Sport at Waverley

A good programme of curricular and extra-curricular activities enhances the educational experience and enjoyment of pupils at the school."  ISI

Waverley's aim is to create a vibrant and extensive sports programme for pupils. We feel strongly that children need to be active and understand the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle. Therefore, sport plays a key role within our school. When planning our sports curriculum, we always keep a key word in our minds… opportunity!

How much sport do we offer each week?

Pupils at Waverley have access to over 20 different sports each year, both during the school day and through the After School Club. All activities are delivered by qualified teachers or carefully selected external coaches and specialists, ensuring high-quality instruction across all areas.

All pupils in Years 1 to 4 attend a weekly swimming lesson throughout the academic year at brand new swimming pool facility. These sessions are led by specialist swimming instructors and form an integral part of the curriculum, reflecting the school’s commitment to swimming as an essential life skill.

In addition to swimming, all pupils receive at least one PE lesson and four Games lessons each week, depending on their year group. PE lessons introduce a wide range of sports, with a different activity each session to broaden pupils’ experiences. Games lessons focus on two team sports per term, which are football, rugby, netball, hockey, cricket and athletics.

A key feature of the Games programme is the opportunity for Key Stage 2 pupils to take part in weekly fixtures, with approximately 80 matches arranged each term at Waverley. Central to the school’s ethos is inclusivity: every pupil participates in matches each week, regardless of ability. We do not select which pupils play in our fixtures - every pupil will always play.

In recent years, we have moved away from the traditional separate boys/girls sports and all pupils now choose the sport that they would like to play each term, irrespective of their gender. Our girls lunchtime football club is one of the most popular activities at Waverley!

Opportunities for the talented 

Whilst our focus is ‘Sport for All’, we are equally committed to ensuring that our most able pupils are encouraged to excel. Participation in ISA (Independent School Association) competitions plays a central role in this, and as a small school, we are proud to have consistently ‘punched above our weight’. This year alone, over 40 pupils—more than 25% of the school—have represented Waverley in ISA events. These include medal successes in the following sports:

• Cross-country
• Shot-put
• Football
• Judo
• Athletics 

We have also participated in the following regional ISA tournaments:

• Gymnastics
• Hockey
• Netball

Waverley also prides itself in talent-spotting pupils and encouraging them to join local, dedicated sports clubs including judo, athletics, rowing, hockey, football and rugby, to further develop their potential.

National Athletics Champions

 Waverley is proud to have won the headline team event at the ISA (Independent Schools Association) National Athletics Championships claiming the title of 'National Champions'. Having qualified through previous regional events first of all for the London area, and then the South East, the Waverley team produced an impressive performance to win the closely-fought race of the 4 x 100mts Relay Final. 

Well done to Dominic who also secured an outstanding silver medal in the vortex, and to Anya who ran brilliantly to finish 5th in the 75 mts sprint. 

Read the full article here.

Making sport fun...

We regularly welcome inspiring visitors, including a Team GB athlete, a Reading FC first team footballer, and a ‘Gladiator’ from the popular BBC television series. These experiences help to motivate and engage pupils, bringing sport to life beyond the curriculum. 

In addition, we have House Competitions in football, dodgeball, tag-rugby, cross-country, cricket and Sports Day. 

Sports Offered at Waverley

Within curriculum time and our extra-curricular programme, we provide pupils with access to over 20 different sports each year, all of which are taught by qualified teachers or carefully appointed external coaches and specialists. 

The sports we teach at Waverley include:

• Hockey
• Football
• Rugby
• Netball
• Cricket
• Athletics
• Tennis
• Health-related Exercise
• Cross-Country
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Gymnastics
• Dance
• Judo
• Fencing
• Rugby Tots (Scrumys)
• Swimming
• Rounders
• Golf
• Bikeability
• Dodgeball

Swimming - Weekly throughout the academic year

At Waverley, we believe that swimming is an essential life skill, which is why children in Years 1–4 have a weekly swimming lesson throughout the academic year.

Waverley decided not build or maintain its own pool - we prefer to invest our funds in talented teaching staff and less financially draining (!) equipment and facilities. Our pupils therefore travel to Carnival Pool in Wokingham, a 5-minute coach ride, which is a brand-new, state-of-the-art swimming pool complex. where they are taught in age-appropriate groups by specialist swimming teachers. Alongside developing their swimming skills and confidence in the water, children take part in personal survival lessons each term, helping them develop vital water safety skills.

Parents are also invited to celebrate their children’s progress at our end-of-year celebration swim. For children who show particular promise and enthusiasm for swimming, there may also be the exciting opportunity to represent Waverley at the ISA Regional Swimming Qualifier.

Sports Day

One of our key events of the academic calendar is our Sports Day in the summer term. All children from Foundation upwards participate to help ultimately win the House Sports Trophy. We also have parent races, and pupil vs parent races! These are always the most entertaining to watch and also inspire our children to have a love of sport.