A Newsome headteacher has revealed how he has transformed his school with the help of a thriving tennis programme.
Headteacher of Newsome High School, Paul Gittins, took over the school in 2007 and has taken their exam results above the national average while at the same time embedding a strong tennis culture over the last two years.
A former PE teacher and head of a sports college, Mr Gittins has worked in partnership with coach Tim Jenkins to develop a tennis academy with scholarships and a programme which offers tennis to every child in the school.
The school now has 24 students from years 7-9 in the academy, which is of no extra cost, learning and improving their tennis skills while they have also had success in competition – qualifying for the regional finals of the Aegon Team Tennis Schools competition in the West Yorkshire Leagues.
Mr Gittins said: “When I inherited the school, aspiration was not a word often used – today we have a school where it is the norm, where staff and students expect to be better than they can be.
“As a tennis player myself, I spotted an opportunity to create something very special here at Newsome and it is now thriving. To meet the demand we have to run lunchtime sessions as well as after school.
“Tennis has become our flagship sport and has had an extremely positive impact on the school’s reputation. This I believe is exceptional and unique in a school where 30% of students come from homes in areas categorised as in high deprivation.”
Newsome High School has been supported through the Aegon Schools Tennis programme delivered by the Tennis Foundation in partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). The Aegon Schools Tennis programme provides free teacher training, resources and equipment to schools and has now supported more than 16,000 schools across Great Britain.
And head coach Mr Jenkins lauded the enthusiasm of the pupils.
He added: “I can safely say this is the best coaching job I have ever had with an endless stream of enthusiastic juniors, hungry to learn a new skill and commit to extra coaching provided free of charge.
“We are now seeing the fruits of our labours, with one of our students already gaining a tennis scholarship at a university and at the other, parents telling me that the tennis was one of the reasons they chose our school.
“We really do run a genuinely fully inclusive programme that gives everyone a chance to say in the future that ‘I learned to play tennis at school’.’’
Paul Williams, Schools Tennis Manger at the Tennis Foundation said: “Newsome High School is a great example of a school using tennis as a catalyst for whole school improvement. Every pupil gets the opportunity to play tennis; the best are given a chance to develop their talents, whilst others can develop their off-court skills by organising and leading activities for younger pupils. More than 16,000 schools have been supported through the Tennis Foundation / LTA’s Aegon Schools Tennis programme and Newsome are one of the best!”