It's almost unbelievable to think that it is now over 2 months since the entire school took the the playing fields in the scorching June sunshine to take part in Knox Academy's 2012 Sports Day. Since then, we've been lucky enough to witness a summer spectacular of sport that started with the Euro 2012 football championships in Poland and Ukraine and was followed by the incredible London 2012 Olympic Games. Indeed the summer of sport is not yet finished, with the London 2012 Paralympic Games due to open on Sunday 29th August. There has never been a more exciting time for British sport, and this is strongly reflected right here in East Lothian where, in addition to the eight sports already catered for by sports specific Development Officers (badminton, basketball, football, golf, gymnastics, hockey, rugby and disability sport) East Lothian Council have appointed new DO's in athletics and tennis and have recently opened the new all weather athletics track at Meadowmill Sports Centre. With the British Open returning to Muirfield next year, Gleneagles hosting the Ryder Cup in 2014 and of course, the Commonwealth Games being hosted by Glasgow in the same year the opportunities for young people to get involved in sport are literally right on our doorstep.

It has been a busy summer for some of our pupils; Tom Gill (4T2) and Connor Munro (5T3) were selected for the East Lothian Falcons U16 squad, and were part of the side that triumphed in their first game over Edinburgh West. Connor is also one of a number of Knox pupils selected for East Lothian Council's Performance Athletes in Schools (PAiS) programme. Connor is joined by Kate Wilson, Emily Wilson and Stuart Gratehead (basketball), Fraser Leonard (hockey), Adam Linton-Main, Neil Howie and Struan Stuart (swimming) and Jack Rogan (golf) in making up Knox Academy's quota of athletes. Our congratulations to all pupils selected for PAiS, and to Tom and Connor on their selection in the Falcons squad. If your child/ward has achieved any sporting success, the school would like to know about it. Please contact me at the details at the bottom of this article to keep us up to date with any news regarding sporting achievements.

It has been a hectic week-and-a-half since pupils returned. Last Wednesday three of the schools' keenest swimmers, Cameron Broadfoot and Bethany and Thomas Harrison had the fantastic experience of travelling to Scotstoun Swimming Pool in Glasgow to meet and train with Olympic athletes from the swimming, diving, handball and syncronised swimming squads, including Olympic silver medalist, Michael Jamieson! The pupils had a fantastic day meeting and training with the Olympians - pictures to follow. This saturday sees the start of the season for rugby and hockey teams. Knox hosts Preton Lodge for rugby matches at S1, S2 and S3 level, and the S3 hockey team takes on Firrhill High School at the Aubigny. All matches start at 10am.

Extra-curricular clubs start this week. As always, Knox offers a varied extra-curricular programme consisting of a variety of lunctime and after school activities which we hope caters for all pupils within the school. You can view the most recent version of the extra-curricular timetable by clicking here. To attend a club or represent the school in team sports, pupils need to collect and return a PC1 form completed and signed by a parent/carer. Foms can be collected from myself or the PE department and pupils do not need to return a form to attend a lunchtime club. We would like to ask for your help in encouraging pupils to take part in school sport and physical activity. We would like all pupils, in particular our new first years to try a new sport at least once this year. It's never too late; several of the athletes who won medals for Team GB at the Olympics didn't pick-up their sport of choice until well into their 20's, so please encourage your child/ward to go along to a club and give it a go. You never know, we might have some undiscovered medal potential somewhere in the school! In particular I would like to draw attention to two new clubs starting on Mondays after school. Haddington Table Tennis Club and Tyne District Squash Club have very generously agreed to come into Knox and run classes in table tennis and racketwall. Both clubs run from 4.15-5.30pm (approx.) in the Small Gym and Games Hall respectively.

As we are every year, Knox is always on the look-out for individuals looking to volunteer in some capacity with our sports teams. There are a variety of roles on offer, from coaches and assistant coaches to washing strips and collecting bus money. Any new volunteers wising to become involved in school sport will be given all the help and support they need, including access to training courses and coaching qualifications. If you are interested in being a part of an ever growing extra-curricular programme at Knox Academy, please contact me at the details below.

Similarly, if you or someone you know is interested in sponsoring one of Knox Academy's sports team, please let us know. Sponsoring provides an exellent opportunity to promote your business, as well as enhancing the sporting experience of our youngsters, and further developing strong links between the school and local community.

Hopefully with your help, we can make 2012/13 as successful for Knox Academy sport as the great summer we've just had.

Many thanks,

Andy Lambert, Sport and Physical Activity Coordinator

t: 01620 823 387   m: 07969428526   e: alambert@elcschool.org.uk