Our Sports

Applewood offers a diverse range of sporting opportunities designed to ensure maximum physical development and maximum participation for our children not to mention the myriad of life skills developed along the way.

Applewood Preparatory School March 2021 ©Mark Sampson008.jpg

MOVEMENT IS THE BASIS OF ALL LEARNING

For most children, their favourite part of the game is the opportunity to play. The opportunity to participate in sports spills over to occupationally advantageous traits that can persist across a lifetime. Starting at infancy, movement is the basis of all learning. As children run, kick and throw, they develop coordination and fitness. As sports are social and rule-based activities, they also develop emotional and mental traits in young minds. As our young children are growing up in a world that presents more and more overwhelming challenges and complex emotions, the mood enhancing effects of sports are invaluable.

Applewood’s compulsory sports programme provides a diverse range of sporting opportunities for our children.

Team sports include mini-cricket, cricket, rugby, softball and netball. Mountain biking, trail running, multisport, tennis and swimming are more recent and very successful additions to Applewood’s sport programme.

Our children are fit and strong, but they mostly stand out for their sportsmanship. It is their response to winning and losing that makes them winners. Our victory lies in our quality of competition.

At Applewood we introduce cricket in the Junior Primary. All of our children learn the basic fundamentals and compete in fun mini-cricket festivals. In the Senior Primary the etiquette, spirit and skills of the game are refined. We are most fortunate to have a wonderful turf wicket on the Rawbone-Viljoen Oval as well as an artificial turf, at our disposal.

Swimming is a life skill which we promote at Applewood. Our Aquatic Centre has an indoor Learn-to-Swim pool which is utilised throughout the year. Mr Brett Wood heads up our swimming programme and fosters a love for swimming. All our children from Apple Blossoms through to Grade 7 swim at least once a week for an hour. Inter-house galas are a highlight for all and we focus on all-round participation. Swimming lessons are offered in a private capacity for children and adults alike.

Multisport events take place every term. All 3 phases take part in these events. The Pre-Primary events are a quarterly highlight and provide ample fun for both participants as well as spectators. The unique focus of these events allows the skills learnt at swimming, mountain biking and trail running to be put into practice. The intricacies of transition, planning and strategy are introduced in the Senior Primary. Our children learn the value of participation and the enjoyment of a life long sport.