National Sporting Heritage Day and Schools
This information sheet offers suggestions for
how schools and other learning providers may
wish to engage in the National Sporting
Heritage Day, and use sporting heritage more
generally
within
teaching
and
learning.
Involvement in the National Sporting Heritage
Day will engage schools with wider sectors of
their community and allow them to celebrate
the local sporting past in new, exciting and
creative ways.
Although National Sporting Heritage Day takes place on the 30thSeptember, you do not need to limit
your activity to this day alone. You will probably want to spend time developing your project, and
perhaps use the day itself as an opportunity to share your programme with others, or involve new
people in your work.
What is Sporting Heritage?
Sporting Heritage includes all of the amazing objects, stories, documents, photographs and film that
tell the story of the sporting past.
Why is Sporting Heritage important for schools?
Sporting heritage sparks the imagination of people across class, gender
and cultural backgrounds. It directly links to the new national
curriculum and engages children and young people in understanding
cross-curricula subjects as diverse as History, English, and Computing.
“It engages and
stimulates the children,
making history
purposeful, relevant
and interesting for
them”. Head-teacher,
Bradford.
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How Sporting Heritage can support teaching and learning
Inspiring pupils to learn: Sporting heritage inspires children in their learning, making a particular
difference to under-achieving children. Its many links to social history, combined with the scientific,
aesthetic and numerical aspects of sport, lend themselves to cross-curricular learning.
Intergenerational opportunities: Sporting heritage bridges the generation gap. The subject often
allows children and young people to understand more about older generations and vice versa for the
first time.
Community development: Sporting heritage supports a greater understanding of different
communities and cultures through the universal language of sport, often through increasing
knowledge and understanding of local communities.
Opportunities to commemorate World War 1: This year’s theme is WW1, and provides an
opportunity for schools to link the two themes. In addition to the experiences of sportsmen at war,
sport was at the heart of recruitment and controversies about the role of leisure in wartime, and
helped to maintain morale at the front.
Mapping to the national curriculum at the four key stages
The following section provides some example opportunities which
could be used by schools to celebrate the local sporting past and
commemorate WW1, whilst ensuring strong links are made to the new
National Curriculum. The information here is not exhaustive, but aims
to provide a taster of the type of opportunities available using the topic
of sporting heritage within the classroom. The ideas listed below for
specific keys stages, could also be adapted for other key stages or whole
school development weeks.
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The ideas below link to WW1, but you could take any theme as a backdrop to your learning planning.
Inquiry Topic: How did World War One inspire the creation of the game of darts?
Curriculum Links
English
Learning objectives

History
Science

Art and Design
Design and technolog1y

Computing

Maths
Citizenship
PSHE


Key Stage
1&2
To compare and
contrast the
differences between
WW1 and today
To use WW1 and sport
1&2
as the inspiration to
explore cross-curricula
2
subject areas
To understand the
fragility of life during
war
To empathise with
soldiers who fought
2, 3 & 4
and returned from
war
To understand the
coping mechanisms
used by soldiers
during war-time
To understand how
war plays a part in the
development of
technology
Suggested activities








Research trench art. What was it? What else did soldiers
make and why? Look at toys made during WW1 in the
trenches. How are these similar from our toys? What toys
were girls and boys playing with during WW1? How do we
know?
Create your own sports games and equipment / toys to play
during a class event
Watch a video about life in the trenches – discuss why the
soldiers might have decided to make the darts? How would
they have made them? What tools did they use? How is this
different from today?
Research other discoveries that took place as a result of
WW1 and discuss what life would be like without them
A soldier went on to patent darts. Set up a “dragons den”
scenario using the darts situation as inspiration. Learn
about patents, work as a team, and develop a business
model.
Create your own (suction!) darts set. Understand the
science behind creating a dart and how to make it fly
successfully.
Host a suction darts championship in class
Measure the distance the darts fly, compare and contrast
with other objects
http://www.mylearning.org/wwi-shells-inspire-the-game-ofdarts/p-4543/)
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Inquiry Topic: What sports did children and young people play during World War 1?
Curriculum Links
History
Learning Aims and objectives

English
Art and design

Computing

PE
Citizenship

PSHE
To understand the differences
and similarities between the
early 20th century, war-time
and today
To empathise with children
and young people during wartime
To understand the differences
between opportunities for
girls and boys in the past in
comparison to today
To understand the effect of
war on local communities
Key Stage
1, 2, 3 & 4
Suggested activities

1&2

1&2

2&3

2 ,3 ,& 4

Research WW1 sports and
activities played in school.
Discuss how these are
different from today.
Hold a sports day playing
sport that children and
young people would have
played during WW1 – make
posters to advertise it, make
costumes, find out about the
distances used etc.
Imagine you are a child in
1914, write a story about
your favourite sport
Watch a film about children
in WW1. How do you think
children and young people
felt at the beginning of
WW1? What was happening
to the men in their
community? How did this
affect their communities?
Do you know the local sports
clubs in your area? What
effect do you think WW1 had
on your own local
community?
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Inquiry topic: Who was Ronnie Poulton? (Ronnie Poulton was the England Rugby Team Captain at the time he went to war)
Another sports person who fought in the war would be just as relevant, for example a figure from a local sports club. There are also examples of whole
teams leaving for the war, for example Hearts football club from Scotland.
Curriculum Links
English
Learning Aims and objectives

History

ICT
Citizenship

PSHE

Music
To explore a range of curriculum
subjects using a central figure
from history as inspiration
An understanding that war
effected everybody – no-one
was immune
Comparisons between sports
men and women and others at
war
An understanding of the
individual in the field of war
Key Stage
1, 2, 3, & 4
Suggested activities

1,2,3, & 4

1&2

2, 3, & 4

2, 3, & 4

2, 3, & 4
2, 3, & 4


2, 3, & 4

Research Ronnie Poulton and
find out where he came from,
when he was born, how old he
was when he went to war etc.
Write a poem about how he
would have felt going to war
Create a rugby ball using a
range of different media
Imagine an England sports
captain was called up to fight
in a war today, write a diary
about their first week at war
Write a newspaper article
announcing that Ronnie will be
going to fight in the war
Compose a song about Ronnie
Work in teams to film a short
interview with “Ronnie”. What
questions will you ask? What
answers would he give?
Find out about other sports
men and women who went to
war – how prevalent was this?
How do you think it effected
sport in the UK?
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Inquiry topic: Was sport important during World War 1?
Curriculum Links
English
Learning Aims and objectives

History

Computing

Citizenship

PSHE

Key Stage
1,2,3 & 4
Suggested activities
To explore the comparative
issues of sport and war
To understand the cause and
effect of one event on another
To understand the pressures
of war on ordinary people
To develop an empathy with
1,2,3 & 4
those who fought during the
war
To understand the role of
sport in providing hope,
camaraderie, and crossing the
barriers of race

2, 3, & 4

2, 3, & 4

2, 3, & 4


Research the Christmas Day
Truce. Discuss why the soldiers
played a football match. How
would they have been feeling?
Imagine you were a soldier in
WW1, and write a letter home
about the match.
Was it possible to play sport
during WW1? What were the
barriers to competitive sport at
home? What were the barriers
for those in the trenches? Bring
in issues of genders, geography,
and equipment at later key
stages
Read poetry created in WW1
(download from our website)
about sport and war. Discuss
what the soldiers were
thinking. How do they use
references to sport to illustrate
how they are feeling?
Imagine you are a soldier in
WW1, write a poem about how
you feel using references about
sport
Write and record a short audio
commentary of the WW1 truce
2, 3, & 4
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
2, 3, & 4

Research how sport is used
today to bridge boundaries of
race etc. Create a poster about
a sports match to increase
awareness of one issue
Visit a local museum to look at
their WW1 images and objects.
How are these relevant to the
soldiers who played in the
WW1 matches? How would
they have used them? Are they
in any of the pictures?
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Keep in touch!
Don’t forget to let us know about any events you organise, or about how
use are supporting the National Sporting Heritage Day. You can do this by
visiting www.nationalsportingheritageday.org.uk and click Get Involved,
or email using the details below:
Mobile: Justine Reilly 07971 008037
Email: sportingheritage@outlook.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nationalsportingheritageday
Twitter: @sportinghistory
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Links and further information
Sporting Heritage
National Sports Museum
Online
The website aims to establish a database of sporting heritage
collections across the UK, to create an online sports museum
Link address coming soon
The Sporting Heritage
Learning Group
Supporting a range of learning providers to use sporting
heritage in their teaching and learning. Working closely with
the Sports Heritage Network (organisation for sport and
museums in the UK)
Creates local and national learning resources about sports and
clubs which are used by schools and other learning providers
http://shlg.wordpress.com/2013/07/26/welcome/
Sporting Memories
Network
A ground breaking project working with care homes and other
health providers. Uses sporting heritage to improve the
experiences of those suffering from dementia
http://www.sportingmemoriesnetwork.com/
Sporting Heritage
A not-for-profit community interest company which organises
the National Sporting Heritage Day
http://nationalsportingheritageday.co.uk
Henley, D. Cultural
Education in England.
2011.
Review into cultural education published in 2011. The
document outlines what every child should have access to in
terms of cultural learning
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/att
achment_data/file/260726/Cultural_Education_report.pdf
MyLearning
National website that links schools and teachers to museums,
archives, and other heritage organisations. Online resources
available
http://www.mylearning.org/
Sports Inspire
Educational Publishing
sportsinspire@talktalk.net
Formal Learning
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Heritage
Culture 24
Arts Council England
The National Archives
West Yorkshire Archive
Service Community
Accreditation Scheme
Online database of cultural organisations, events and activities
in the UK
Supporting arts and heritage organisations across the country.
Opportunities for partnerships and funding
Representing the archive sector nationally. Each locality also
has access to its own archive service. To find your nearest
Record Office (or archive), the best method is to use your
search engine!
A community based tool-kit to support organisations, clubs,
local collections preserve and provide access to their
collections
http://www.culture24.org.uk
The over-arching information about the formal
commemoration of WW1 led by the government
The partnership will present a global programme of cultural
events and educational activities from 2014 – 2018 to
commemorate the centenary of World War 1
The HLF provide grants of between £3,000 and £10,000 on
programmes to support the understanding of WW1
Ensuring those who died during the two world wars are never
forgotten
https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/first-worldwar-centenary
http://www.iwm.org.uk/centenary/partnership
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
http://nowthen.org/accreditation
World War 1
Government WW1 plans
First World War
Partnership led by the
Imperial War Museum
Heritage Lottery Fund
Commonwealth War
Graves Commission
http://www.hlf.org.uk/HowToApply/programmes/Pages/First
WorldWarThenandNow.aspx#.UtO-vvRdVqU
http://www.cwgc.org/
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Sports
Sports and Recreation
Alliance
The Sport and Recreation Alliance is the umbrella organisation
for the governing and representative bodies of sport and
recreation in the UK and represents more than 320 members
– organisations like The FA, the Rugby Football Union, UK
Athletics, the Ramblers, British Rowing and the Royal
Academy of Dance
http://www.sportandrecreation.org.uk/
Local sports clubs and
organisations
The Local Sports Club website is still in development, but aims
to provide a database of all local sports clubs and
organisations, and similarly, sports-clubs net. If you’re a sports
club, it’s worthwhile listing your information on here, and if
you want to develop a partnership with a sports club, it’s work
while searching the databases
http://www.localsportsclubs.co.uk
http://www.sports-clubs.net/
Academic Institutions
There are many universities and other academic providers in the UK which have departments with research and teaching interests in the sporting past.
These organisations are often interested in partnering with community bodies to support their impact activity outside of the academic field. Those listed
below are just a few which have a well-developed understanding of sporting heritage, but you may wish to contact a more locally based provider.
International Centre for
Sport History and
Culture, DeMontfort
University, Leicester
The International
Football Institute,
UCLAN, Preston
Widely acknowledged as the leading centre for sports history
in the world. Lots of experience in researching the sporting
past and understanding sports heritage
http://www.dmu.ac.uk/research/research-faculties-andinstitutes/art-design-humanities/icshc/international-centrefor-sports-history-and-culture.aspx
Extensive experience of developing sporting heritage research
and partnerships with sports museums
http://www.uclan.ac.uk/research/environment/groups/intern
ational_football_institute_ifi.php
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