Sport and activity for life
Sport and activity for life
Opportunity. Excellence. Participation for all.
Sport plays a vital role in life at Christ’s Hospital. We believe that physical activity promotes not only health and wellbeing, but also teamwork, leadership, and resilience — qualities that support academic and personal growth. With a proud tradition of sporting success and one of the finest collections of school sports facilities in the country, Christ’s Hospital offers every student the chance to discover and develop their sporting potential.
Set within our 250-acre campus, the school’s extensive sport facilities include:
- 21 grass pitches
- 2 floodlit all-weather pitches
- 15 tennis courts
- 7 netball courts
- 10 cricket squares
- Indoor swimming pool
- Double sports hall
- Gymnasium
- Squash courts
- Fives courts
- Fitness suite
- Dance studio
Construction is currently underway on a brand-new athletics complex, due to open in Michaelmas 2025, which will further enhance the training and competition opportunities available to our students.
Sport for Everyone
Sport is timetabled for all students at least three times a week, with additional opportunities to train and compete through our broader curricular programme. Whether representing the school in a competitive fixture or simply enjoying staying active with friends, every student is encouraged to get involved.
From beginners to elite athletes, we ensure that every student can participate, improve and enjoy sport as part of their Christ’s Hospital experience.
A Tradition of Excellence
Christ’s Hospital has a long and successful sporting history. Former pupils include:
John Snow – Sussex and England cricketer
Joe Launchbury – Harlequins & England rugby international
Lennox Anyanwu – Harlequins RFC
Stuart Whittingham – Sussex CCC & Scotland cricketer
Louise Mathias – British number one in Fives
Luke Thomson – European number one in Wall Ball
Our current students continue to follow in their footsteps, with selections for the Harlequins academy, Sussex County Cricket pathway, and county – and regional-level squads in hockey, netball, and athletics. A number of students represent Sussex annually in athletics, a particular strength of the school.
Football is especially popular, with students regularly selected for the England Prep School Lions, competing in international tournaments such as the Gothia Cup in Sweden. One of our current students has recently been invited to trial for the Future Lionesses Pathway.
A Supportive and Competitive Environment
Christ’s Hospital offers high-level coaching and expert guidance to support student-athletes at all levels. Whether aiming for elite performance or seeking the enjoyment and benefits of regular sport, students are encouraged to challenge themselves, work as a team, and discover the lifelong value of physical activity.
Activity for Life
We believe physical activity is vital to a person’s wellbeing. To be physically active depends on feeling confident in an activity setting. Therefore, it’s important to invest in the understanding of body function and movement.
Our Activity for Life programme aims to provide an enjoyable, satisfying and balanced programme, empowering every student with the knowledge and skills needed to make responsible lifestyle choices that positively impact on their health and wellbeing. Our aim is to give students the best opportunities in life by allowing them to develop areas of interest and/or excellence that will stay with them beyond school, thus helping them to engage in lifelong physical activity.
Three key principles
Our Activity for Life programme is based on three key principles
- developing the CH (SPORT) values;
- developing an understanding of how to participate and the subsequent benefits of participation; and
- developing an understanding of how to compete and enhance performance.
All students have an equal opportunity to experience physical activity that emphasises participation, practice, engagement and enjoyment. Our Year 7 students follow a programme that emphasises values and multi-sport development. In Year 8 students we build in learning to compete and in Year 9 we have enhanced skill development with increased competition.
Students experience a carousel of sporting activities in Years 7 and 8, leading to a programme of choice in Year 9 and the introduction of “lifestyle”’ activities. Alongside this, students have one session a week delivered by physical education and sports specialists in the build-up to their participation/performance session on a Saturday.
Three-strand approach
As students progress towards the senior years, the programme develops into a three-strand approach:
- Lifestyle activities: Cardio-vascular based activities (using our fabulous on-site facilities at Bluecoats Sports) including programmes such as Couch-to-5k.
- Recreational Sport: Students can opt for new sports or continue with their favourite established sport with a more activity-based approach, such as mixed hockey.
- Aspirational Sport: The high-quality coaching programme at CH allows those aspirational students to progress to represent the School, as well as compete at county, academy or even national level.
During these senior years, as students evolve within the Activity for Life programme they decide which of the three strands they will gravitate towards. Students can have a hybrid programme i.e. recreational in one sport and aspirational in another. The dedicated and enthusiastic staff at CH work hard to ensure all sessions are student- centred, with the students being engaged cognitively and emotionally as well as physically. Our programme really is Activity for Life.
Sports at CH
“Christ’s Hospital has fantastic sports facilities, sports teachers and coaches plus you have the opportunity to spend time doing more of the sport you most enjoy.”
Order our prospectus
Our School Prospectus provides an introduction to life at Christ’s Hospital. You can request a printed copy which includes an application form by completing the form and/or you can download a pdf of the prospectus.
