Korfball workshop

As part of an on-going series of alternative activities, PGCE and School Direct trainee PE teachers were introduced to the Dutch game of ‘Korfball’.

Korfball is a goal throwing invasion and a mix between netball and basketball played specifically between two mixed-sex teams of eight (four female and four male). Invented in 1902 by a Dutch PE teacher, Korfball is widely taught as part of the formal PE curriculum in Europe and beginning to catch on in English secondary schools as an alternative to more traditional team games.

The objective is to throw a ball through a bottomless basket that is mounted on a pole which can be height adjusted to suit different ages.

PGCE PE student Nicola Carey said: “It is really refreshing to see the only mixed-sex invasion game being introduced into secondary schools as means of breaking down gender barriers and promoting collaborative team work between boys and girls.

“I can see that this will have a great deal of appeal to boys and girls who tend to dislike the more traditional games of netball and football. It is also a game that can be taught either by male or female PE teachers and helps to dispel the myth that female PE teachers just teach girls netball and that male PE teachers just teach boys rugby and football.”

School Direct PE student Lewis Bellinger commented: “Korfball is a fast and furious team game that can be enjoyed by both boys and girls at the same time and can compete on a level playing field in the same team. There are many pupils who are often excluded from PE lessons because they have little or no interest in playing the types of team games that are traditionally promoted in our secondary schools.

“Korfball is a far more inclusive team game for the vast majority of pupils in our secondary schools”