Al Bateen School pupils happy as they are making sporting history

School built a 25m pool, floodlit pitches and a fully-equipped gym, now Matthew Pollock needs to get the children using them.

Joshua Goad from the Abu Dhabi Saracens rugby team, right, shows Ahmed Al Dhahri, left, how to pass the ball on the floodlit pitches at the Al Bateen School in Abu Dhabi.

ABU DHABI // When Matthew Pollock first visited the new Al Bateen School in Abu Dhabi just over a year ago, it was not an inspiring sight.

"It was wreck, really, and I found it hard to picture what it was going to be like when it was only half built. However, when I saw the space we were going to have I got quite excited," said the 26-year-old Englishman, who took charge of the fledgling physical education (PE) department.

The facility quickly took shape and before he knew it a 25-metre swimming pool and full-sized floodlit football pitch were finished, and then the new gym equipment arrived.

But that was the easy part.

"A lot of the kids came here from schools who don't have strong PE curriculums and have never even had PE twice a week before," Pollack said. "In fact, they were unaware that you could have PE so often.

"And they have never even considered staying behind after lessons for football or rugby practice. That's just not in their nature, so we are a bit behind in that respect, but I am determined to catch up."

Everything at the school, which has 175 students in Years 7-9 and 400 of primary age, has started from scratch.

"In the first week we got a football programme going, girls' netball, rugby, badminton and even table tennis," said Pollock, who spent two years at Al Yasmina School.

"And the Under 12 girls won their first two netball matches, which was brilliant because they had hardly played together. We'll have more things nearer Christmas, one of them being taking kids to Yas Links to test out their golf."

The sporting activities have gone down well with the pupils who realise that just by taking part in the various teams this term, they are making school history.

George Fournarakis, a Year 7 pupil, is proud to play for the first ever Al Bateen Under 12 football side who beat Al Yasmina B 7-1 last week.

"It was an adrenalin rush wearing the school jersey for the first time, I felt like I could run all match," he said.

Savannah Sutherland, who plays for the Year 9 football and netball teams, said: "I feel like it's a big achievement when we win because we don't have many students to choose from compared to the other schools."

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