On Thursday 22nd March 2018, a group of 9 students studying GCSE PE at The Quest Academy travelled to Crystal Palace Park National Sports Centre to volunteer, amongst others, to lead the groups participating in the London Youth Games.

Once there, we split into pairs, and one group of 3, and were allocated a school group of around 10 primary or secondary school students who we stayed with throughout the day.

The sports we participated in were unique because they had been altered to be targeted towards people who live with a disability like blindness, or the inability to walk. An example of some of the sports were: Visually Impaired football and netball, Goal ball, Boccia, Sitting Volley ball and cricket. Each of these sports was really fascinating to help teach and to learn about as it was really interesting to see the disabled version of the sports.

Throughout the day, we guided our school groups through the different sports stations we had been allocated and helped the students to participate in the range of activities each of the sports had to offer. Whilst doing this, we were on a rota to ensure that each of the school groups had enough time to experience each of the unique opportunities, so we spent between 45 minutes and an hour on each station before rotating.

Overall, it was a really great day, where we could develop our leadership skills and also learn about how we can adapt sports to be suitable, and cater for everyone.

by Amber Chase and Emma Roseweir (Year 9)