Lockdown Learning for Primary Pupils
Old Leamingtonians Ladies full back Jane Towey is a teacher and Sports Coordinator at Kingsway Primary School in Leamington Spa and her club has weighed in to help pupils with home schooling by making short videos on everything from rugby and exercise to modern languages.
The fun videos, edited by Vice-Captain Anna Tracy, have become a whole-club activity, with local pupils enjoying the Mini & Juniors video on rugby skills created in the last lock down, and the club’s kit supplier Akuma Sport donating OLs branded kit as prizes, handed over to the school in a socially distanced meeting.
A committed community club, in these challenging times for many families, they wanted to do what they could to help.
Said Jane, or should we say Miss Towey: “The videos explore broad and imaginative experiences from members of our extended community. It’s really positive for the youngsters to know that people they have never met are thinking about them and wanting to share aspects of their life with them. It also enables OLs to continue to maintain contact and cohesion between isolated members through helping the local community; after all we are in this together.”
The videos are on YouTube and can be accessed by anyone by searching OLRFC and Kingsway.
Club Chairman Lucas Wager said that he hopes by sharing the videos, other schools and parents struggling with home-schooling might find them useful. There’s everything from Minis & Juniors Rugby Skills to Getting Creative with Plastics and Speedway bikes, with more videos in the pipeline.
The club’s mixed ability team, the Hornets, have also been getting regular online coaching from coaches, all led by their manager Emma Smith, and Wasps player Jacob Umaga recently chatted to them on a Zoom meeting. Having put lots of energy into developing the squad over the past couple of years, everyone is determined to keep Hornets players engaged.
Volunteers have also been carrying out refurbishing in the clubhouse during lockdown so that, once rugby can return, Old Leamingtonians can welcome the entire community back.
