Solihull School
Sport
Sport is one of our key strengths at Solihull School. Whether your child relishes the idea of learning something new and becoming part of a team, has elite performance potential, or simply enjoys fresh air and fitness, there’s a sport for everyone at Solihull and our talented team of coaches and specialists are here to support and encourage their progress.
We work hard to provide a wide range of sporting opportunities for all senior school pupils. A love of sport fuels a healthy lifestyle and a positive mindset and so our coaches and sport specialists seek to infuse an enjoyment of sport into every PE and games lesson.
We are proud of the extensive roster of Solihull School pupils who currently or have represented their country in hockey, rugby, cricket, netball and athletics - and our team of experienced coaches, many of whom have played professionally at the very highest levels in their respective disciplines, work closely with our elite performance pupils, helping them to stretch and extend their skills. We also support pupils who excel at sports not taught at school, to ensure they can attend training or competitions during term time without losing academic progress. As a result, we have seen pupils representing GB in sports as diverse as skiing, squash, sailing, swimming, golf and many others.
Our Director of Sport (Senior School) is Mr S Thompson
Facilities
The school offers excellent facilities across a wide range of sports. Indoors, there is a sports hall with a multi-gym gallery, a rifle range, and three squash courts. Outdoor amenities include two floodlit artificial turf pitches, five netball courts, four hard tennis courts, a climbing wall, and a 60 x 12 metre tartan multi-event athletics area. Our expansive playing fields feature five rugby pitches, football pitches, a grass 400m track, and four permanent cricket squares, supplemented by six artificial nets and four artificial playing strips.
The Alan Lee Sports Pavilion offers ample changing areas, classrooms for GCSE and A Level teaching, and spaces for post-match hospitality and meetings.
Curriculum
In the first two years at Solihull, we focus on fundamental movement, teaching games for understanding, fitness, gymnastics, dance and athletics. The core team sports are rugby, hockey, netball and cricket. In Fourths (Year 9), pupils enjoy the opportunity to also try out handball, gym, and badminton.
The range of sport broadens out further as pupils enter Lower and Upper Fifth (Years 10 and 11) with the introduction of sports like volleyball, lacrosse, rounders, tennis, softball and handball, with pupils also able to choose to attend Forest of Arden Club during Games to try and range of sport or use the gym. From Upper Fifth onwards, pupils play in our core team sports alongside sixth formers, representing school as part of the main school teams.
In Sixth Form we aim to provide as much choice as possible, with climbing and skateboarding, clay pigeon shooting, football, yoga and Zumba added to the options and students continuing to enjoy a full afternoon of Games once a week.
Timetabled Activities
|
Year Group |
PE Lessons |
Games Lessons |
|---|---|---|
|
Thirds (Yr 7) |
Fitness, Basketball, Badminton, Gymnastics, Dance, Athletics. |
Rugby, Hockey, Netball, Cricket, Tennis. |
|
Shells (Yr 8) |
Basketball, Gymnastics, Dance, Athletics. |
Rugby, Hockey, Netball, Cricket, Tennis. |
|
Fourths (Yr 9) |
Basketball, Fitness, Athletics. |
Rugby, Hockey, Netball, Cricket, Tennis, Watersports. |
|
Lower Fifth (Yr 10) |
Personal Survival, Badminton, Fitness, Athletics. |
Rugby, Hockey, Netball, Cricket, Tennis, Watersports. |
|
Upper Fifth (Yr 11) |
Life Saving, Badminton, Fitness, Athletics. |
See options below. |
|
Sixth Form (Yr 12 & 13) |
Wednesday afternoon Games, in conjunction with Year 11. Options include: Rugby, Hockey, Netball, Cricket, Rounders, Football, Cross Country, Squash, Tennis, Badminton, Weight Training, Gym sessions, Table Tennis, Climbing, Golf, Clay Pigeon Shooting, Watersports, Athletics, Lacrosse, Softball. |
|
Competitive sporting opportunities
The Sports Department organises a comprehensive fixture list across the different sports with fixtures taking place both during Games lessons, after school and on Saturdays. We encourage all pupils to play for a team if selected and seek to give every pupil the chance to represent the school as often as possible. There are opportunities for our students to compete in local, regional and national competitions, with some of our teams competing (and winning!) at the highest levels of school sport in the UK.
Each year, we offer various sports tours that allow students to explore different cultures, gain independence, and create lifelong memories. Tours for younger students typically involve short trips to European destinations, such as our popular October half-term hockey tour to the Netherlands which, in 2023 saw 150 children playing competitive fixtures against Dutch hockey teams that we have established partnerships with. Older students travel further afield every other summer, with recent cricket and rugby tours taking them to destinations like South Africa, Barbados, Dubai, Sri Lanka, and Australia.
Trips and Visits
Pupils who excel in sport will have ample opportunity to visit many towns and cities regionally and across the UK in various events and fixtures.
Various sports tours are offered each year and give pupils the opportunity to explore different cultures, gain independence away from home and make lifelong memories. Younger year group tours tend to be short haul to various popular European destinations; our October half term hockey tour to Holland is always popular, in 2023 we took 150 children. Older age groups travel further afield every other summer, recent tours have taken pupils to South Africa, Barbados, Dubai, Sri Lanka and Australia.
Academic PE
GCSE Physical Education is being introduced as an option for GCSE pupils in September 2024.
Already well-established in our Sixth Form, students who choose A Level PE, follow the OCR specification, which offers a remarkable insight into the world of sports performance.
Students will have the opportunity to perform or coach a sport as part of the practical assessment component, while also gaining extensive knowledge about the principles and philosophies behind physical activity and sports.
This course prepares students for further studies in PE or Sports Science, as well as related fields like Psychology, Sociology, and Biology. Additionally, students develop transferable skills that are highly valued in higher education and by employers across various industries.
Our Lower Sixth pupils also have the opportunity to complete the QSL level 3 award as part of the schools enrichment programme.
In recent years, A Level PE students have gone on to train in physiotherapy at Loughborough University and also to study Sports Science at Exeter, Leeds and Nottingham universities, as well as related subjects such as Nutrition, Sports and Exercise and Sports Technology.
Click here to learn more about Physical Education at A Level
Destinations
In recent years, students have gone on to train in physiotherapy at Loughborough University and also to study Sports Science at Exeter, Leeds and Nottingham University as well as Nutrition, Sports and Exercise and Sports Technology.
Co-curricular Activities
Solihull also offers a vast range of co-curricular sporting clubs for pupils to get involved with before school, at lunchtime or after school.
Follow this link to find out more about Co-Curricular Sport