Curriculum enrichment in PE – an introduction to tennis
Harry and Aaron, from Leeds Beckett Junior Tennis Club, visited Talbot Primary school in April. Their aim was to encourage the children to think about tennis, have a go at playing it and to consider if they would like to join a local tennis club.
Harry and Aaron both attend Leeds Beckett University and are both members of the university tennis teams. Harry mainly plays on grass courts, as he enjoys the speed, whilst Aaron explained he preferred the pace of clay courts. As well as studying hard and playing lots of tennis, they have both found the time to do some additional coaching, so they can share their knowledge and love of the game with children.
The two players led five assemblies: UKS2, LKS2, Year 2, Year 1 and Reception. They talked about the game, what characteristics players needed to be successful in tennis and got many children up to play drills and mini games to showcase some ways to start learning tennis. The assemblies were highly interactive and a huge amount of fun, and it was engaging.
At Talbot Primary School, tennis is one of our core sport offers. In Early Years and the KS1, all children learn fundamental skills of throwing, catching and batting. This builds their balance, coordination and power. In KS2, the children then start to learn to play tennis more formally, for one half term, every year.
The ambition is that all children leave Talbot understanding the basic skills of tennis, so that they could choose to take it further at high school, or in their own lives. Events like the presentation from Leeds Beckett Junior Tennis Club, give this extra impetus.
Photos courtesy of the KS2 assembly.
