Awards and Achievements
We’re all working together; that’s the secret.
We are working on the following whole school projects this year, want to get involved? Please send me an email at head.3801@checkendon.oxon.sch.uk
School Games Mark Award
We Did It — Platinum School Games Mark Award!
We are thrilled to announce that Checkendon Primary School has been awarded the Platinum School Games Mark — the highest recognition available through the Government-led School Games award scheme.
This achievement marks a remarkable milestone in our school’s commitment to physical activity, school sport, and the development of young leaders. Building on the success of our recent Gold Awards, this Platinum Award reflects not just sustained excellence, but also strategic, inclusive and inspiring sport across our school community.
What it takes to achieve platinum
To receive the Platinum Award, schools must first hold a Gold Award for four consecutive years. Then, we had to demonstrate how we have embedded school sport and physical activity as part of the school’s wider ethos, engaging a broad range of pupils in a sustainable and inclusive way.
This includes:
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Offering a wide variety of sports and physical activities to all pupils, with strong participation rates.
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Supporting less active children and helping them to discover new passions for movement and wellbeing.
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Developing young leaders and volunteers who help run events, support their peers, and shape sporting life in the school.
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Engaging with the local community and clubs, extending opportunities beyond the school gates.
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Sustaining sport as a central part of school life, not just for one year, but consistently over time.
Why this is so unbelievable for our small school
For a school of our size, achieving Platinum status is nothing short of extraordinary. It shows that passion, commitment, and community can rival even the biggest schools when it comes to promoting sport and wellbeing. With fewer pupils and limited resources, we’ve relied on creativity, teamwork, and a deep belief in the power of sport to make this possible.
This award is a testament to:
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Our pupils, who participate with enthusiasm, courage, and kindness.
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Our staff, who go above and beyond to offer opportunities for every child.
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Our volunteers and young leaders, who support and inspire others.
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And our families and wider community, who champion the role of physical activity in children’s lives.
We are immensely proud of this collective achievement. The Platinum School Games Mark isn’t just an award — it’s a celebration of who we are as a school: inclusive, active, determined, and supportive.
Our commitment beyond awards
At Checkendon Primary School, we have always valued the importance of kindness, wellbeing, creativity, environmental responsibility, and active engagement, principles celebrated by prestigious awards like the School Games Mark, Rights Respecting School, Global Neighbours, Artsmark, Eco-Schools, Kind School Award, and Action for Happiness programmes.
While in previous years we have proudly achieved several of these awards, we believe that true impact comes from living these values every day, not just through formal recognition.
Due to current financial priorities, we have chosen to focus our resources on delivering enriching experiences and opportunities directly to our pupils rather than investing in application fees or subscriptions.
Our dedication to nurturing happy, kind, active, and globally aware young people remains unwavering, and we continue to embed these values deeply in all aspects of school life, from our curriculum to community projects, pupil leadership, and beyond.
We look forward to sharing our ongoing journey with you as we champion these principles in authentic, meaningful ways.
Action for Happiness
Happiness is about our lives as a whole: it includes the fluctuating feelings we experience every day but also our overall satisfaction with life. It is influenced by our genes, upbringing and external circumstances. But crucially it is also influenced by our choices - our attitudes, our values and our sense of purpose. There will be opportunities for pupils of all ages to get involved in activities from the Action for Happiness Toolkit.
Kind School Award
Kindness UK is a not-for-profit organisation with the goal of making kindness a greater part of everyone’s daily lives and increasing awareness of the positive benefits of kindness to health and the overall wellbeing of society. It believes that every day should be filled with kindness. There will be opportunities for pupils of all ages to get involved in activities promoting kindness.
Eco Committee
Eco-Schools is a global programme engaging millions of children across 67 countries. Eco-Schools improves pupils’ skills, raises environmental awareness, improves the school environment and also creates financial savings for schools as well as a whole host of other benefits. There will be opportunities for pupils of all ages to get involved. If you would like to support school improvement in this aspect, and help us to work towards an Eco-schools Award, please contact the School Office.
Artsmark Award
As well as recognising schools that are making the arts come alive, the Artsmark award provides schools with access to networks of leading cultural organisations that will enable them to use the arts to engage and develop happy, self-expressed and confident young people and inspire teachers. There will be opportunities for pupils of all ages to get involved. If you would like to support school improvement in this aspect, and help us to work towards an Artsmark Award, please contact our School Office.
Global Neighbours Award
The scheme aims to equip young people with the knowledge, skills and confidence to act against inequality. The activities aim to provide real-life contexts for learning and opportunities for pupils to explore topical issues, and develop skills that prepare pupils for living well with their fellow human beings. There will be opportunities for pupils of all ages to get involved. If you would like to support school improvement in this aspect, and help us to work towards a Global Neighbours Award, please contact our School Office.
Rights Respecting School Award
In Rights Respecting Schools children’s rights are promoted and adults and children work towards this goal together. Bespoke resources help teachers to talk to children of all ages about the big issues facing the world today, from the refugee crisis to climate change. There will be opportunities for pupils of all ages to get involved. If you would like to support school improvement in this aspect, and help us to work towards a Rights Respecting School Award, please contact our School Office.
