Sports and PE

Hello, I’m Mrs Andrew-Thwaites, and my love of physical education, sport and dance has been with me for as long as I can remember.

From a young age, I loved being active and taking part in extracurricular clubs after school and at weekends. Growing up, I tried a variety of activities, including karate, football, netball, swimming and dance. Although I enjoyed them all, my biggest passion was always street dance. I started dancing at the age of 12 and, to this day, it remains a huge part of my life.

Throughout my childhood, I had the opportunity to compete all over the country with my dance school, performing solo, in pairs and as part of a group. Some of my most memorable experiences were reaching the National Finals on several occasions and achieving third place in the whole of the UK for my age group. These experiences taught me so much about teamwork, dedication, resilience and the importance of believing in yourself. As a child, I often struggled with my confidence and found public speaking particularly challenging. Dance became my escape. When I danced, I could switch off from the world around me, express myself freely and feel truly comfortable being me. It gave me the confidence to perform in front of an audience and showed me the power that movement can have in helping someone discover their self-belief. This is one of the reasons I feel so passionately about PE: it is about far more than sport and physical skills. It is about helping children develop confidence, build resilience, work together and discover what they are capable of achieving.

I believe that every child should have the opportunity to find an activity they love, experience the joy of being active and feel proud of their own progress. Whether they are developing a new skill, learning to work as part of a team, challenging themselves to try something unfamiliar or discovering a passion that stays with them for life, I want every child to feel included, encouraged and inspired to give their best. One of my ambitions at Stourview is to introduce a dance club where children can explore their creativity, develop their performance skills and, most importantly, discover the confidence and joy that dance has given me. I hope to inspire children to step outside their comfort zones, believe in their abilities and realise that they can achieve far more than they might initially imagine.

My philosophy is simple: Dream, Believe, Achieve. I want every child to leave Stourview with happy memories of being active, a belief in themselves and the understanding that, with passion, perseverance and the right support, anything is possible.