On Wednesday 22nd May Rackets Cubed were invited to the University of East London (UEL) sports awards. The event, held at the O2, celebrated individuals and organisations for their sporting achievements throughout the year.
Much to our delight, Rackets Cubed received the Partner of the Year reward thanks to the incredible work we do breaking down barriers to accessing sport, enhancing the achievement of children and improving their mental & physical wellbeing with the help of UEL.
Becky Downes, our London area manager, was at the event and described her joy at winning the award “This is an incredible award that we are so honoured to receive. Our partnership with UEL provides amazing opportunities for local children to take part in sport and access UEL’s quality facilities and coaching. We are proud to be a partner of UEL and look forward to our work together continuing!”
Since January 2023 Rackets Cubed has partnered with UEL and Gallions Primary School to run an integrated after-school programme for Year 5 children. Each week thirty pupils walk to UEL Sports Dock and receive forty-five minutes of STEM intervention and forty-five minutes of tennis coaching delivered by student coaches from UEL. Afterwards children eat a hot nutritious meal, provided by UEL’s catering team, before returning to school.
Bisi Imafidon, a teacher from Gallions, describes the benefits of the programme “All our pupils look forward to attending, there has been a noticeable improvement in the confidence of pupils in maths, and physical activity.”
A parent of a participant on the Gallions programme also sang the programme’s praises – “He loves the different meals and enjoys the maths. He never wants to miss a day of Rackets Cubed. Keep doing what you are doing. Thank you!”
We would like to thank UEL for the award and for the contributions they have made to a fantastic programme this academic year.