Posted Friday, 29 November 2019

Schools used to be inflexible places. They knew what was good for pupils. Compulsion was everywhere. Latin, Rugby, CCF, Cross country running, cold showers. A combination of liberalism, market forces, educational enlightenment and social change put an end to all that. The climate of modern schools places greater value on...

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Posted Friday, 22 November 2019

“The following have been selected to represent the School…” These were the coveted words that brought pupils racing to the noticeboards, hoping to see their names listed. To be one of the chosen few. Upholding the school’s honour on the metaphorical battlefields against all rivals. There has been a subtle...

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Posted Thursday, 14 November 2019

Whatever the difficulties and frustrations of school sport in the twenty first century, one thing is for sure. The shop window is in amazing condition. The top level of games in schools has never been of a higher standard. The time, effort and investment in developing the best players is...

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Posted Friday, 4 October 2019

The professionalisation of sport is a relatively recent phenomenon. Although some sports have paid players for a long time, that was exactly what they did. They paid them to play. Preparation to perform was either absent or perfunctory. Sports science hadn’t been invented. The drive for high performance is ultimately...

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Posted Friday, 27 September 2019

The new term is well underway. The initial excitement has settled into a regular operation. School teams have been selected, and have got a few games under their belt. For some kids, the elation of initial selection has subsided into the smug complacency of a regular team place; others hang...

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Posted Friday, 27 September 2019

Read the latest report by Neil Rollings... Download your free copy below.

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