Sport Students Coach Primary Schools
Sport Students Coach Primary Schools
Sport Students at JLC Get Ready for Italy by Giving Back to the Community
There is something genuinely exciting about watching a student bring their learning to life outside the classroom.
Last week, our sport students at John Leggott College did exactly that when they headed to The Pods in Scunthorpe to take part in the Get Ahead Partnership event. With their two-week Italy trip on the horizon, this was the perfect opportunity to sharpen their coaching skills and connect with the wider community before they set off.
What Is the Get Ahead Partnership?
The Get Ahead Partnership brings together local primary school children, giving younger pupils access to fun and engaging sporting experiences while offering older students the chance to develop their leadership and coaching skills in a real environment. For our sport students, it was far more than a warm-up exercise. It was a chance to put everything they have been learning in the classroom into practice, in front of real children, in real time.
Working with young people in this way takes confidence, adaptability and a genuine enthusiasm for sport, and our students had all three in abundance.
A Big Day for Local Schools
The event brought together primary school children from right across the region. Fifteen schools came along to take part, including:
Having so many schools represented made it a really special community occasion and a reminder of the positive impact that sixth form students can have when they are given the opportunity to lead.
Why Practical Coaching Matters
Studying sport at sixth form level goes well beyond fitness and performance. Students develop a solid understanding of anatomy, physiology, psychology, coaching theory and sports leadership through their programmes. Academic knowledge is important, but it only goes so far without the chance to apply it.
Coaching a group of primary school children is one of the best ways to build those applied skills in practice. Students have to think on their feet, adapt how they communicate, manage groups and keep young people motivated and engaged. Those are exactly the skills that matter in careers in sport, coaching, teaching, leisure management and beyond.
Students at JLC benefit from opportunities like this throughout their time at college, building a real portfolio of experience that strengthens both their personal development and their future applications, whether that is for a sport-related degree, an apprenticeship or a job in the industry.
How Our Sport Students Put Their Coaching Skills to the Test
Coaching primary school children is a very different challenge to studying sport from a textbook. It asks students to read the room, adjust their approach on the spot and find ways to keep young people engaged, motivated and having fun. The children who attended from fifteen local schools brought energy, enthusiasm and the occasional curveball, and our students handled it all brilliantly.
Watching a group of young people light up during a session is one of those moments that reminds students why they chose sport in the first place. It is also one of the most effective ways to put coaching theory to the test. Concepts around communication, session planning, inclusion and motivation all take on a new meaning when you are delivering them to a group of eight-year-olds who just want to get moving.
The experience gave our students direct, hands-on coaching time that will feed straight into their Italy trip. Coaching abroad brings its own challenges and rewards, and having already delivered sessions at this scale, with real children and real energy in the room, means they will arrive in Italy with confidence, experience and a much clearer sense of their own coaching style.
What Our Sport Students Can Expect in Italy
The two-week Italy trip is a central part of the sport students' enrichment and development programme. It combines coaching placements, cultural learning and sporting activity in an immersive setting that genuinely shapes how students think about their subject and their future.
Trips like this are one of the reasons students choose to study sport at a dedicated sixth form college. The sport programmes at JLC are designed to prepare students not just for exams but for life after college, whether that means going on to higher education, training as a coach or moving into an active career in sport and leisure.
Enrichment Is Part of the Picture
Post-16 education is about much more than qualifications. At a sixth form college like John Leggott College, enrichment activities are woven into the student experience. Community coaching events, international study trips and leadership programmes all help students build confidence, resilience and the kind of real-world experience that universities and employers genuinely value.
These opportunities also remind students why they chose their subject in the first place. For the sport students who spent last week at The Pods coaching fifteen local primary schools and counting down the days to Italy, this is sixth form education doing exactly what it should.
If you are interested in studying sport at JLC, you can explore our full range of courses here.
FAQ Section
What is the Get Ahead Partnership event?
The Get Ahead Partnership is a community programme that connects with local primary school children. It gives younger pupils access to sporting activities while helping older post-16 students develop their coaching and leadership skills in a real, hands-on environment.
Which primary schools took part in the event?
Fifteen local primary schools attended, including Gunness and Burringham, Kirmington St Helena's, Oakfield Primary, Kirton Primary, St Augustine Webster, St Barnabas, St Peter & St Paul CE Primary, Lincoln Gardens, Hibaldstow Academy, Althorpe & Keadby, Crowle Academy, Barton St Peters, Scawby Academy, Berkeley Primary and Broughton Primary.
How does coaching experience support sport students at sixth form?
Practical coaching gives students the chance to apply their classroom learning in real situations. It builds communication, leadership and adaptability alongside the academic side of their programme, which strengthens both their confidence and their future applications to university, apprenticeships or sport industry roles.
What does the Italy trip involve for JLC sport students?
The two-week Italy trip is part of the sport students' enrichment programme, combining coaching placements, sporting activity and cultural experience. It gives students an immersive environment to develop their skills, broaden their perspective and build stronger teamwork ahead of their next steps after college.
Why is enrichment important in sixth form education?
Enrichment activities like community coaching events and international trips help students build confidence, resilience and real-world experience alongside their academic qualifications. They are highly valued by universities and employers, and they help students develop a strong sense of who they are and where they want to go.