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• 2006
• July
• • Action sports introduced to the curriculum
  • Developing Islington standards for mothers, fathers & carers' involvment
  • Developing Islington standards for mothers, fathers and Carers' involvement
  • Free health and sport festival
  • Islington Arts & Media students cook against the clock
  • New North School to perform West Side Story
  • Pupils' artwork on display at Schools for the Future exhibition
  • Pure voices event is a huge success
  • Thornhill triumph in University Challenge
  • Top arts award for Ashmount Primary School
  • Whittington Hospital Class holds a music workshop

Action sports introduced to the curriculum

The world’s first ever school P.E. based action sports programme is about to launch in Islington, London. Aimed at Key Stage 4 students aged between 14 and 16 years, the programme will be introduced initially to 10 schools. With success, the programme hopes to be extended and early indication is that there is strong demand.

The Action Sports In Schools Programme has been funded by the DfES and was devised to help address the low level of physical activity amongst teenagers by providing new and emerging sporting options. Feedback from the schools’ community was that more relevant youth sports, including board sports such as skateboarding as well as BMX and other bike sports, were necessary to increase physical activity and improve P.E. class attendance.

This innovative grass-roots programme aims to encourage kids who are usually disinterested in traditional sports to look at other activities which they may not have tried and feel are inaccessible to them.

CEA@Islington has teamed up with Action Sports marketing specialists KAOS Brands In Action to take a fresh look at physical education within the borough.

KAOS Brands In Action Managing Director Paul Knipe said ‘We are proud to be involved and credibly lead this project. Opening the door to action sports within PE classes will mean a whole new batch of kids being more active and interested in the action sports scene’.

Manager of CEA@Islington’s School Sports Coordinator Programme, Sarah Fretwell said ‘The overall goal of this initiative is not only to increase fitness and improve attendance but to introduce sports which rely on community and not competitiveness. Action sports offer an alternative to traditional sports where kids are encouraged to express themselves as individuals and advance at their own pace. We think for a lot of kids, this could be a good access route into sports and physical activity.’

Other action sports lifestyle elements will form part of the overall programme including film and photography, fashion and music, again aimed at including as many kids as possible.

For more information, please contact CEA@Islington's Communications Department: