OAT hosts Virtual Sports Cup

  11 June, 2020

For the past three years, OAT has hosted a Trust-wide Sports Cup which was opened to all OAT schools across all regions last year. This year everyone was determined to keep the tradition up despite the unusual circumstances and has made the competition virtual for the first time.

Over the month of June, pupils and staff will be participating in weekly sports or fitness-related challenges covering all ages and abilities (for mainstream and SEND students) on behalf of their school. They will then report to their Head of PE how many times they did the challenge that week, and the Trust will keep a running total of the numbers coming in from each school.

The winning school will be announced at the end of the month, which also coincides with National Sports Week. Whichever school takes home the prize will be awarded £900 for their PE department, whilst the pupil who completes the most challenges will win a £100 Amazon voucher. Prizes are kindly being provided by Ormiston Trust.

The tournament is open to pupils of all ages and staff across all OAT schools, and will be a chance for the entire OAT community to come together and engage in some healthy competition. Pupils and staff are being encouraged to document their challenges through photos or videos, so that they can share in what their colleagues and classmates are getting up to.

Caitlin a Year 8 pupil at Ormiston Victory Academy said:

“I have completed the challenges 5 times per day and they have given me the motivation to exercise more and complete them multiple times a day to maintain my fitness levels. Whilst we have been in lockdown I have not been able to train which I normally do 4 times a week, so doing these challenges and setting myself a target have been like having training sessions, which I am really missing!

“I am also really missing the PE lessons at school where we are able to do a range of activities. I was happy when OAT decided to do a virtual OAT sports cup to help keep students active during these difficult times and to have fun also! During these difficult times it is easy to feel down, become stressed but I have found doing some exercise from going for a run or even just a walk helps clear your mind and keeps you healthy.”

Jemima Waltho, Enrichment Manager said:

“This is such an exciting opportunity for us to support and share in something fun and engaging, to celebrate student and staff efforts, across the Trust. The #OATVSportsCup challenges have been created to enable as many people as possible to take part and the reaction we have had from our academies has been phenomenal. We are so proud of our all pupils and staff.”

Nick Hudson, CEO of Ormiston Academies Trust said:

“At Ormiston Academies Trust, we always look at how we can broaden’ horizons both within and beyond the curriculum. It’s important that we maintain this ethos even as we practice distance learning, and the OAT Sports Cup is a great way for pupils to participate in something fun and stay connected with each other. It’s also become a real OAT tradition that everyone looks forward to, and we wanted to make sure we honoured that no matter the circumstances.”

Every week the challenges will be launched on social media by Nick Hudson, CEO. To view the challenge video’s, see below:


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