All to play for - our 2015 games 'project-in-a-box'!

Back in November 2014, Children’s University provided a special Games Compendium for those schools who were interested in setting up a games club after school or at lunchtimes, for children to gain more CU credits. The games were funded by CU but sourced and researched by Chris and Nigel at Imagination Gaming, one of our great Learning Destinations.

Three boxes, one for each of the first 3 key stages, were created containing exciting modern board and card games, which are age appropriate and help to develop numeracy, literacy and social skills. School teachers came to a twilight training session to learn all about how to play the games and collect their games boxes. An explanatory booklet distilling the rules down to was also provided. Children then had chance to play the games at school and become experts over the following few months.

In March 2015, we held our final three Games Tournaments. The Key Stage 1 tournament took place at Malin Bridge Primary School, Key Stage 2 at Gleadless Primary School and Key Stage 3 at Chaucer Secondary School.

Each tournament followed the same format; there was a morning of warming up and practicing the games and an afternoon of serious competition school against school. The mornings were quite lively but the afternoons were very quiet and studious as the children got down to some serious gaming. The gaming was of a very high standard and the children and young people taking part were a credit to their schools!


The final results were as follows:

Key Stage 1 School Winners: Prince Edward Primary School

Key Stage 2 School Winners: Concord Primary School

Key Stage 3 School Winners: Chaucer Secondary School


Key Stage 1 Pupil Winner : Max Rayner

Key Stage 2 Pupil Winner: Macauley Littler

Key Stage 3 Pupil Winner: Conny McDowall

All the children and young people taking part received a certificate and a CU goody bag. The winning school received a great trophy and the individual child gaining the highest score overall also received a trophy. The winning school went away with an extra bonus of a brand new game for their games box, paid for by CU.

There was a nail biting finish at the Key Stage 1 event when three children had all got the same high score and even more dramatically, there was one child from each of the schools represented in a final head to head over the card game Dobble. The three children sat down at a table to play and all their classmates and teachers crowded round to watch the final. Max from Dore Primary proved to be the Dobble master on this occasion and so won the individual trophy!

Equally tense was the three minute Jungle Speed play-off to decide the individual winner at Chaucer Secondary School. Conny McDowall was the overall winner.

The children enjoyed the chance to visit other schools and most importantly see what was on offer in the playground at break times of the schools they were visiting. One child was so impressed with the football, climbing frames, scrap store and mini disco available at Malin Bridge Primary at break time he asked if he could arrange a transfer to their school!

We hope all our schools continue to have fun with their Children’s University Games Compendiums and hope to arrange some more inter- school games tournaments in the future.