Director of Sport, Nick Gandy, has wasted no time in putting measures in place to ensure pupils can stay active while they are not at school. He said: “Research has shown that exercise can lower anxiety and stress levels, improve concentration, increase self-esteem and encourage better sleep patterns, as well as playing a key role in the overall physical and mental development of young people. It is vital for your physical and mental health that you remain as active as possible over the coming weeks.”

The benefits of sports and exercise extend beyond health and wellbeing too, there is also significant evidence to suggest that sports and exercise has a direct link to academic achievement. In March 2019, a report from the University of Cambridge which looked at sport in relation to academic performance found that:

‘Undergraduate students who participated in University-level sport performed just as well academically, if not better, than the undergraduate population as a whole.’

The percentage of first-class results achieved by undergraduate sportspeople (28.4%) was greater than the percentage achieved by undergraduates in the University as a whole (23.7%);
The percentage of upper second-class results achieved by undergraduate sportspeople (63%) was greater than the percentage achieved by undergraduates in the University as a whole (51.8%);
The percentage of lower second- and third-class results achieved by undergraduate sportspeople was lower than undergraduates in the University as a whole.

The report concluded that: “Sport & physical activity can provide an effective release from academic studies, improve mental health and give students the opportunity to develop valuable social and support networks. It can also help students to develop valuable transferable skills such as time-management, focus, the ability to perform under pressure, leadership and communication.”

To facilitate and support Framlingham College pupils to be active, Mr Gandy has created new accounts for year groups on the activity tracking app, Strava. Students from across the school have been invited to post their activity on Strava, linked to their year group account, and prizes will be given out to the year group which covers the most distance. Sport staff have also encouraged pupils to share their activities with them via Framlingham College Sport social media. Mr Gandy added: “I would suggest that most of our children should be doing about one hour a day. It is important when they are learning remotely that pupils get up between lessons and this might be a good time to have a quick walk or perhaps do some exercises.”

There are also some fantastic initiatives being run at the Prep School too, we look forward to reporting on these next week. In the meantime, do look out for our Prep School sports’ scholars ‘lockdown drills’ videos on our social media.