Physical Education and Sports at The BIS
We, the Physical Education Department at British International School believe that sport and exercise is a fundamental part of every child’s education.
The physical benefits of playing sport in school are obvious – after all, school is where children spend a large amount of their time each week.
But there is more to the issue than just physical benefits. There are psychological benefits too. Exercise is known to release endorphins creating a feeling of success and happiness. And then there is the feeling of achievement, and being part of something, as well as the enjoyment children get out of working together with their friends and peers. Some of the most important benefits of participation in sports include:
- Better quality of life
- Higher energy levels
- Less risk of illness and injury among many more.
- Fun and team building
- Team work
- Being gracious in victory and defeat
- Planning and problem solving
In older children, competition is important. Playing sport at school is more fun because children get to work with (and perhaps win) their friends and peers. It’s a bonding experience that encourages them to work together towards a common goal. Depending on the sport, it can also reinforce values of teamwork, discipline, morale, self-confidence and responsibility, all of which are vital if children are to grow up into well rounded adults.
People will always face competition in one form or another throughout life, and sport should teach students how to be gracious in both victory and defeat as well as accept that they can’t win all the time.
So it is important that children are exposed to the benefits of playing sports from a young age. It does not have to be competitively – research has shown that very young children do not tend to respond to that – as long as they are actively encouraged towards some form of sporting activity.
Our Competitions / Going for Gold
All our students of all ages take part in the three yearly inter house events of Athletics in the fall, Cross Country in the winter and Swimming in the summer terms.
The The BIS students from Year 4 in primary to our oldest in the IB program have the chance to compete in the Istanbul Sports League (ISL) involving six international schools and represent our community in volleyball, football, basketball, swimming, table tennis, badminton cross country running and chess.
We launched a new league called the TISSL (Turkish International Schools Sports League) where our Primary and our Key Stage 3 teams travel and host tournaments in North Cyprus and Ankara and we are looking forward to including Bucharest and Izmir to the list.
All our teams train during the week from 3:30-4:30 and some Primary teams use even their lunch time breaks.
Sport in schools is also crucial if we are to nurture future sporting greats. Many Olympic athletes started out doing sport at school, and without regular chances to practice their skills, would not be where they are today. We, the PE team at The BIS, try to widen our curriculum at school as much as possible so that every child not only gets a wide range of abilities but also they have the chance to find the sport that they really like and hopefully engage in it outside of school with much greater intensity.
Fun is important!
Our secondary school finishes with classroom based lessons each Friday at 1:00pm and the Friday activities program kicks in until 3:30. This is not a sport only time, but many sporting activities are offered. Currently there is Fitness, Cross Country, Football, Basketball, Badminton, Gaelic Football, Chess, Hockey and many more.
We offer a yearly ski trip during the curriculum time, which in the last years saw over 100 participants and is a great opportunity to learn about environment, socialising, exploring and improving new physical skills and our Primary students return from the trips changed and much more mature.
In the past our Secondary school have attended windsurfing trips to the world famous area of Alacati, and there is Kite Surfing planned at the nearby beaches of Kilyos.
We believe that presenting as many opportunities to students as possible to engage in sporting activities is crucial for any school, and we strive for that goal here at The BIS. We appreciate any feedback and will answer your questions any time.