West Yorkshire Finals.

Bradford School Games Organisers from across the district are delighted to be hosting the second Bradford Winter School Games finals on Friday 17^th February 2017 at Hanson Academy, Goals Soccer Centre and Pulse Health and Fitness.

This event forms part of the National School Games Programme – a unique opportunity to motivate and inspire millions of young people across the country to take part in more competitive school sport.

The Bradford Winter School Games sees the culmination of last terms district School Games events for Primary Schools, Secondary Schools and Special Schools in Athletics, Basketball, Boccia, Football, Netball, Quick Sticks Hockey and Table Tennis.

The local qualifying events held in the 5 school games areas across Bradford so far have already engaged hundreds of schools and over 5000 young people.

The Bradford Winter School Games will be supported by a number of partners including; Sports Hall Associates, Bradford Dragons Basketball Club, Rebels Netball Club, Bradford Hockey Club, The Bradford Bulls Foundation, Bradford City FC Community, Table Tennis England, Bradford City FC and Jamie’s Ministry of Food.

It will be a great spectacle highlighting the talent and dedication of young people from across Bradford.

Richard Woods, Principal, Hanson School, ‘We are proud to offer our fantastic facilities to host the Bradford Winter Games 2017. PE and the School Games is an integral part of our school so we are excited to welcome some of the most talented young athletes from across Bradford to compete in the finals.  We recognise the hard work put in by school staff, parents and athletes in reaching this stage so take pleasure in being able to offer our facilities and support to ensure the games are once again a huge success.’

Opening the Bradford Winter School Games is former England and Great Britain Rugby League Captain, and Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls Rugby League legend Jamie Peacock MBE.

Following on from this event, successful teams and individuals will then take place in the West Yorkshire Finals primarily at Leeds Beckett Campus on Saturday 25^th March 2017.

Follow us on Twitter @HansonSGO

 

Hanson Academy School Games Partnership U9 Open Football League Success

Joining us this week to talk about the recent School Games Partnership U9 Open Football League Tournament is Jack Summers who organises the event.

The start of the 2016/17 competition calendar saw fourteen teams from twelve different Primary Schools in the Hanson Academy Partnership compete in the U9 Open Football League at Goals Soccer Centre, Bradford.

The freshly laid pitches at Goals and the bright sunny weather perfectly set up the first round of games.

Over the following weeks over 150 boys and girls competed to qualify for the Partnership Finals.  However, a big part of our competition relates to the cultural aspects of the School Games so while ultimately the players are committed to winning they are also tasked with displaying one of the six School Games Values.

The Value on show for the U9 Football was PASSION.

All the teams were a credit to their school and should be extremely proud of their efforts.

After two tightly contested leagues five teams qualified for the overall finals.

The finals were closer than could have been anticipated with three teams finishing in joint third place.

The overall standings were: (1) Thackley Primary School (2) Low Ash Primary School (3) Cavendish Primary School (3) Rainbow Primary School (3) Wellington Primary School.

Congratulations and Well Done to Thackley and Low Ash who, as a result of finishing 1^st and 2^nd respectively, have qualified for the Bradford Summer Games in 2017.

To round off what was a fantastic event, the final teams and the Young Ambassadors from Hanson Academy came together for a group photo and even embraced the Dab!

You can find more of the action, see future events and check out the fantastic work going on in the other School Games Partnerships across Bradford by checking out the following twitter feeds:

@HansonSGO, @OakbankSGO, @BecSchCommunity, @WestBradSG, @BfdSchoolGames

Participating Schools: High Crags Academy, St. Francis Catholic Primary School, Killinghall Primary School, Thackley Primary School, Wellington Primary School, Lapage Primary School, Fagley Primary School, Low Ash Primary School (3 teams), Cavendish Primary School, Westbourne Primary School, Westminster Primary School and Rainbow Primary School.

BCFC Community Foundation Spring Bank Football Camps

Bradford City FC Community Foundation are pleased to be hosting their ever-popular football camps this Spring Bank Holiday.

Children will need a packed lunch, drinks and to be dressed ready for football and appropriate to whatever the weather is like on the day!

All our camps are for girls and goys aged 5-13 years of all abilities, and run from 10am-3pm daily, and are being held at the following venues and can be found on the below:

Children will need a packed lunch, drinks and be dressed ready for football and appropriate to whatever weather we are having on the day!

All our staff are minimum FA Level 2 qualified, trained in emergency aid and hold an enhanced DBS check.

The 3-day courses are £36 and the 2 day courses are £24 and can be prebooked. Turn up and pay on the day for £13 per day.

To book a place please visit www.bradfordcityfitc.org.uk or telephone 01274 706850.

Premier League Reading Stars boosts pupils’ reading and writing skills at Girlington Primary School

Girlington Primary School and the National Literacy Trust Hub in Bradford ran the Premier League Reading Stars (PLRS) programme during the summer term. Assistant Headteacher, Daniel Walker hoped the programme would help to improve the reading ability and attitudes of pupils in Year 5 and Year 6.

He said: “At the launch of the programme in the school assembly, we told pupils that they must write a letter to apply for a place on the team. Eleven pupils were chosen because we felt that they would benefit the most from taking part.”

An area in the school library was set up as the PLRS team corner, with tasks and a stadium poster on the wall to track their successes in the different challenges.. Throughout the programme, Mr Walker used a range of techniques to create and maintain and sense of inclusion and team spirit:

“The pupils were allowed to wear their football kits on PLRS days and we also let them take penalty shots with me in goal as a reward for completing challenges. We also offered some football coaching and chances to play matches after the sessions.”

At each fixture the boys quizzed each other about the books they’d read and their interpretations and ideas. Mr Walker said the group made significant progress by taking part in PLRS:

“All boys who took part in the programme made more than expected progress in reading. Two boys made two sub levels of progress, which is the equivalent of more than a year’s expected progress in one term. One boy made dramatic progress of a whole level (3 sub-levels) in a term.”

Participating in PLRS also had a huge impact on the attitudes of the boys, who were very enthusiastic about the programme. Each boy was able to name their favourite book and spoke in great detail about the different activities and reading challenges they had taken part in.

When asked why they thought their reading had improved, persistence was identified as a strong reason. Several of the group described how previously they would skip over difficult words but now they would look them up online or ask a teacher or parents to help them. They all agreed that they now wanted to understand what they were reading rather than just doing it because they had too. One boy commented:

“I used to find it hard to have a picture in my head of what was going on and I would give up. Now I keep trying. Sometimes I have to re-read some of the books to get there”.

As well as reading, several members of the group also identified positive effects the programme had had on their writing. One boy said that his handwriting was getting better because he had more that he wanted to say, so he was doing more writing and getting better. They all agreed that their vocabulary had also improved, as they knew and used more descriptive words.

The team aspect of the programme was a clear highlight for many of the boys.

Bradford City FC Community Foundation October Half Term Football Camps

Bradford City FC Community Foundation are pleased to be hosting their ever-popular football camps this October half term.

Children will need a packed lunch, drinks and to be dressed ready for football and appropriate to whatever the weather is like on the day!  All staff are minimum FA Level 2 qualified, trained in emergency aid and hold an advanced CRB check.

For more information or to book a place, visit the Bradford City FC Community Foundation website or call 01274 706850.