English - Print Media & Newspaper Articles
Year 8 English
Following is an article by Mrs Catilin Graziano's Year 8 students, Reuben Calleja, Kerry Cao, Thien Do, and Alex Dinh, published as part of their English assignment on print media and newspaper articles. The final assignment can be downloaded at the end of the article.
The importance of sport in all-boys education
A SURVEY CONDUCTED AT BLACKFRIARS PRIORY SCHOOL REVEALS THE IMPORTANCE OF SPORT AT AN ALL-BOYS SCHOOL.
A survey was conducted on ‘the importance of sports at an all-boys school’ and according to the results, 68.57% of the participants concluded that physical development is the most important benefit of sports. A lesser 23.86% considered social development to be the most rewarding aspect while the remaining 7.57% valued mental development. These statistics inferred that sport is not only essential to the health and physical development of young men but is also responsible for the development of their confidence, social skills, and mental health.
The participants were asked a series of questions, one of which focused on why particular sports are predominantly male orientated. The responses revealed that majority of the participants believe that in high school, boys are more orientated toward sports than girls because boys tend to rely on physical activity as an effective method to release energy and aggression. Furthermore, as boys develop through puberty, they will display improvements in their physical ability, enabling them to excel in various sports where girls and young women may not possess the same strength and endurance.
However, this does not mean that young women cannot participate in male orientated sports. An educational psychology course on gender differences held in 2016 states that on average, girls are more motivated to perform well in school and subsequently, achieve higher academic results. Sport plays a significant role in maintaining a balance between academic and recreational activity. It is important for students to take a break from the classroom environment and engage with one another physically and socially. This allows their minds to be more active and ultimately, relieve stress and pressure from studying which in turn, enables them to concentrate and work more efficiently in the lessons that follow.
From the responses of the survey participants, it can be concluded that sport is not only beneficial to the physical development of young men, but also influences their mental health and social skills to “meet new people”, “make lifelong friends”, and “encourage positivity in others”.