Dear Parents & Carers,

Please find information around equipment your child will need in preparation for the 2026/27 academic year. Please do read this carefully to ensure your child is organised for all PE based lessons. Whilst you would have received information from the school around uniform and PE kit expectations, the below information is to inform you of the additional equipment pupils are required  for specific sports. See the following additional equipment your child will need for PE lessons:

All pupils in Year 7 to 9 will need these for PE this year. This is to prevent slippage on the playing fields. Designs/styles of boots are flexible, but must ensure they have molded/metal studs on the bottom. When purchasing, make sure it does not say ‘astro trainers/boots’ on the product, as these will not prevent your child from slipping. Boots can be bought from any sport based shop. I have included a link from ‘Sports Direct’ to use as an example, or should you wish to keep costs relatively low: https://www.sportsdirect.com/sondico-strike-firm-ground-juniors-football-boots-080035#colcode=08003540

All pupils will be expected to wear boots during PE lessons, should pupils not have boots, they must borrow a pair from the school.

Should your child have football within their programme of study they will require shin pads. Their main function is to protect the soft tissues and bones in the lower extremities from external impact. Shin pads provide shock absorption and facilitate energy dissipation, thereby decreasing the risk of serious injuries. Shin pads can be purchased at any sport based shop. See link where you can purchase these, or for a visual aid of what they look like: https://www.sportsdirect.com/sondico-flair-slip-shin-guards-812016#colcode=81201603

In addition, if your child does not have football within their programme of study, they will still require shin pads should they wish to pursue football in any extra-curricular activities or fixtures. These activities will take place for all years. The extra-curricular programme of study will be shared in the first week of term.

All pupils will be expected to have a moulded gum shield with them ready for all rugby lessons. The gum shield is a resilient device or appliance which is placed inside the mouth to protect against injuries to the teeth, lacerations to the mouth and fractures/dislocations of the jaw. Whilst this is not a frequent injury or risk in Rugby, we strongly aim to minimise the risks.

Once again, these can be purchased from any sport-based shop. Please view this link from Amazon, where you can purchase a gum shield for a relatively small cost.

To mould a gum shield, see instructions below:

1. Boil water

2. Place gum shield into hot water for 30 seconds.

3. Take gum shield out of water (with utensils as it will be hot!) and place into mouth

4. Bite onto gumshield for 15 seconds firmly.

5. Remove gum shield and place into cold water.

All pupils will be expected to have these additional pieces of equipment by week commencing Monday 07 September. If you worry your child may not have this organised by this date, do let us know. As a department we are incredibly accommodating and willing to help your child with any barriers they may face.

Please find linked the programme of study for you to look over to understand when your child will have these specific sports throughout the 2026/27 academic year.

Once again, I appreciate you taking your time to read and digest this information so your child is ready for PE in the upcoming academic year. If you do have any questions for any of the above mentioned. Do not hesitate in contacting myself via email: r.elsmore@uobschool.org.uk

I wish you a lovely rest of the summer.

Kindest regards,