Sports

Athletics

The top performers in Primary 6 and 7 also have the opportunity to go forward to the Glasgow Schools Athletics Championships, an event where we are always very successful.

Training and competition continue into the Senior School with a large number of opportunities to represent the school in the independent schools athletics league and the Glasgow Schools Championships. Those excelling in their disciplines regularly go on to the Scottish Schools Championships, an event in which we regularly return with medals and titles. Many of our athletes have also gone on to represent both Glasgow and Scotland in inter-district competitions.

As well as games time, clubs operate during the summer on a Monday, Tuesday and Thursday after school. This is an opportunity for pupils to work on the technical aspects of their event with experienced and highly qualified coaching staff.

Cricket

We play fixtures every Saturday across Scotland against other schools and play from Prep 6 through to our Senior 1st XI.
Our Senior XI also play in some prestigious fixtures against The Forty Club and the MCC during the summer months; we also host a Prep 7 tournament and Senior 6’s.
We are fortunate to have ex-Indian fast bowler Hari Hariharan on our staff to pass on his extensive knowledge to both players and coaches through our Games and after-school sessions. These sessions allow the boys to be offered specialist training to give them every chance of reaching their full potential.
A summer’s morning, across our two venues, with players in their crisp white outfits, giving their all, is a sight to behold during the Summer term.
We have bookable coaching sessions throughout the summer - information and how to book can be viewed using the link below.

Fitness Suite

The aim of the TGA Fitness Suite is to provide our pupils with a high-quality facility that promotes and supports health, wellbeing and inclusion for all of our pupils and enhances the sporting performance and achievement of those involved in team and individual sport.

The Fitness Suite encompasses two rooms: a CV room with a range of conditioning equipment and a separate weights room.

The CV room features 6 treadmills, 4 cross-trainers, 2 upright bikes, 2 spin bikes and a high performance Watt bike in addition to four separate strength and condition machines.

The Weights room features two barbells racks with weight discs and benches in addition to a dumbbell rack, medicine balls, sandbags and TRX equipment.

Irrespective of ability, interest or experience, the fitness suite is a welcoming, motivational environment which all pupils and staff can access through a comprehensive programme of supervised sessions, before, during and after school.

Golf

The golf team normally plays in at least one national competition each year, normally the Independent Schools Golf Association’s Match-Play Tournament which holds regional heats throughout the academic year leading to a national final in May or June. If we are feeling more adventurous, we also enter the HMC Golf Competition which involves travelling further afield even at the regional heats stage. Within the last few years, our golf teams have reached the national finals of both the ISGA and the HMC competitions.

Those who want to hone their golf skills without necessarily playing in one of our teams can take part in our Friday golf club. The club takes place at the Great Western Golf driving range and transport is provided. Pupils are normally returned to school before 6pm.

In the Summer Term, there is the opportunity to play in our school match-play competitions.

Netball

Netball is a key component of our Senior School Sports Programme for pupils in S1-3. We also have a Prep 6 and 7 Club. Combining drills and game play into each session allows everyone to have fun, develop their netball skills and gain confidence in a supportive and welcoming environment. Teamwork, coordination and communication skills are enhanced both on and off the court during each session. Playing friendly matches against other schools allows everyone to enjoy the on-court experience and find their inner competitive streak. Players of all abilities are invited to play friendly matches and have great fun playing the game. Selected teams compete in the Netball Scotland Scottish Schools Cup and enjoy the fast-paced world of competitive netball. Skills are refined, tactics are discussed and game play is analysed in order to prepare the teams for challenge. Competing against other school teams in Scotland creates a netball community within the school and beyond.

Rowing

Over the last three years our athletes have won no fewer than 22 International medals, including two World Championships. During that period athletes from the school have been selected to represent Great Britain on 23 occasions and Scotland on 27 occasions. The school holds the course record for the Fawley Cup, for boys quads, set at Henley Royal Regatta in 2015.

The ethos of the programme is to grow the athlete, as an individual, who will take responsibility for their own development and progression in the sport. We believe that by developing a growth mindset and focussing on the process, the athlete can achieve at the highest level.

The programme starts in S1, where the emphasis is on developing basic skills and having fun. As pupils progress through the school they will gradually do more and in S4 choose a route to a performance or participation pathway.

Rowing training is in year groups at the school on specified days, including early morning sessions for the performance group.

Shooting

The team focuses on the skills required for indoor target rifle shooting in a safe and friendly environment, making use of The Academy’s purpose-built indoor range, all under the watchful tutorage of our Commonwealth Games coach, Mr Mabon.

Pupils not only learn Rifle Safety, Range Management and Marksmanship principles, there is also the opportunity to represent their school at both national and international level. Every year, the Shooting Team have been proud to be selected to participate and win across several divisions, as well as continuously year on year provide representation for Scotland at an international level. This is no mean feat, as only two teams of twelve firers were selected from all of the Scottish small-bore shooting schools, including civilian clubs.

Interest in the Shooting Team is supported by the S4-S6 year groups passing on their abilities by practising their coaching skills in taking keen groups of S3 pupils through their paces.

Squash

The squash club provides coaching on a Tuesday after school for those wishing to learn the game with fellow pupils, have fun and keep fit in an enjoyable environment.

The Friday after-school club is for more accomplished players who intend to compete at an elite level. This session is by invitation only and is intended to help the elite players achieve Regional and International recognition.

The squash club has a long tradition of producing both Regional and International players and this is currently illustrated by the standards of 3 of our senior boys. They have all competed in European Open Tournaments this season, with one of the boys storming up the latest European ranking from 314 to 20 in the last twelve months and as a result being selected for the Scottish National squad for the Home Internationals in Cardiff and The European Junior Championship in Prague.

Tennis

This tradition remains today and hundreds of our pupils enjoy playing, whether it be during afternoon games lessons, school clubs, inter-school fixtures or tournaments. A range of school tennis competitions is organised annually to allow boys and girls from P6 to Senior 6 an opportunity to challenge for a trophy and earn points for their House in the process.

Tennis is an activity our pupils are exposed to in PE from Kindergarten. Basic ball and racquet skills are taught and this progresses to short tennis before moving onto full-court. We ensure our pupils have the correct equipment to play with, which includes suitably sized racquets and appropriate balls (red, orange, green or yellow) to match their experience and ability.

After-school tennis clubs are offered to our pupils from P6 and pupils have the opportunity to come along for coaching to develop their skills or simply to play games with their friends.