Building Bridges

A chess tournament can be a great way to bring groups of schools together, their students getting to meet their peers from across a trust to share a common interest. In recent times we’ve run many such events, including those for GLF Schools, BelleVue Education Trust, and the Boleyn Trust.

Last week it was the turn of the St Marylebone group of schools: St Marylebone CE School, a mainstream girls’ school in Westminster, and St Marylebone CE Bridge School, a school in Queen’s Park for pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for Speech, Language and Communication needs. We’ve been teaching at the Bridge School for a few months now, and their students have been making excellent progress. Meanwhile, at St Marylebone CE School, we are happy to support a thriving club attended by up to 40 girls each week.

Twenty students from Y7-Y10 took part in the event which was hosted by the Bridge School. They each played a couple of games of chess in which the fruits of their learning were clear to see. Opening principles were followed, tactics were set and often spotted, and checkmates were delivered, along with the occasional stalemate! Most importantly, all the games were played in a very supportive spirit, as befits an event between two sister schools. At the end of the event, medals and trophies were awarded for perfomance.

Mr Ford, chess club leader at St Marylebone, described it as a “memorable and formative event for both sets of students”. It was certainly a very enjoyable event for all involved and one which we be looking to repeat soon.