Prep School Sport

Representing the school in a match is an essential and important part of Prep school life

We strive to arrange a comprehensive fixture list each term that involves as many children as possible, matched against teams at the appropriate level.  It is not uncommon to have every pupil in a year group playing on one day, and we are fortunate to have other schools nearby that can field as many competitive teams as ourselves.  Last year, 790 matches were arranged, with some fixtures involving up to 18 teams on a single day. 

We also select teams to compete nationally, including at IAPS tournaments, and many pupils go on to gain sports scholarships to their chosen senior schools.

Internal House competitions between the four Houses take place in rugby and football in the Autumn and Spring terms, with cricket, a triathlon and Sports Day in the Summer term.  All are hotly contested!

Sports Teams, Fixtures and Results

The fundamental purpose of Physical Education is to ensure that all children, regardless of ability, are given the opportunity to express themselves physically in a number of different sport and exercise environments with the primary aims of enjoyment and improvement. 

The children are encouraged to develop skill and self-discipline, thus stimulating enjoyment, satisfaction and a sense of achievement.  Moulsford offers a broad and balanced PE curriculum, allowing for enough differentiation to meet the variety of needs, ages, abilities and interests of the children.

Our PE sessions cover a huge variety of activities including gymnastics, dance, athletics, swimming, climbing, racquet sports and invasion games. 

All lessons involve an athletic development focus so that we can enable children to become as physically literate as possible.  This includes skills such as acceleration, agility and jumping amongst many others.

Talent is nurtured and personal achievement in PE is emphasised at all levels.  The desirable outcomes of our PE curriculum include developing self-esteem and confidence in all pupils. Courtesy, good manners and a high level of sportsmanship are also demanded from the children at all times.

Throughout the Prep School, all pupils have a double timetabled PE session per week, with the PE timetable designed to complement the Games curriculum in the development of well-rounded athletes and games players.

Broadening minds through travel and sport

Every other year, boys in Years 7 & 8 are invited to join a non-selective rugby and cultural tour, normally to South Africa.  For Moulsford’s 9th and 10th Tours in 2016 and 2018, we combined our trip to South Africa with a visit to Swaziland.  2018 was the biggest tour yet, with 67 boys and 9 staff all in the travelling party.

The tour is considered to be one of the highlights of a Moulsford boy’s career, and offers so much more than a regular sports tour.

As well as playing a lot of fun and competitive rugby, the boys have the eye-opening experience of being involved and working with our chosen charities – in 2018, these were Skrum, based in Swaziland, and the Goedgedacht Trust, based just north of Cape Town. The boys worked on a farm, in a pre-school and helped on community projects in under privileged communities.

As part of the whole experience, we frequently host touring sides from Southern Africa at Moulsford, so our opponents can experience life in an English prep school and form friendships and strong links with local schools in Africa. In 2014 and 2015, we hosted teams from Kenya and Swaziland  respectively, who were able to visit the UK thanks to the charity TourAid. The Kenyan boys were all connected to Shamas, and the boys from Swaziland were all connected to Skrum. It is a highlight of each tour to meet up with our visitors who become firm friends.

There are also regular mini sports tours within the UK for rugby, hockey and cricket, and we frequently host touring UK Prep school sides.

We believe that attitude towards sport is as important as ability within sport. Whilst we do believe it is important to play to win, at Moulsford we regard the taking part – the teamwork, learning to win and lose, the development of self-esteem and social skills, the healthy exercise, as well as the fun – as equally valuable. We want every child to leave Prep school having enjoyed playing and with experience of many different games.

We have a good balance at Moulsford with the children in the Prep School having three extended Games sessions per week as well as one timetabled PE lesson. This provides them with plenty of time for physical pursuits whilst still maintaining a strong academic foundation. Good physical and mental health also helps children learn and develop in the classroom. For those who want to engage in more sport, there are plenty of further opportunities and staff ensure that pupils can play to their strengths in whatever area of school life they choose.