TASTER SESSIONS FOR THURLBEAR PRIMARY SCHOOL ON WEDS 6TH NOVEMBER 2013

Macs School of Judo were fortunate enough to be brought into to teach all 220 students of Thurlbear Primary School.  These were 45 min back-to-back taster sessions making the sessions short, sharp, fast moving and most importantly fun for the students.

The Taunton Gazette came in to write an article which was then published on Thursday 15th November, the article is shown below:

A PRIMARY school has introduced judo classes to help children who lack confidence.
Thurlbear Primary School hopes the martial art sessions will bring youngsters out of their shells, and teach livelier children a skill and discipline.

Black belt Nigel McBrayne, who has been teaching judo for 20 years, is running the classes and said they are proving popular with children of all personalities.

He said: “I get a lot of job satisfaction from it because it’s good to see children who are shy at the beginning, and by the end they’re interacting, throwing each other around and having fun.

“It’s also good to see children who are lively at the start, but then show good discipline towards the end.”
Nigel said the sessions are not just about fighting, but more about life skills, including respect, discipline, self-control and confidence.

He said there had been marked improvements in children with confidence issues during his classes at The Castle School in Taunton.
Cameron Mann, PE co-ordinator at Thurlbear Primary School, said they decided to give the sport a go after receiving funding from the Government’s Olympic Legacy project.
He said: “We’re giving something completely different a go that not many other schools offer.

“This was a taster session, but we’re going to run an after-school club and an intervention session on Wednesday afternoons for children in years three to six.
“Hopefully this will help the children’s personal development as well as teaching some control.
“We’re hoping it will boost self-esteem with some of the more vulnerable children to get them out of their shell.”
You can contact Nigel about coming into your school on 07720-640698.

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