Leadership Academy Students Achieve Their First Goal

Earlier this academic year the Newcastle School Games Team were excited to launch their Leadership Academy for the first time.  The team established the academy to provide a bespoke package for its members and were committed to working with young people demonstrating a professional approach to their leadership activity, hence the inclusion of a mentoring aspect.

Students from across the city in Years 10-13 were encouraged to apply to be members of the academy and showcase the qualities and experience they would bring to the table; as well as source a reference from a member of staff at their school.

Successful candidates have been issued with their own personal logbooks which include a description of the School Games Values, a Code of Conduct, a description of the Mentoring Process, a page for some Personal Goal Setting, somewhere to log their hours throughout the year and a competition calendar.

The Leadership Academy provides young people with opportunities to officiate, coach and event manage at School Games events in our calendar.  Feedback is then provided to the individual and staff back at their school so that achievements can be celebrated accordingly.  In connection with this we've also established a Reward Scheme linked to the academy as we think it’s really important to acknowledge the positive impact our Leaders have on our younger children across the city.

Today’s blog has come about because on Friday we had cause to celebrate the achievements of a couple of our Leaders who attend Excelsior Academy; 3 students from the school have been the first to achieve the first milestone on the Reward Scheme and were presented with their Leadership Academy T-Shirts as a result.

These students have attended a number of our School Games events and proved to be more than competent in the way they organised the groups of young people they were working with.  They were punctual, polite and professional in their approach on each occasion and a credit to Excelsior School.  The staff at the school support their leaders and also support the School Games team by hosting events at their facility.

We very much look forward to working with them as the year continues and the opportunity to reward them further as they engage with the programme more and more.  Working with young people with their qualities is not only a pleasure but they bring additional positive outcomes to the events we organise.

The Newcastle School Games Team cant wait to have more members of the Leadership Academy wearing the t-shirts and sharing their experiences with their peers, family and staff.

Newcastle School Games Level 2 U16 Boys Table Tennis

Benfield School hosted the 2nd School Games Table Tennis event yesterday afternoon and the standard of play was impressive to say the least; this time it was the turn of the U16 Boys to step up to the plate and compete for the coveted Newcastle School Games Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates.  The following schools attended with their squads of 4:

St Mary's Catholic Comprehensive (2), St Cuthbert's, Newcastle School for Boys and Excelsior

The numbers of teams involved allowed the School Games Team to arrange everyone to play everyone once in a round robin, probably the fairest way to identify the true winners of any event of this type. 

The event was staged across 6 competition tables and it was clear from the outset that all 5 teams were intent on striving to be Newcastle's representatives at the Level 3 event next month as the standard was incredible straight away.

One of the things that's impressed organisers recently has been the levels of maturity, behaviour and sportsmanship displayed by all participants.  The event yesterday was simply a pleasure to involved in as it showcased young people focused on being the best they can be, competing with a smile on their face and respecting each other throughout.

After a whole host of hotly contested matches with some incredible individual battles, mainly thanks to each school having strong players in positions 1 / 2, it was the depth of the squad that proved to be crucial, with the final standings looking like this:

GOLD - Newcastle School for Boys

SILVER - St Cuthbert's

BRONZE - St Mary's

Huge congratulations and thanks must go to absolutely everyone who attended, both participants and school staff alike; and a special mention for Newcastle School for Boys who go forward to the Level 3 as Newcastles representatives.  A clean sweep for the school in Table Tennis terms as they also won the U13 round last week.

Newcastle School Games U13 Boys Table Tennis

Yesterday afternoon, Thursday 22nd November, saw Benfield School host the School Games Level 2 U13's Boys Table Tennis competition here in Newcastle.  Excelsior Academy, Kenton, St Cuthbert's and Newcastle School for Boys all entered teams in an attempt to take home the spoils.

Every team was asked to rank their team members from 1-4 and then the format and fixtures were supplied by the School Games Team; the matches themselves were officiated by the players themselves and they managed this task brilliantly with no disputes taking place; indeed the atmosphere was great with hand shakes, effort and encouragement all being displayed.

As the competition progressed more and more quality Table Tennis was being played, with some games going down to the wire; and where the result ended in a draw, suddenly points scored became important.

Steve Beharall, Lead School Games Organiser, said "we're really pleased with this event, numbers are up and it's fantastic to see some new individual faces and indeed new schools to this years School Games programme.  The standard of play has been great and the participants and school staff have all thrown themselves into proceedings".

The final was eventually played out by Excelsior Academy and Newcastle School for Boys and the podium finishing positions were:

GOLD  -  Newcastle School for Boys

SILVER  -  Excelsior Academy

BRONZE  -  St Cuthbert's

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the event and especially to Newcastle School for Boys who progress to the Level 3 School Games event on the 14th December.





School Games Level 2 Trampoline in Newcastle

This morning, Tuesday 23rd October, sees Excelsior Academy host the Level 2 School Games Trampoline Competition.

Approx 128 students from 9 Newcastle schools are competing across 4 categories, Beginner, Novice, Intermediate and Elite, and doing each of their schools proud.

Excelsior, our hosts, are joined by Central High, Walbottle, All Saints, Walker, Gosforth Academy, Sacred Heart, Heaton Manor and Kenton at what is proving to be a great event.

Steve Beharall, Lead School Games Organiser in Newcastle said:

"this event is always a quality affair thanks to AAA Club and their volunteers who judge the event, it has a fantastic atmosphere with students from different schools interacting and competing brilliantly. We look forward to this event every year."

Podium position winners will be asked to represent Newcastle at the Tyne and Wear Level 3 event, where we hope to run Gateshead close in the medal table.

Thanks to each school for attending and each participant for competing. Special thanks must go to Excelsior for hosting today's event.