At Brighton College (Singapore), our ethos is very much about sport for everyone. We firmly believe that all pupils deserve the opportunity to enjoy sport, regardless of their ability. By devoting time and attention to those who are less confident as well as to those with more experience, we develop life skills that bring resilience and success beyond school life.

We aim to ensure that our delivery of Physical Education allows all children to have the skills and mindset to leave prep school with the capabilities to be successful in their sporting challenges and active lifestyles at secondary school and beyond.

It’s vital for children in Singapore to be exposed to Physical Education at a young age. Activities such as running, gymnastics, dance, and swimming have ample benefits for kids. On top of valuable life skills, Physical Education supports mental and emotional wellbeing and sets the foundation for active lifestyle habits.

Pre-Prep children participate in one PE lesson, dance lesson and swimming lesson per week. 

• PE – Lessons in PE focus on pupils developing their fundamental movement skills to improve their physical literacy. Additionally, children participate in basic team games, developing simple tactics for attacking and defending.  The fundamental movement skills include:
  • Locomotor movements: running, skipping, jumping and hopping
  • Ball skills: throwing, catching, kicking, striking and dribbling
  • Gymnastics: rolling, balancing and landing
• Dance – Children perform dances using simple movement patterns. These classes are led by dance specialists. 
• Swimming – lessons are available to Reception and Year 1 children. These aim to promote water confidence and help children to begin to develop basic strokes and swimming techniques.

By achieving these key skills, children will become more proficient and confident when they begin to participate in specific sports when they progress to Prep School.

Prep children receive a weekly PE, games, dance and a swimming lesson. 

• PE & Games: Pupils continue to focus and develop their physical literacy, with an added emphasis on sport-specific games such as basketball, cricket, football, hockey, tennis, netball and much more. During games, pupils will learn to apply the basic principles for attacking and defending. Pupils will also spend huge emphasis on problem solving, communication and tactics as they learn about effective teamwork. 
• Dance: Pupils use a range of movement patterns and explore different dance styles and genres, from hip hop to flamenco .
• Swimming: Pupils learn to swim competently, confidently, and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres using a range of strokes. Pupils will also learn to perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations

Pupils in Year 3 and above will also have the opportunity to take part in both friendly and competitive local fixtures such ACSIS (Athletics Conference of Singapore International Schools). 

Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs) are on offer from Reception through to Year 6. Different interests are catered for through a range of clubs on offer, ranging from Archery to Science Club. The CCAs run termly and are led by both teachers and sport specialists allowing for further growth into the children’s physical activity. 

Sporting events and house competitions take place termly. Towards the end of the year, we run two major internal events: Prep Swim Gala and a School Sports Day.

At Brighton College (Singapore) we ensure our PE curriculum is progressive and allows pupils to develop fundamental skills and apply them to a variety of sports and activities. Pupils will understand the values of sportsmanship and the importance of fair play and respect! We hope pupils enjoy PE and develop a love for sport and physical activity, and that they continue to pursue sports in future, even after graduating from school.

Physical education can help children live whole, full lives. The benefits of physical education for children span their physical and mental well-being.

• Physical Health: Physical education can help children improve their fitness, build strong bones, control their weight, boost mood, and reduce the risk of developing health conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and more.
• Mental Health: Physical activity gives children a better outlook on life thanks to growth in confidence, anxiety management, stress reduction, improved self-esteem, and better cognitive skills.
• Social Health: Regular physical activity can help children grow in leadership, empathy, strengthened peer relationships, and other social skills.

In addition to promoting physical health, mental health, and social health, the ability to learn new skills can help children in all areas of life. Physical education can help pupils learn to set goals, develop self-discipline, and grow in self-control.

These skills that pupils develop can transfer far outside the gymnasium. As they develop confidence and resiliency through Physical Education, we see them showcase the same skill sets in their other programmes at Brighton – and at home as well. We’re confident our pupils will carry their newfound skillsets through Physical Education into secondary school and the rest of their lives.