In the face of countless changes to safety and best practice, John Lyon’s Director of Sport, Mr Shane Cloete, looks at how the School’s mantra of ‘sport for all’ will not be lost.

Sport, and the concept of ‘sport for all’ plays a huge role in the life of John Lyon.

It is crucial, therefore, for us to maintain and continue to strive to provide the best opportunities for our pupils to participate and engage with sport, developing physically and emotionally through an active healthy lifestyle as we negotiate our return to School after such a long time away.

Our departmental philosophy of ‘sport for all, with the pursuit of excellence’ seems more important then ever, as we support those who aspire to compete at the highest level, whilst offering opportunity and encouragement to all those who simply want to enjoy their sport and physical activity.

Coronavirus has changed the the world and the way we interact with each other. We have to adapt and change with it.

We are approaching our ‘new normal’ by gaining a good understanding of best-practice guidelines issued by various sporting governing bodies with whom we work closely, so that we can deliver PE and Games while ensuring a clean, hygienic and safe environment for both our pupils and staff.

A number of things look different. When pupils have a Games afternoon they are asked to wear their sports kit for lessons through the day — this helps avoid the need for using enclosed changing spaces. There will be no sharing of personal equipment, the use of the School’s equipment will be kept to a minimum and all equipment will be sanitised before and after use. There will be minimal use of the sports pavilion, and parents are asked not to enter any field of play when collecting their child at the end of the day. The Saturday sport programme continues, despite there being no competitive fixtures against other schools at present — the time instead being used for expert training and internal competition.

Despite all the changes and extra considerations, I am confident that we can still offer sport for all through an effective, productive and high-quality sporting programme as well as exceptional opportunities for participation and fun across all the year groups.

We will not only continue to challenge each pupil but will give them the opportunity to enjoy sport and be active.