Dutch students visiting Beechen Cliff School in Bath proved to be excellent coaches as they put the local pupils through their paces with a number of sports popular in The Netherlands. The students – all from the Petrus Canisius College in Bath’s Dutch twin city of Alkmaar – led lessons with Year 7 and 8 pupils, introducing the youngsters to sports such as handball. They also had a chance to participate in British sports unfamiliar to them, such as rugby.
Beechen Cliff PE Teacher, Matthew Walker, who organised the visit, explained that the coaching sessions proved a particular success. “As developing sports leaders, we wanted to the test the students’ ability to plan, organise and lead their own coaching sessions. They passed with flying colours – particularly impressive when you remember they were doing it in a second language.
“The chance to experience how sports are coached in another country has given both sets of pupils – from Bath and Alkmaar – valuable first-hand experience of different sporting cultures and traditions.”
Earlier this year pupils from Beechen Cliff studying Physical Education visited Alkmaar and ran coaching sesions of their own in rugby and also cricket – two sports rarely seen in the Netherlands.