UCLan sports students work with Paris University to deliver unique PE lesson
Schoolchildren in Barton have been given a PE lesson with a Parisian twist after sports students from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) teamed up with their French counterparts for a unique teaching session.
Children from St Mary’s and St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School spent the day at UCLan Sport Arena with sports studies students from UCLan and the Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC) taking part in a variety of sports and games whilst practising their language skills at the same time. This included traditional sports such as netball and football alongside fundamental movement skills and counting games through a variety of activities.
"I’ve really enjoyed playing with my friends and taking part in the team work games. We’ve also been practising our French but in a really fun way through the games and I can now count up to 30."
Connor Passenger, 10, commented: “I’ve really enjoyed playing with my friends and taking part in the team work games. We’ve also been practising our French but in a really fun way through the games and I can now count up to 30.”
All activities were organised and run by both sets of University students during UPEC’s five-day visit to UCLan, in which students shared PE teaching best practice and compared ways of learning from each other’s curriculums.
Lilian Breut a 19-year-old student from UPEC, said: “PE is taught differently in each country and it’s been really interesting and beneficial to swap some good ideas.”
UCLan sports studies student Nicola White, 20, added: “We’ve certainly given each other different perspectives and as teachers it’s been interesting to work together to deliver a day-long programme of activities for primary school children. It’s all about making it a fun and engaging experience.”
"This is the first time that they have brought their PE students over and it is through our excellent partnerships with local schools that they have been able to really experience what true teaching is like."
As part of the event, the two student groups also organised and ran a conference all around physical education, the National Curriculum and ways to promote health and wellbeing to young people.
Nick Passenger, Academic Team Leader for Sport Studies and The Outdoors at UCLan, added: “We have been working with UPEC for two years now and have established some interesting links with regards to PE.
“This is the first time that they have brought their PE students over and it is through our excellent partnerships with local schools that they have been able to really experience what true teaching is like. We are looking forward to working with them again soon.”