Yamina Haidara (Y10)
Being part of WA's Basketball Team
First and foremost I am speaking to you as a year 10 student, and even though I haven't chosen PE (Sport) as a GCSE option, I continue to attend and thrive in PE lessons. When people think about PE lessons, they tend to just think about the usual physical activities like a beep test, but they forget to consider the values of teamwork, strength and resilience that come with the lesson. PE incorporates many different values as it teaches you to be inclusive and it also allows you to engage with students that you may have never thought you would see as a friend. This widens your social circle and doesn't limit you to being with one certain friend group.
Every year I learn something new in PE, in fact, every day! Westminster Academy teaches mixed ability classes through Years 7-13 in Core P.E. which is 75 minutes of high quality practical P.E. per week. The PE curriculum is sequenced to build on prior knowledge and develop fundamental movement skills. For PE, there are the primary sports that all years will have done at some point. The individual sports we do include; table tennis, training and conditioning, and gymnastics. The team sports that we take part in include: football, handball,tag rugby, basketball and cricket. For Year 10, throughout Term 1-6, our core PE classes are split into team performance, individual performance, optional activity x2 and lastly, striking and fielding.
I think PE is so special as it does not require needing to go on a trip and do experiments. In PE, I am surrounded by friends and teachers that are there to support and guide us, and improve our performance in our physical activity. PE does way more than improve our physical health, as it also improves our mental health. PE has made me feel safe and happy as I'm learning to work with others, work together as a team, and learn how to communicate better.
In Year 7, I was introduced to basketball and I instantly fell in love. This is when I got added to the Greenhouse Sports Basketball Programme. This programme led me on to playing basketball for the rest of my school years. The basketball programme opened many opportunities for me, including enrolling to a national league team called ‘Pioneers’, and going to Norwood and St John’s Wood to play for them, and many other areas to explore my horizons within basketball. While being in the basketball programme, I learnt the idea of commitment and being there for my team with every loss and every win, Greenhouse Sports allowed me to work with U16 boys, and I worked with people of all ages ranging from 7 to 16. Greenhouse Sports allowed me to meet the team ‘Haringey Angels’ and this is the team I played with for a while. I may not be with the Greenhouse Sports programme anymore but I am forever thankful for the opportunities and doors that Greenhouse Sports opened for me.
In summary, PE is a subject that doesn't necessarily make you think that it's helping you in the real world, but in fact, it allows you to have values and it teaches you skills that you will need to use in the real world, known as ‘transferable skills’ and I think that's what makes PE special. The opportunities and challenges you receive in PE are endless. The knowledge and being able to communicate with different people is so useful.
To find out more about Greenhouse Sports, visit their website here.