Are you taking part in National School Sports week this year?
National School Sports week is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate and promote daily physical activity and play. By introducing children and young people to a wide range of sports and movement-based activities we can build their physical literacy. This helps them develop the motivation, confidence, and skills they need to stay active throughout their lives.
One of the best ways to engage young people in movement is to take learning outdoors. Being active in a forest setting not only boosts mental and physical health but also deepens our connection to the natural world, supporting a holistic approach to education.
To help you celebrate National School Sports week, we’ve pulled together some of our favourite ways the nation’s forests can help your pupils to get moving and feel good.
Forests for young learners
Combining a nature walk with play is a brilliant way to encourage movement, practice balance and build stamina whilst allowing time to connect with nature in the forest.
Across the country you'll find our Stick Man trail, ideal for exploring the forest through this popular Julia Donaldson book. You can also bring Stick Man to life at school with our education pack; it's full of fun, engaging curriculum-linked activities to get everyone active and exploring nature.
One of our favourite activities is Stick Man's Moves, where children can move like Stick Man on his journey and link movements together to create a forest dance.
National School Sports Week 2025 is taking place from 16-22 June and marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Youth Sport Trust. The trust are championing 60 minutes of physical education, sport and play every day to help children and young people be ‘Always Active’.
Forests for active learning
Orienteering is a great activity for exercising both the mind and body. Pupils get to practise map skills and work in teams to navigate a course as quickly as possible.
Forestry England's sites have a range of orienteering courses, from Gruffalo orienteering in the deep, dark wood to more advanced courses where the controls will test your pupils' skills and make them travel the distance in order to find them.
Forest games inspiration
In 2024, 300 young people from Nottinghamshire schools took part in the Notts Forest Games at Sherwood Pines forest.
Watch the highlights and be inspired to plan your own Forest Games 2025 with your local site!
Forests for more active adventures
For more adventurous and active groups, the nation's forests offer some exciting and high-energy activities including disc golf, cycle adventures and running trails - perfect for a cross country run.
Disc golf
Forests are great places for practising the big four: throwing, catching, running and jumping. Some of our forests offer something a bit different - disc golf!
Our courses contain nine holes and to play, you'll take aim and throw frisbee style discs at fixed targets through the forest, trying to complete the course in as few throws as possible.
Your students will be having so much fun they won't realise how far they've walked or how much energy they've used.
Contact your local forest to organise your class's perfect ‘active’ day.
