Wednesday 22^nd May 2024 may not be of great significance to the majority of the country, but for Woodlands Meed this is the date that everyone has been looking forward to for months; it is the date of the annual Parallel Youth Games!  Almost 50 students from Key Stage 3, accompanied by 18 staff, travelled to The K2 in Crawley to represent Woodlands Meed at this amazing event which gives young people with a range of additional needs the opportunity to compete against their peers in a sporting arena. 

Our students represented the school in 9 different sports which included street soccer, boccia, table cricket, tennis, swimming and dance.  There were so many successes with lots of students making their competitive debut’ at the games, some were representing Woodlands Meed for the very first time and some were trying new inclusive sports.  Medals were won in boccia, tennis and in the pool, games were won in street soccer, cricket and NAK, but what makes us most proud is quite simply…our students.  Yes they are competitive, yes they want to win, but our students recognise that there is a much bigger trophy on offer, and that is the opportunity to not only enjoy playing sport, but to enable others to enjoy it too.  I am proud that our students were the ones who applauded another school for scoring their first ever goal, that our students congratulated other children when they finished their race no matter what position they finished in, that our students were the ones who picked up others and offered them a supportive comment when they were feeling disappointed.  This is why The Parallel Youth Games, and sport in general, is even more important for our students, it helps to build bonds, create friendships and develop our young people into compassionate adults who, although competitive, will always recognise that there is something much more important than just winning.

Pen Gittins

Woodlands Meed HLTA PE Specialist