PE and School Sport
At Newton St. Cyres School, we view high quality PE and School Sport as a key cornerstone of our school curriculum and integral to the holistic development and long-term well-being of all of our pupils. We are really proud of our PE and School Sport offer.
PE and Sport at NSC
All pupils across the school take part in a minimum of two-hours of high quality PE. We are lucky to have use of a school field, school playground, and our substantial school hall if the weather is too bad to be outdoors. Further information on the skills and knowledge taught through PE and the way this learning is organised into units can be found in the Curriculum section of this website.
Friday Morning Sports Initiative
Alongside our in-school PE we are really proud of our Wednesday Sports Initiative, which sees all of the children from across the school visiting Lords Meadow Sports Centre in Crediton every Wednesday afternoon for an entire term. The afternoon consists of a swimming lesson, led by specialist swim teachers, a gymnastics session, led by school staff and external specialists, and an outdoor sports session (usually comprising of tennis, basketball and hockey) This initiative not only allows the children to have access to high quality swimming teaching, but also allows us to take advantage of the fantastic facilities on offer at Lords Meadow and the expertise of specialist sports teachers.
In some sessions at Lords Meadow, we also utilise the expertise of Exeter College students who help lead different disciplines in the gym and also outside. Below is a video featuring children from Newton St. Cyres talking about the benefits of the Friday Sport's Initiative.
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Crediton Learning Community Sport's Partnership
At Newton St. Cyres, we are keen to work alongside our local secondary school Queen Elizabeth's. They offer a sports partnership where they host sporting events for children across the learning community. This includes; Tag Rugby, Orienteering, Climbing, Rounders, Cricket and Athletics. We are able to utilise the facilities at QE and for the upper KS2 children it is a great transition opportunity. Lots of the sessions run by qualified staff are supported by children in the upper secondary years who previously attended Newton. St Cyres. It's always nice to reconnect with familiar faces and share their educational and sporting successes.
Extra-Curricular Sports Clubs
At Newton St. Cyres, we offer a range of extra-curricular sports clubs throughout the year - football, cricket, rugby and tennis are all regularly offered and well-attended.
An up to date list of the clubs on offer at school presently can be found in the Clubs and Wrap Around Care section of this website.
Competitive Sports
As well as our curricular and extra-curricular PE and school sports, we also endeavour to offer as many pupils as possible the opportunity to represent the school at sporting competitions and festivals. As a group, the Exe Valley Federation of schools regularly organise sporting fixtures and tournaments throughout the school year. We also attend a variety of sports festivals and tournaments organised by our local secondary school, Queen Elizabeth's School in Crediton. Photos from the most recent of these events can be seen in the gallery above. Photos and match / tournament reports are also included in our weekly school newsletters.
Exmoor Challenge
As part of our Outdoor and Adventurous Activities learning, we offer our Year 6 children the chance to take part in the Exmoor Challenge each year. For the Exmoor Challenge, children work in teams of 4, and they have to follow a 16 mile route which is not marked - so following instructions, map-reading, and compass skills are essential. There are a series of check-points along the route and each leg has to be done in a pre-determined time - points are deducted if teams arrive too early or too late. We organise a range of practise walks in advance of the challenge and all Year 6 children take part in these whether they go on to take part in the full challenge or not.
Exe Valley Challenge
As well as the Exmoor Challenge, we also offer children the chance to take part in the Exe Valley Challenge. This opportunity is available to children from Y2-Y6. The Exe Valley Challenge takes place annually at Isca Academy. The aim is to provide an exciting opportunity for children to challenge themselves, and work independently in a fun and safe environment. After a staggered start from Isca Academy each team follows a circular route, either a 5, 7 or 10 mile course around the River Exe. The route is not marked on the ground and teams have to use basic map reading and orienteering skills. Checkpoints are marked on the maps provided and teams aim to complete each stage within the prescribed time.
Exeter Chiefs Match Day Experience
A group of sports enthusiasts from Newton St. Cyres travelled to Exeter Chiefs to take part in a special match day experience. Arriving early at the ground, the children took part in a special training carousel on the training pitches above Sandy Park. They got to meet some of the academy players and community staff.
Once the training session was completed, the children were given a ticket to the SW Comms stand and they headed off to their seats. Prior to the match, the children formed a special guard of honour to welcome the players to the pitch and at half time, they got to parade around the pitch to the applause of the crowd. At fulltime there were photo opportunities with the players and we were lucky to catch Exeter Chiefs captain Jack Yeandle.
Links with Local Sports Clubs
We are very lucky to be based in close-proximity to a wide-range of external sports clubs which many of our children attend. We promote Crediton Youth Rugby and Football Clubs and have strong links with Sandford Cricket Club where lots of our children take part in All Stars Cricket. If you would like any more details about any of these clubs, please click on the links below: