Who wants to hop, skip and jump into the twenty-twenties?

First and foremost sport is about participation and enjoyment. The ethos at Hilden Oaks Prep is to INSPIRE, MOTIVATE, GUIDE, RECOGNISE and SUPPORT, and the focus is on personal development through physical activity. Hilden Oaks provides a programme of sporting activities to give children the opportunities to discover and develop interests or talents, develop character, and equip them with the knowledge of how to keep physically and mentally healthy.

It is a well-publicised fact that children who are active in school sports are fitter, have healthier body weights and are more confident.  It also makes a significant contribution to the Spiritual, Moral, Cultural and Mental development (for which Hilden Oaks Prep received a Gold Award in 2019)

Starting in Early Years, all the children at Hilden Oaks have physical development lessons, which are led by specialist PE teachers and are based around locomotive, stability and manipulative skills, covering games, gymnastics and dance.  As they move through the school into Pre-prep the physical education lessons are delivered on a daily basis and eventually in Prep, the skills they have previously learnt, are transferred into athletics, cross-country running, netball, cricket, dance, football, rugby, gymnastics, tennis, swimming, and in Year 6, Korfball.    All pupils are given the opportunity to represent the school in matches both against other schools and inter-house, and some will even represent the school at District level.

Hilden Oaks celebrates all levels of sporting success regularly in assembly including ‘player of the match’ and they encourage their most able students to pursue sports outside school to maximise their potential.  In addition, all the individual sports accolades are recognised on a Sports Star display board.

Every year a Sports Scholarship is awarded to the most deserving pupil in Form 2 and they are very proud of the fact that several of their former pupils have been awarded sports scholarships to their senior schools.

It is recognised however that not everyone shines at team sports so a programme of extra-curricular sports clubs and coaching are offered which include golf, fencing, badminton, judo, POP Lacrosse, tennis, and bike skills. 

Mental health and well-being has become a focus for much discussion in recent years, and this is an area that Hilden Oaks Prep is physically addressing.  The school not only has mindfulness as part of the curriculum but also gives its pupils many opportunities to participate in a wide variety of team and individual sports, which can have a very positive impact on their overall health.  We have a duty to develop well balanced and responsible children who can hop, skip and jump into the twenty twenties!  Exciting times lay ahead. Can you keep up the pace?