Deal Parochial Primary School announced as LTA Tennis Awards School of the Year
A Kent primary school that has gone above and beyond to provide its pupils with extra-curricular opportunities to play tennis and has been awarded the LTA Tennis Awards School of the Year
Deal Parochial Primary has run inclusive tennis sessions since 2016 and worked tirelessly to make sure opportunities were still there for pupils despite lockdown in the early stages of 2021.
The weekly offering of tennis classes was doubled when pupils returned to in-person classes, benefitting around 200 pupils at the school.
The school was announced as the winner by British tennis player and LTA Youth Ambassador, Paul Jubb at a live-streamed awards ceremony presented by LTA President David Rawlinson and hosted by the LTA’s Head of Men’s Tennis Leon Smith.
The LTA Tennis Awards are now in their seventh year and celebrate the achievements and contributions of outstanding tennis volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players across the country.
Deal Parochial was hand-picked as one of 17 national winners recognised at the awards ceremony on Thursday, which honoured individuals involved in tennis at grassroots, county, regional and national level.
Nominations were drawn from over 25,000 volunteers, nearly 5,000 coaches and 1,000 officials, 22,000 schools, nearly 3,000 clubs and over 9,000 LTA approved tournaments, with Deal Parochial recognised for their passionate efforts in boosting activity and competition within the school.
Ten pupils represented the school at the National Junior Summer League, while several members of staff attended LTA teacher training to boost the quality of lessons provided.
The quality and quantity of the nominations demonstrate outstanding work that has been done in tennis through the pandemic and David Rawlinson, LTA President, said: “The LTA Tennis Awards are a real celebration of the people that make our sport thrive.
“They acknowledge the achievements made by outstanding volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players, who are all vital in helping us to grow the game.
“The outstanding contributions the nominees have made to the sport and to their communities has been tremendously uplifting and I would like to thank them for their fantastic work.”
Congratulations to all the LTA Tennis Awards School of the Year National Finalists:
- Deal Parochial Church of England Primary School (Kent)
- Gretton School Cambridge (Cambridgeshire)
- John of Rolleston Primary School (Staffordshire)
- Myddelton College (Wales)
- St Mary's School, Hull (Yorkshire)
- Strathallan School (Scotland)
