Great News! Deal Parochial has Reached the Finals of the LTA’s National Tennis Awards for 2018.

The LTA Tennis Awards were introduced in 2015 in order to recognise the extraordinary contribution of many thousands of individuals and their tennis venues to grassroots tennis.
 
In April, Deal Parochial was delighted to be announced as the winner of the Education category of LTA’s Regional Tennis Awards for London and the South-East Region. Consequently, we were forwarded with the six other regional winners in our section for consideration at the national level. We are now very excited to have learnt that our primary school has been shortlisted as one of three finalists in the Education category and Mrs Hodgson, together with Mr Alltoft, will be representing us all, at the Awards Ceremony at Wimbledon on the 2nd July.
 
Being shortlisted for the Finals of the LTA National Tennis Awards is a fantastic achievement and is testament to our whole school community’s enthusiasm and commitment for tennis. It also highlights the quality of our tennis programme, which nurtures our pupils in a life sport, as well as  promotes:
  • Healthy living.
  • Key physical attributes such as agility, balance and co-ordination, with these skills being readily translatable to other sports.
  • Inclusivity.
  • Concentration skills.
  • Self-confidence.
  • Teamwork.
  • Leadership.
  
During 2018, inclusive tennis really thrived at Deal Parochial. There were curricular tennis lessons for all pupils, and over 100 of our children (almost half the school) played extra-curricular tennis regularly. We provided numerous competitive opportunities for our tennis players, and additionally we ran inspirational school trips to Wimbledon and the O2 Tennis Finals.
   
We marked out 3 mini-tennis courts on our playground during Spring 2018 (following grants from the Tennis Foundation, Walmer Parish Council and Deal Rotary Club). This allowed us to grow our tennis on school premises by introducing before-school tennis sessions, as well as an after-school club specifically catering for our youngest pupils from KS1. 
 
We also expanded our already, extensive tennis activities at the Deal Indoor Tennis Centre during 2018. We are very grateful to this fantastic local facility, where we benefit from expert coaching at a special rate for schools. Without doubt, our close relationship with the Deal Indoor Tennis Centre has been a integral factor to our tennis programme being the success it is, and its wonderful to know that our children and their families have a local opportunity to further develop their tennis, if they so wish.
 
Our tennis endeavours at Deal Parochial Primary School really gives every one of our pupils the opportunity to live out our school motto of “Being the best I can be”. The LTA accolade is recognition of our fantastic energy, commitment and ambition for tennis, and for sport in general. Our approach is inclusive to ensure all children have the opportunity to learn tennis, no matter their age or ability, and this is achieved through the dedication and teamwork of all our sports and teaching staff, school leaders, children and their parents, and the wider community. Thank you to everybody. We are honoured and extremely proud to be one of the three national finalists for the LTA’s Tennis Award for Education for 2018.