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01/12/24

Year 1 Orange Class have been exploring postcards as part of their English learning. They cannot wait to create their own 📮 pic.twitter.com/Ds0L1oVMXf

25/11/24

We'd like to say a huge thank you to for coming to visit us last week for a day! The children are now prepared for a primitive hunting trip, with knowledge of tools, den making and gathering food! pic.twitter.com/hFYcCrIQj8

22/11/24

Year 3 have loved finding out all about the Stone Age today! pic.twitter.com/xyTS27yaeW

22/11/24

Year 2 are having a fantastic day being immersed into the Great Fire of London 🔥🚒 pic.twitter.com/DzE6R3fwiN

22/11/24

Year 3 have arrived safely at Celtic Harmony 🚌 pic.twitter.com/zDuY4OUYi7

21/11/24

Year 5 thoroughly enjoyed testing out their rockets looking at the different angles and the distance they travel 🚀 pic.twitter.com/VgqHSszZY0

21/11/24

Year 5 are having a brilliant day taking part in the Road to RIAT STEM challenge 🚀 pic.twitter.com/4B16kZKPYh

15/11/24

Today our Year 5 students took part in the Primary Anti-Bullying conference. They have taken away some very important messages and we cannot wait for them to share these with the rest of the school community 📢🛑 pic.twitter.com/QObUFVZnAW

15/11/24

St Luke’s Church visited this morning and delivered an assembly to primary all focused around the importance of belonging and community 🌎❤️🤗 pic.twitter.com/6kGcFH4V8M

14/11/24

Year 10 came down to Primary to put their Maths games to the test! What a fantastic opportunity to collaborate and share knowledge 🎲♟️🧮 pic.twitter.com/axEjd04mti

13/11/24

We loved joining Year 3 today as they made Stonehenge from biscuits. we were really impressed with how they worked together and their confident oracy as they explained their learning. pic.twitter.com/U82hajPFOz

11/11/24

Today we are thinking about all those who have lost their lives in battle. Primary have begun the day with an assembly and at 11am will take part in a minutes silence. 🪖🔴 pic.twitter.com/qJBNbMW2ko

07/11/24

Thank you for inspiring our students this evening and being our guest speaker at our annual celebration of achievement evening, your words illustrated what hard work and dedication can achieve. pic.twitter.com/a93WTLudr8

06/11/24

Year 3 loved exploring the Stone Age using our VR headsets! pic.twitter.com/TAJW9owdHz

06/11/24

Another amazing day for Maths Week! ➖➕🟰➗ pic.twitter.com/1o38wRQNnV

06/11/24

* New to EYFS Open Day: next Monday *Our main Open Event is our New to EYFS Open Day on Monday 11th November.The following tours will be available on the day:> 9:15am-10:00am> 10:45am-11:30am> 2:00pm-2:45pm> 4:00pm-4:45pmPlease book your place: https://t.co/rt3PAY5jDh pic.twitter.com/N9Rxapuovy

06/11/24

We have had some very exciting visitors in school this morning. ‘The Nite Owls’ showed off their beautiful birds of prey and taught us how to keep wildlife safe. 🦉 pic.twitter.com/IaFpz1OQBt

05/11/24

A big win for our Primary netball team tonight! 12-0 against Windermere. Some amazing netball on display🏐🤩 POtM went to Eloise G. Well done to all involved!!💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/I3YsmzY8UC

05/11/24

Red Class are loving their new role play area… Costa Cafe is a big hit! ☕️🍰🧁 pic.twitter.com/zFl0nyotGg

05/11/24

Year 5 and 6 loved their maths workshop from Citizens Advice today pic.twitter.com/HLdAU0bYzv

04/11/24

Year 5 have loved creating their very own maths glasses to help them spot where maths can be seen around us 👓🔎➗🟰➕➖ pic.twitter.com/Tzmkoq9vMT

04/11/24

We launched Maths week this week with an amazing assembly from Lucy Reid who is a transport planner ⏰🚂🚌 pic.twitter.com/W48GqYCGV9

03/11/24

Pens at the ready 🖊️There is one week left to submit the stories you want to read for 2024. The competition closes 9pm Friday 8 November 2024. For more details and to read the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Notices go to https://t.co/3SV6BIiBA8 pic.twitter.com/xj6D4nS9HT

03/11/24

Scholastic Book Fair will be here 4th-8th November in the Primary Reading Corridor from 3.20 - 4.00pm 📚📖 pic.twitter.com/dDspLbp02a

25/10/24

In assembly today Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 all performed Cauliflowers Fluffy to the rest of Primary. What a lovely way to end the first half term of the year. 🥬🫛🧅🥕🥦 pic.twitter.com/j2M00ghZvj

News

England and Saracens rugby player Billy Vunipola answers Samuel Ryder students' questions

Posted on 03/02/2021

Wall of positivity 9

On Friday 29 January 2021, Samuel Ryder Sports Academy and young talent programme students excitedly took their seats at home ready to virtually meet the awesome professional rugby union player, Billy Vunipola, who plays at number 8 for Saracens in the English Premiership and for the England national team.

Led by Head of PE, Mr Pike, students were treated to the virtual Q and A session which gave them the opportunity to hear all about Billy's rugby career, his motivations and how things have changed for him during lockdown.

The 45 minute session via Microsoft Teams, kicked off (pun intended!) with Billy explaining to the students how he came to love Rugby through his dad - a huge inspiration in his life who also enjoyed a successful rugby career in Tonga, where Billy's parents are from. 

The students learned that Billy moved to the UK in 1999 with his family to start a new adventure, first moving to Wales and then settling in England.  After being spotted playing rugby at school, Billy went on to tell the students all about his transition into professional rugby which led to his England debut explaining that he felt a mix of nerves and emotions when receiving his first cap.

After discussing what he thought was the secret to the Saracen team's success (a great team of coaches, lots of hard work and building strong relationships on and off the pitch), how he misses playing in front of a packed stadium and dealing with an injury set back in his career, it was time for students to ask their questions.

The below is a snippet of Billy's answers on the day.  Billy spent time answering each question in more detail with each student.

Charlie B: Who inspired you to start playing?

BV: My dad and uncles played rugby.  Growing up we spent a lot of time with my dad.  I always wanted to be my dad.

Ines: Who has been your favourite coach?

BV: Peter Walton who coached me in the U18 programme -  he is a great coach and a close friend.

Izzy: How has your lifestyle and training programme changed since lockdown?

BV: Massively!  As a team we like to eat out together and socialise which cannot happen at the moment.  Now, I am spending more time at home taking lots of walks in the park.  Training has also changed as we have lots of protocols in place including testing - it's important to stick to the rules.

Carys: What is the atmosphere like during Six Nations?

BV:  The atmosphere is great.  It's very different playing home to playing away, there's a different mental aspect of the game when away.   During away matches it can feel hostile, but I enjoy the challenge.  

Emily:  What's your diet when you have a match and how does it compare to when you're not competing?

BV: My diet is quite consistent.  I eat lots of protein and vegetables with fewer carbohydrates.  Leading up to matches I will introduce more carbohydrates, like pasta.  

Jamie: What training techniques do you like the most?

BV: I like to take on training that is a good foundation for my sport and is the most beneficial for the body, for me at the moment, it's running. It's also important to eat well because you can train hard but if you eat badly, you're throwing all that hard work out of the window.

Lilia: How do you integrate new players quickly and efficiently into the team?

BV:   We build strong relationships and learn from working together.  It's important to be open and honest in our team and we take time to get to know each other.  We take on a 'do your best for the team' approach.

Joe: How did you feel when you got picked for the final team in the World Cup?

BV:  Once I got the call, I knew that I would need to train well and be grateful for the opportunity. We all did well in training, so I had confidence going into that week.

Harry: What is your highlight from playing for your club or country?

BV: 2016 was a great year, Saracens won 2 championships, England won the grand slam in France and also beat Australia in the Test series 3-0.  There are lots of great memories playing with my team and from the trips I took that year.

Luca: What inspires or motivates you to improve your game?

BV:  One, my love of Rugby which has turned into a profession that provides for my family so I it's important for me to keep focused and, two, I want to be at the top of my game and be the best at what I do. 

Mr Pike: With your brother also playing professional rugby, is there any sibling rivalry there?

BV: No, actually, there's none of that - we celebrate each others successes and want each other to do well.

Matthew: What's the max number of dead lifts or back squats you can do?

BV: Back squats - I would say on the box, I can do 250 for 3 reps and with no box 180 for 3 reps.

 

Samuel Ryder Sports Academy would like to thank Billy Vunipola and Rugby England for taking the time to talk to our students and players.  It was truly an inspirational session and many of us are still pinching ourselves that we had the opportunity to speak to a professional sportsperson at the top of their game!  We wish you the best of luck in the Six Nations.

 

 

 

 

 

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