̨��swag Academy Kirkby has officially been named the first VX Regional Centre of Excellence after a launch event at the school in March. It joins the National Centre of Excellence which is based in Ripon, North Yorkshire.

VX is a young British-born sport which was launched back in 2006 and since then, the sport has rapidly spread through schools and universities across the country, even making its way into the military. There has also been a large uptake of the sport internationally, particularly across Africa and Asia. The sport which has been described as ‘A pinch of pelota, a dash of dodgeball, a hint of hockey and a little lacrosse’ is designed to be safe, fun and versatile and is totally gender-neutral, with all players competing on an equal basis at all levels.

The launch event at ̨��swag Academy Kirkby was attended by Dr Paul Hildreth, managing director of VX International, who delivered masterclasses to students across all school year groups, giving everyone a chance to participate. VX is already well embedded into the PE curriculum at the academy and is played during PE lessons, after school clubs and the school also runs in-house tournaments.

Morven Park, Kingsway and Newstead primary schools were also invited to the event, which saw year 5 and 6 students from all three schools able to enjoy VX taster sessions – the first of many primary taster sessions to come.

Steph Kennedy, Head of PE at the school, said:

“Since being introduced to VX back in 2010, I have absolutely loved it and recognised how quickly it engaged our students, by combining being active and having fun! We first introduced the sport at a taster day to a range of classes which were mixed gender and mixed ability. Following this, we organised a lunch club which became so popular, that it has now grown into an after school enrichment. We have evolved our PE curriculum to a concept-based model, where VX is the vehicle to successfully deliver positive and meaningful experiences to our students, both at key stage 3 and GCSE level.

“Following this launch event, I am now eager to expand VX further and invite other primary and secondary schools locally to cluster events such as tasters and friendly tournaments to showcase this fantastic sport and the values it promotes”.

Now a centre of excellence, ̨��swag Academy Kirkby will be able to organise inter-school competitions, deliver masterclasses to GCSE students, offer student leadership opportunities and staff CPD, as well as host training events for VX England squads.