An investment of £3000 by Kent Company BCTEC has seen an increased level of participation in sport at The John Wallis Academy in Ashford.

The Medway based firm has put money in to support the Academy, enabling The John Wallis Academy to give the students high quality kit in which to participate in sport.

This generous gesture has seen a dramatic rise in the number of pupils wishing to participate in sport at The Academy.

The John Wallis 3-19 Academy was judged a “good school” in a recent Ofsted inspection.

The Academy aims to deliver high aspirations, high expectations and high standards through all aspects of student life. PE and sport has progressed rapidly with a varied activity curriculum that has resulted in participation being identified in sport by Ofsted as high and motivational.

BCTEC who run the IT network and infrastructure in the Academy were approached by Mr Chris Nicholas, the Academy’s Director Sport, to seek sponsorship for our sports teams.

The Directors of BCTEC, Mr Bradley Tillman and Mr Paul Pickard were delighted to support the sports department and commented:

“We have been working with The John Wallis Academy for the past four years looking after all of their ICT support needs. In this time we have built great relationships with the leadership team & teaching staff and wanted to give a little back to the school.”

“It’s lovely to see the children having renewed interest in sport and enjoying the competitions they have entered. We look forward to attending some of the games and seeing the students in their new kit.”

Mr Nicholas explained that the idea was to seek sponsorship as part of the Academy’s PE development plan to increase the participation in after school sport and increase the opportunities for young people to compete in healthy friendly competition against other schools and clubs in the region.

Students were involved in the planning process to choose which kits they liked and the design and position of the logos.

The money was used to buy Football, Netball, Basketball kits for all teams that the Academy has. This means that their Primary Years 5/6 teams now have sports kits to wear in competitions.

The impact has been fantastic and the increase in participation in these sports has been noticeable, with all teams having a full squad of players.

There has been a particular success in increasing participation in Girls Football and basketball teams which now field full squads for their games and train every week in order to represent the Academy wearing their new kit. As well as their performance, it has helped the students to be more focused and driven.

To find out more about BCTEC and the work they do, please visit their website: http://www.bctec.co.uk/