As we near the end of the summer term, it is time for school sports day.

Most sports days were cancelled last year, but this year children have been able to take part, albeit in class or year-group bubbles.
Pre-school children through to year 6 pupils from across the Rivers Academy Trust have enjoyed taking part in a range of sports and activities such as sack races, egg and spoon races, hurdles, long jump, throwing and even space hopper racing.

Sports day is a much-anticipated occasion. It is a great opportunity for schools to experience the wonderful sense of community gained by having the whole school and their families together. However, sports day does require significant preparation and organisation in any normal year, so combined with current restrictions, many of our schools had to make the regrettable decision to run school sports days without families in attendance.

Safety is a core value of the Rivers Trust and with Covid cases on the rise, schools have had to act cautiously by not adding any greater risk. Kate Ramsey, Head of School at Great Witley Primary School said “Any sports day would have to be significantly amended in order to satisfy a covid risk assessment. This would mean the children’s sports day experience would be limited and not as fun.”

Sports day 2021 has been a brilliant experience for the children, they have demonstrated fantastic sportsmanship, teamwork and support for their peers. Children and staff cheered on all the participants, so no one missed out on encouragement and applause.

Many schools have taken pictures, created special edition sports day newsletters and filmed the event for parents to watch back.