Edition #3 May 2017

Sporting Excellence

Exciting times ahead as Repton link up with Real
Madrid Academy for PE lessons, specialist coaching,
after school training and tournaments.
What an action packed year of sport it has been!
With a blur of quality inter-house sport, exciting
lessons, focused team training session, lunch time
ECAs, a plethora of DASSA fixtures, new sports,
special tournaments and sporting tours it has been a
very memorable year of Repton Sport indeed.
It has been a pleasure to witness our students make
the most of their sporting opportunities, have lots of
fun, show great individual skill and team
improvement and represent the school in such a fine
manner. I look forward to see this continue and
encourage every student to set lofty goals and
challenge themselves to make next year even better.
A big thank you to teachers and team coaches who
have made it all possible. Your passion and
dedication is to be commended and is greatly
appreciated.
Mr. Stephen Munnery
Head of Secondary PE

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 Academic Benefits of PE

Many people are aware of how an outstanding Physical Education program can benefit
students physical fitness and health. However, there is becoming more and more evidence
that a good PE program in schools can develop your academic ability. The graph below shows
how the number of studies in this area has increased dramatically in recent years. The key
findings of these studies are outlined below.

Physical activity has immediate and

long term positive effects on
academic performance
Immediately after a PE Lesson
students show better concentration
and higher neural activity
Developing physical fitness was
repeatedly shown to have positive
effects on memory, and
performance in mathematics.

Taking part in an after school sports club leads to higher levels of neural activity. This leads to
better memory and cognitive function. Below highlights the differences in neural activity for
students who took part in a 9 month ECA program compared to those who did no physical
activity. Blue represents low neural activity whereas red shows very high neural activity.

This gives strong evidence behind the idea

that physical activity can cause better
academic results. Every student at Repton
School has a wealth of opportunity to take
part in an active ECA program. I strongly
encourage every student to take advantage of
this. In particular IB students who do not do
Physical Education as part of their curriculum
lessons. Your grades may depend on it.

Mr. Luke McKeown

IB Sport Science Teacher

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 Sport Education - Innovations in PE @ Repton

Recently our KS3 Boys PE classes have been completing a unit of work on Basketball. However, it had a
slight difference to the way in which it was delivered. In order for our students to become more independent
and to learn new skills we handed over the responsibility of delivering the lessons to them. We followed a
model called Sport Education. This model puts the onus back on the pupils to take more of a role in the
lessons and become part of a team.
How Does Sport Education work?
Within in each team a student takes on an area of responsibility, with each team member assigned to one of
the following roles: Manager, Skills Coach, Fitness Instructor, Media Rep and Equipment Manager.
The manager was responsible for organizing his team and making sure that all team members were in
correct kit and well organized. The Skills Coach would be responsible for delivering a part of the session. On
some occasions they produced their own drills to deliver to the team or they were coached by a member of
staff and then returned to deliver the drill to their team. Our fitness instructors would deliver a suitable
activity for a warm up, including a pulse raiser, a stretch and a skill related activity. The media rep would
have responsibility for designing a team logo and badge and if required writing a match report and the
equipment manager held responsibility for organizing the kit and making sure all equipment was ready for
the session to run. Each team had to create their own team name, some examples we had were; Repton
Raptors, Atlanta Pandas, Repton Rebels and the Dubai Devils.
Sport Education Structure
The lessons are structured so that each component of the lesson was delivered by the person assigned that
particular role. This transferred the responsibility for learning and ownership of learning to each team and
its members. This empowerment was facilitated and enhanced by teachers. Each lesson would then end with
a series of matches. These matches were similar to a proper league season, starting with friendlies, then
competitive matches followed by a finals series. Teams could also earn bonus points that would add on
alongside their competitive points, thus allowing all teams to work hard and be recognized for skills other
than their playing ability. Bonus points were awarded for things such as punctuality to lessons, good
listening skills, clear coaching, excellent demonstrations, amazing team logos and excellent sportsmanship.

The Benefits of Sports Education

The response from all pupils, across all years was astonishing. Each and every individual took on their
responsibility and the team spirit grew and grew. The energy in lessons was phenomenal. Students would
arrive to lessons running into the sports hall to earn bonus points, boys who wouldnt normally work
together were bonding and doing their best to earn their team points. We had teams designing and making
their own kits. It was fantastic to see our pupils really embracing a different way of learning and the
teamwork and camaraderie was clear to see. It was great to see every student not only develop their
basketball skills, but important communication and leadership skills were enhanced in the process.
Mr. Adam Drake
KS 3 PE Teacher

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 Sporting Excellence - Repton Sport Awards

On the 14th June the Repton secondary sporting community will gather for a special assembly
to reflect on an outstanding year of sport. Recognition will be given to every representative
team with awards for Most Valuable Player, Most Improved and the Sport Personality for each
team.
Major awards will be presented for:

Team of the Year

Teammate of the Year

Volunteer of the Year

Sports Colours

Male Sports Personality of the Year

Female Sports Personality of the Year

Parents are invited to join us in this special occasion to celebrate our excellent sporting year.
A summary of the outstanding year in PE & Sport can be seen below:

Sporting Excellence Promoting Participation & Sporting

Opportunities

- iGCSE PE 1st Place in UAE Sam Griffith
- DASSA 1st Place U19 Girls Rugby
- DASSA U16 Boys 4 x100m Relay Champions and
new Record Holders
- DASSA Athletics 36 top 3 finishers (up from 16 in
2015-16)
- Dubai Tour Cycle Event Winner Kaleen Laher
- BSAK U16 Rugby 7s Runners Up
- DASSA U12 Boys Football Div 1 Runners Up
- DASSA U16 Girls Basketball Div 1 Runners Up
- DASSA U15 Girls Rounders Div 1 Runners Up
- DASSA U15 Cricket Division 1 Semi Finalists, NSL
3rd Place and DC 6s 3rd Place
- DASSA U13 Cricket Division 1 Semi Finalist and
DC 6s 3rd Place
- DASSA Athletics 3rd Place overall (out of 30+
schools)
- DASSA U14 Rugby Plate Champions
- DASSA U16 Boys Div 2 undefeated Champions
- DASSA Swimming Division 3 Runners Up and
Promotion to Division 2
- DASSA U19 Boys Basketball Plate Champions
- DASSA U16 Boys Basketball Plate Champions
- DASSA U16 Boys Volleyball 3rd Place
- First ever UK Netball Tour 20 students
- First ever Swim Tour to Phuket 20 students
- Increased participation on Sports Day greater
number of B competitors in field events and
introduction of a mass participation event with
the Ninja obstacle course
- Cross Country Team reformed and entered into
DASSA competitions
- First ever Volleyball teams entered in Boys &
Girls U16 DASSA competitions
- B teams entered for the first time in U14 Boys
Basketball, Swimming, U13 and U15 Cricket
- Lunchtime Sports Team training sessions
systematically implemented in Netball, Basketball,
Rugby and Athletics
- Inter House Rounders introduced for the first
time and was very successful
- B Finals for Repton Relay
- Year 9 Sports Leaders with Primary Sports Days
- Secondary Sports Captains appointed - Atash &
Niahm

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 PE & Ramadan

As per guidelines from KHDA, students who are fasting may exempt themselves from physical
education classes and any other physical activities without it affecting their grades or academic
performance.
However a majority of students who are fasting are able to take part in most physical activities
during Ramadan without putting themselves at risk or danger. Fasting can make some children
feel tired, drowsy or have headaches due to dehydration, which may necessitate some Muslim
pupils having to reduce their physical exercise.
To assist students fasting, indoor activities like Table Tennis and Gymnastics will be scheduled.
In general, participation in swimming is an acceptable activity whilst fasting. However, whilst
fasting, for many pupils this activity may prove to be an issue, as the potential for swallowing
water is very high.
For students who are not fasting separate areas for hydration will be set aside, away from the
main group and out of sight.
PE Kit - change of procedure
As a result of shorter lessons, students taking part in PE will be able to wear their PE uniform
into school and stay in kit after their PE lesson. By removing the time to change, lessons will
remain productive for those taking part. No variations to the PE kit is allowed, Repton shorts,
white socks and the Repton PE shirts must be worn.

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 What makes a Great Teammate?

Great teams

Need great teammates

Nominate your favourite teammate and they

may be rewarded as teammate of the year.

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 Sporting Excellence - Star Achiever - Kira Kenny

Along with her Softball, Kira is a valuable team

member in Repton School teams in Volleyball,
Basketball, Athletics, Netball, Football, Rounders and
Netball. Chatting with Ms.Qulliam is rising Softball
Star, Kira Kenny:
Q1) How did you get into playing Softball?
My friends in Kuwait played baseball and I used
to go and watch them a lot and enjoyed watching
them and sometimes umpire. My mom then
encouraged me to go and try softball. I really
didnt want to at first but gave it a go anyways.

Q2) What team do you play for now in Dubai?

During the league I play for Clemson Tigers and
also the U19 Dubai Team.

Q3) What position do you play? What is your

favourite position and why?? Anywhere except right
field (out far). Pitcher is my favourite position
because it is where you get the most action and
are most involved in the game, and you get to get
people out by yourself!

Q4) You have recently been selected to play for the

U16 GB team, and you are only U14 How do you
feel? Proud, it feels like I have worked hard for the
selection.

Q5) How did you get selected, what was the process?
I went to a softball camp where I was filmed and
the film was put onto a database and then they
search this database this is what college scouts
in the US will look for. There was then video
trials.

Q6) What is the best thing about playing Softball?

It is very much a team sport and great team spirit.
You dont go up to bat for yourself, you go up to
bat for your team.
Q7) What is your proudest moment playing softball?
Hitting a homerun out of the park in Dubai this
year.
Q8) If someone wanted to start playing softball
in the UAE, what advice would you give them?
Wear a face mask! Join the Dubai little
league for more information on the junior
and senior league, also look out for the
softball camps where US coaches visit.

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 Sporting Excellence - Star Achiever - Reyaan Versi - USA Football Scholarship Plans

Following his football dream of playing

college football (or soccer as the Americans
call it) is current IB1 student and U19 Repton
striker and captain Reyyan Versi.

Reyyan has worked really hard on his fitness

and technical skills, training up to times a
week and matches with his team outside of
school. On a recent trip to the states he
trained for a week with IMG U18 first team.
They are one of the biggest sports academy
worldwide and they bring in players from all
over the world.

After that he visited University of Michigan:

ann arbor, Upenn, Villanova, Yale, Stanford
(all top Division 1 programs).

Reyyan was a late starter to football, only

taking up the sport at the encouragement of
good friend Atash in Year 8, but he certainly
has come along way and we wish him all the
best in his sporting goals.

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 Phuket Thailand Swim Tour

Eat, Sleep, Swim Repeat

What an experience!
The very passionate Repton Swim Team had the chance to participate in the BISP Flying Fish
Meet against the best swim schools from across Asia.
We all performed wonderfully well, overcoming first day nerves with many students
exceeding set goals, especially Jonathan who won 2 Medals.
Thailand is a charming country, friendly people, tasty food and training with jungles all around
was certainly very different to the desert.
Our team thanks Ms. Torrance and Mr. Munnery for organising the amazing trip.
The memories are engraved!
Keep Swimming Repton!
Maea Galet Y8 Jumeirah

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 2017-18 Sporting Tours

Sporting tours are a tremendous opportunity for learning beyond the classroom. They provide
students with a unique chance to promote independence, promote school & team spirit,
improve sporting performances, create lifelong sporting memories and enjoy travelling in a
new and exciting culture. I strongly encourage students to make the most of the amazing
sporting opportunity that a tour will present. Act fast to return notes & deposit to secure your
place on a tour.

Basketball Tour
Destination: Phuket Thailand
Dates: 1st 5th November 2017
U19 Boys & Girls

Football Tour
Destination: Phuket Thailand
Dates: 21st 26th November

Rugby Tour KL Saracens 10s Tournament

Destination: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Dates: February 2018
U15s Team

Netball Tour
Destination: Cape Town South Africa
Dates: 15th 24th March
Y8-IB1 players

Swim Tour
Destination: Phuket Thailand
Dates: 2nd 6th May
Y7-Y10 swimmers

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 BSAK Football Tournament

The annual BSAK football tournament in Abu Dhabi is a prime opportunity for girls in the UAE to
participate in a competitive footballing environment. This year, 4 girls teams ranging from the U12s to
the U19s represented Repton. Our U12 girls showed their grit and determination in the Plate Final, but
narrowly missed out to a very strong BSAK team whilst the U14 & U16 teams matched each other by
both progressing to the Cup Semi-Finals. The U19 team also mirrored the successes of our other teams
by coming 3rd in the league structure. The strong team spirit and atmosphere was maintained
throughout the whole tournament with all the girls cheering and supporting each other until the very
end. The core Repton values shone through with all girls showing their teamwork and sportsmanship on
the football field.
A special mention to Ms. Doig, Ms. Leonard and Mr. Lesley for giving up their time to organise our
Repton teams, and to all the girls who gave 100% effort.
Niamh Grady
U19 Player
Repton Secondary Sports Captain

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 News in Brief

Swimmers of Phuket Tour Repton Go Karting Podium Finish

Senior Emirates Schools Karting Championship

Runners Up & Well Done
Denis Bahar (School), Harrison Mitchell
(Latham) & Matthew Elliot (Dahl)

Jonathan & Maea with Trophies for Best on Tour

and Swimmer of the Meet

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GB Basketball Olympian Visits Repton

Reptons budding Basketball stars were very

lucky as they had a training session led by
professional player & Team GB Olympian
Dominique Allen. Repton students were put
through their paces in some challenging drills
and had an interactive Q & A session on life as
a pro player and what is needed to reach the
top in Basketball.

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 Sports Reports

Taped Ball Cricket

U13s - We started the season aiming for a last 8 finish. Its been a target that we have often
achieved. It was soon evident that with an excellent bunch of students who were very
determined and focused that more could be achieved. We opened with easy victories against
weaker sides. Our first challenge was against CIS who we beat after playing excellent cricket. Our
next challenge was to maintain this unbeaten record. It was a real struggle against weaker sides.
The boys showed great spirit and some excellent stand out performances from individuals that
dragged the side into the quarterfinals. Here the lads swept aside JC. Into the semis the boys
played their best match and were beaten in the last over. Heartbroken the boys showed great
cricket spirit and excellent sportsmanship. As a coach I was very very proud. Hard to point to one
individual as they truly played as a team.

U15s - At the start of the season the team seemed more like a group of cricketers and less of a
team. After winning their opening few matches their true competitive spirit came through. They
looked to improve their bowling and batting week after week. Their greatest improvement came
in their understanding of the game, that elusive extra 10%. Under the experienced tutorage of
Mr Wake the boys become a group of tactically savvy cricketers. Winning matches through
excellent field placements and their shot making. After sweeping aside WSO in the quarterfinals,
they came across their old foes CIS who had narrowly beaten them in the group stages.
Unfortunately losing to a side who had a few very talented individuals. A young side that has a lot
potential and will be looking for success next year.
Mr. Ali
Teacher i/c Cricket

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 Rounders

U13s - There was tough competition for the two Rounders team in the U13 category this year with over
30 girls trialling for 20 spaces in the A and B team. After a lengthy trial period the teams were chosen, a
huge congratulations must go to the year 7s who made the teams; Amaani Zimmerman, Izzy Affley and
Carmela Morrall.
The A team had a fantastic season and were unbeaten in their pool. Throughout the season there was
some fantastic batting performances from Alessia Macedo and Eve Dutton and who regularly scored 1
or more Rounders within the innings. The girls in the field played tremendously and collectively to
ensure that the opposition teams could not score enough to win the game. A shout out needs to be
made to Phoebe Stockton who bowled amazingly and to Lilyan McConnell, Sophie Buxton and Daphne
Fabre who dominated in the field. Overall from the scores of the finals night at DESC the U13A came in
4Th overall in Dubai. This is a great reflection of the teamwork and talent from the girls.
The B team had a fantastic start to the season with a phenomenal win over English College. Going into
the second innings behind by 9 the girls went into bat and smashed it out the park winning by 1
Rounders. The girls finished 2nd in their pool, however unfortunately due to swim tour the B team were
not able to enter the finals evening. This was a good season for the girls and is a strong base to develop
on next year.

U15s - The U15 Rounders season started with a game against WIS, the team were trailing 14 to 3
going into the 2nd innings and yet despite the start the girls made a fantastic comeback to win. The next
game against DBS was a well matched game with both sides scoring only a few Rounders, however with
strong fielding Repton held on to win. The last of the group matches was the first away game of the
season to WSO where unfortunately Repton suffered their first loss of the season, unable to get into
their winning rhythm. The team went onto come 2nd overall in Dubai after competing in the finals
evening with a huge win against DESC where the girls cool heads whilst batting saw them score 7
Rounders of the last 5 balls, the final game unfortunately saw the girls lose by 3 Rounders against DC
who on the evening had the stronger field. The U15 team this year has been hugely successful and I
hope to see these girls playing again next year.
Ms. Quilliam
Teacher i/c Rounders

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 Athletics

Cross Country
This was the first year for a while that Repton School had entered a cross country team. Despite this
over 30 students throughout the year competed in the 3 events at Rashid Secondary school. Even more
impressive, one of these events occurred immediately after sports day and yet we still entered 17
students into that particular event. Khelan Lahner and Sofia Smith improved dramatically during the
season and deserve special mention for the level of dedication they gave to these cross country events.
With the success of this year there is no doubt that Repton will enter these cross country events next
year and we hope to have even more students competing.

FAB 5
Repton school, having just been promoted to the first Division, were given a clear and difficult task; to
maintain their status in Division 1. Morning sessions starting at 6:30am as well as many lunch time and
after school sessions prepared the athletes for this difficult task. Tariq Al Awfi competed in his first
ever Athletics competition. Nervous and unsure Tariq rose to the occasion tremendously. This example
of overcoming fear to try something new is why Athletics is so beneficial to developing young peoples
character. Seasoned and experienced athletes such as Amira in IB1 demonstrated what she could do
and how she had improved during the season as well. Khelan Lahner and Chris Assimicopulus both
gained personal bests in their respective events. Chris Assimicopulus, Jade Rakotondradano and Amaan
Raza have also achieved records in their events whilst competing with Ultimate Athletics. Atash Asrani,
our Senior School Sports Captain, was pleasantly surprised when he gained first place in the Shot putt.
Even though Atash continues to use the protein shakes that I have expressly stated are of no use, I see a
bright future for him in Athletics. A final finish as a school of 5th place in Division 1 is marked progress.
Our mission is to improve on this and continue to be ambitious. There is no doubt in my mind that we
could win FAB 5 and that is the mind set I want every athlete to have next season.

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DASSA Athletics Championship
This year in the DASSA Athletics Championship we finished 3rd overall. This is a fantastic achievement.
We also had strong numbers qualifying for the Championship as well as many top 3 finishes for
individual events. A particular highlight was Repton Boys winning Gold in the Triple jump for every age
category. Kieran Harkness-Robertson, Chris Assimicopulus and Kaelan Magee won a combined 9 events
including breaking the DASSA record for the U16 boys 4x100m relay with Tom Williams . I also want to
thank these boys for bringing such determination and success to Athletics this year and hope that they
continue to work hard on their athletics talents. The proudest moment for me this season was seeing
students like Rolan Kagirov and Charlie Clarke take up the sport for the first time and through
dedicated training qualify for the DASSA Championships. Other highlights include Rashid winning the
100m by about 40 meters, Niamh learning to throw a Javelin, and Khelan running in the Championship
after being hospitalized 2 weeks previously. Also special mention to Elme Kruger whose dedication to
training and resulting fine tuning of her technique ensured she improved and took out Gold in the
DASSA finals.

I want to thank the whole PE Team for contributing to the success of Athletics this year. In particular
Mr Munnery who showed such high levels of enthusiasm during the first round of DASSA Champs that I
thought he was having heart issues. Also to Ms. Quilliam who has led girls Athletics fantastically. It
couldnt have happened without her.

Mr. McKeown
Teacher i/c Athletics

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 Junior Boys Basketball

U12s
If there was a prize for the most improved team in Repton, these boys would win it! After a slow
start to the season with almost all of the team first time players, by the end they were moving
the ball up the court with great speed & passing, lovely pass & cuts, strong rebounding and
excellent shooting, Jivan in particular amassed plenty of points in the finals matches which
secured big wins over JESS and DIA. Coach Mr. Drake believes this team has great potential to
challenge for higher honours in future years, especially with the number of boys who have been
bitten by the basketball bug and have joined external academies such as EMPAC to continue
their development beyond the school season
U14Bs
For a team made up 90% of younger Year 8 boys, they certainly acquitted themselves well
against older and much bigger teams. The experience of playing up for the year will put them in
good stead for next year as they will be one of the teams to beat next year. Mr. Mckeown making
his basketball coaching debut was quoted as It was a very enjoyable experience to Coach this
team as every player really loved playing Basketball. I look forward to them becoming the team to
beat, in next years DASSA League. Team player Kain Kerlin believes the key to their good season
was the way we passed and played together as a team really helped us.
U14As

The target was set at the start of the season for the boys to make each match and each quarter
better than the previous. They certainly did this and earned respect from every opposing team
for their fast paced offense and tough resolute defense. After an undefeated run in the pool
matches, the boys only lost 2 play off matches to finish 5th in Dubai out of 50+ teams which was
a tremendous result. Good luck to boys stepping up to U16 next year and it has been a pleasure
to coach and witness your passion for the game.

Mr. Munnery
Teacher i/c Boys Basketball

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 Junior Girls Basketball

U12s
We started off the season with a massive win against DESC! We beat them 21 -14. We started
the game off slow and then we managed creep back and we dominated the last 3rd. Next up we
had WSO away, these girls were good but again we came away with the win of 21-19, we were
on a roll. This got us through to the playoff finals and we came up against DESC again. Sadly we
lost this one and our next game due to fatigue. This then took us to the bowl final and sadly we
lost out to Kings al Barsha by the narrowest of margins, a mere 1 point. We ended up 6th in
Dubai. This was a great effort from all the team. Well done Repton U12s.

U14s
The U14 girls basketball team had a tough and demanding season, with a few losses and wins.
However, the team spirit remained resolute as we fought with determination and resilience.
The teamwork was commendable ad everyone played to the best of their ability. We won 4
matches compared to the two we lost. It was a great season and we all enjoyed it thoroughly. A
big thank you to our wonderful coach Mrs Lee who supported and encouraged us throughout.
Pavni Duggal Year 9

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 Repton Pride - Team Photos

Photo Credits: Sultan al Mana Y8 School & Hamdan al Sayegh Y8 Jumeirah

Big thanks to Mr. Millian for collating the collage above

To the passionate & hardworking PE Team, Sports Coaches, Melvyn & Repton support
crew, parents and Repton students for such a fantastic year of PE & Sport.

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