Sports bosses have reacted angrily to the continued exclusion of rounders from the list of activities eligible for assessment at GCSE and A level.

Rounders England have launched an appeal against the decision by the Department for Education and fear the verdict may lead to a further drop-off in participation by school in this most traditional of games.

Katherine Knight, chair of Rounders England, said: “We celebrate the work being delivered by teachers across the country to help children get active through rounders and will continue to support them as we work to get selected back onto the PE GCSE curriculum.

(To read the full story, check out the new edition of School Sport Magazine out next week. Subscribe for just £29 a year/single copies £6 each)

A swarm of eager young players buzz around the football pitches at this vibrant Cambridgeshire school.

Shouts of encouragement rise up from the touchline and exclamations of delight emanate from the pupils whenever another goal goes in.

Yet these pitches aren’t dominated by boys’ teams but by members of the opposite sex for whom football has become something of a religion.

Six years ago, girls’ football at St Ivo Academy in Cambridgeshire was hardly on the radar. Fast forward and the difference is palpable.

(To read the full feature, check out the new edition of School Sport Magazine out next week. Subscribe for just £29 a year/single copies £6 each)

More than 3,000 fixtures have kicked off the 2019-2020 English Schools’ FA Cup season.

And taking the early spotlight is a new competition called the U18 ESFA Super League with 154 elite teams of boys and girls competing at the pinnacle of schools’ football.

For the boys, teams have been split into 16 groups of between six and eight teams that will all play each other once with the top two teams advancing into the knockout stage after Christmas.

(For a full report on this year’s competition, check out the new edition of School Sport Magazine out next week)

Students from New Hall School returned from the National Schools Equestrian Association (NSEA) National Championships at Addington Equestrian Centre, Buckinghamshire as 80cm Jumping with Style (JWS) champions.

The 80 JWS team - Albert Holland, Freya Ingham, Anna Lees and Charlotte Mackley - beat 35 other teams from across the country to take the title.

Michael Paveley, New Hall’s director of riding said: ‘I am delighted that the hard work in team practices over the weeks prior to the competition paid off with some very exciting results.”

The team also saw individual successes with Albert Holland competing individually in the 80cm JWS competition, finishing eighth from 57 starters.

In the 90cm show umping class, Albert and his pony Milo, finished seventh out of more than 90 starters in the first round, moving up in the final to fifth place.

In the 70cm JWS class, Freya Ingham was just 0.81 seconds away from qualifying from the final in her first national championships, finishing 16th out of 71 starters.

Albert Holland and Alexia Mackley competed in the 1m JWS class, with with Albert finishing sixth and Alexia finishing 31st out of 60 starters.

Places in the 2020 School Sport Magazine U15 T20 Girls Cricket Cup and new U18 competition are filling up rapidly.

A host of new and returning sides will be battling it out over the two competitions as the growth in girls’ cricket continues.

This means that, with a cap on the number teams in the tournaments, deadlines for entering will be brought forward – so schools need to act quickly to guarantee their places.

In the biggest-ever seventh U15 cup this year, Sussex’ Bede’s School made their debut season a memorable one with victory at Felsted School earlier this month.

First time schools to have signed up for 2020 include Cheshire’s Cheadle Hulme School, King’s School Worcester, Clifton College, Forest School, Gloucester’s Denmark Road HS, Sevenoaks School, Cumbria’s Ullswater Community College, Oakham School and St Ivo Academy.

Returning teams include the likes of Alleyn’s School, Beaumont School, Bede’s, Berkhamsted, Bradfield, Bromsgrove, Somerset’s Castle School, Colfe’s, Ellesmere College, Felsted, Framlingham, Godolphin & Latymer, Haileybury, Hurstpierpoint, Ibstock Place, Ipswich, Kimbolton, King’s Canterbury, King’s College Taunton, Kingston Grammar, Leicester Grammar, Leys, Mayfield, Millfield, Moreton Hall, Oundle, Perse, Reigate Grammar, Ripon Grammar, Rugby, Shenfield, Sherborne, Shrewsbury High School, St Joseph’s, St Lawrence College, St Peter’s Catholic HS Wigan, St Swithun’s, Stamford High School, Sutton Valence, Taunton, Wakefield, Wellingborough, Wellington, Wycombe High and Wymondham.

The 11-a-side hardball competitions, open to both state and independent schools in England and Wales, will be run on a local, county and regional basis in the early rounds to avoid excess travel and will be played mainly in midweek but weekends if preferred.

Both competitions will be played in group stages before the summer half term with the group winners qualifying for the knockout stages. U15 girls may play in both competitions if good enough.

The U15 finals day (semi-finals and final) will take place in early September. The U18 competition will have its finals day at the end of the summer term.

Further details and an entry form are available on the website or by emailing [email protected]

Pupils from Ponteland Academy turned out to wish their football team luck as they set off to Barcelona to play in the Danone Nations World Cup – the world’s biggest football tournament for children aged 10-12.

The Northumberland girls’ team qualified successfully out of around 3000 schools in their 2018 school year and are now set to represent England in the World finals, up against some of the best junior teams from around the world on October 12 in the RCDE Stadium.

Taunton School’s U14 and U16 netball teams have both qualified for the regional finals after claiming top spots at the county finals.

The U14 squad remained undefeated after beating King’s College, Haygrove School, Wellington School and King’s Bruton.

The U16 team lost just one game on their way to a runners-up slot and also qualified for the regional finals at Bournemouth in January.

Schools have been quick to sign up for the 2020 School Sport Magazine U15 T20 Girls Cricket Cup and new U18 competition.

In an unprecedented early surge of entries, a host of new and returning sides will be battling it out over the two competitions as the growth in girls’ cricket continues.

This means that, with a cap on the number teams in the tournaments, deadlines for entering will be brought forward – so schools need to act quickly to guarantee their places.

In the biggest-ever seventh U15 cup this year, Sussex’ Bede’s School made their debut season a memorable one with victory at Felsted School earlier this month.

First time schools to have signed up for 2020 include Cheshire’s Cheadle Hulme School, King’s School Worcester, Sevenoaks School and Cumbria’s Ullswater Community College.

Returning teams include the likes of Alleyn’s School, Beaumont School, Bede’s, Berkhamsted, Bradfield, Bromsgrove, Somerset’s Castle School, Felsted, Framlingham, Godolphin & Latymer, Haileybury, Hurstpierpoint, Ibstock Place, Ipswich, Kingston Grammar, Leicester Grammar, Leys, Mayfield, Millfield, Oundle, Reigate Grammar, Ripon Grammar, Shenfield, Sherborne, Shrewsbury High School, St Joseph’s, St Lawrence College, St Swithun’s, Sutton Valence, Wakefield, Wellingborough, Wellington, Wycombe High and Wymondham.

The 11-a-side hardball competitions, open to both state and independent schools in England and Wales, will be run on a local, county and regional basis in the early rounds to avoid excess travel and will be played mainly in midweek but weekends if preferred.

Both competitions will be played in group stages before the summer half term with the group winners qualifying for the knockout stages.

The U15 finals day (semi-finals and final) will take place in early September. The U18 competition will have its finals day at the end of the summer term.

Further details and an entry form are available on the website or by emailing [email protected]

Two athlete ambassadors are aiming to inspire children aged 5–11 and their families to try new activities and get active together in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Taekwondo Olympic bronze medallist Bianca Walkden and Paracyling gold medallist Lora Fachie are taking part in the Travel to Tokyo scheme.

The programme is part of Get Set, Team GB and ParalympicsGB’s youth engagement programme, with £2.6 million of National Lottery funding from Sport England, and support from partners including ukactive.

More than 33,000 pupils and family members in 1024 teams from 167 schools have got involved so far in reward scheme that sees pupils receive prizes and athlete visits for trying new activities.

A new national schools cricket competition for girls has been launched.

Following on from the success of the School Sport Magazine U15 T20 Girls Cricket Cup over the last six years, a new T20 U18 competition will be introduced in 2020.

Entries have opened for both competitions with the U15 cup aimed at girls in years 10 and below and the U18 event for years 11-13, although younger girls may play in both competitions.

The tournaments are in England and Wales. Entries close at the end of February each year or when the competition entry limits have been reached.

The 11-a-side hardball competitions, open to both state and independent schools in England and Wales, will be run on a local, county and regional basis in the early rounds to avoid excess travel and will be played mainly in midweek but weekends if preferred.

Both competitions will be played in group stages before the summer half term with the group winners qualifying for the knockout stages.

The U15 finals day (semi-finals and final) will take place in early September. The U18 competition will have its finals day at the end of the summer term.

Further details and an entry form are available on the website or by emailing [email protected]