A primary school in Aylesford have picked up an award for their commitment to tennis.

Headteacher of St Peter's Church of England Primary School, Jim Holditch, introduced the sport to their PE curriculum and the pupils have been loving it.

The school's efforts have been recognised with an Education Award for the southeast region at the LTA Tennis Awards.

Mr Hoditch took over a head of the school in September 2017, after gaining almost two decades of experience at previous locations, and has a fervent passion for sport. He has sought to similarly instil that in his students.

He was the architect of new tennis provisions being implemented at St Peter’s CofE, bringing in local tennis coach Chloe Ayling to help nurture the school’s young talent on the court.

And after seeing his work rewarded in the form of a regional LTA Award, Holditch says his prudent future planning was a vital factor in his school’s success.

He said: “I wanted to build the PE curriculum around sports and activities which we could introduce in school, but which enthused children could then follow more fully in the community.

“Tennis was a main sport which I wanted to promote – I am not a tennis player, but I believe that it is one of the sports which should be most readily promoted in schools.

“So, we marked out two mini tennis courts on the new surface. I then met Chloe and was impressed with her manner and experience.

“She began teaching at the school and she is superb – one of the best sports teachers I have ever seen. So, we made a commitment to continue with the lessons for the whole year.

“When we surveyed towards the end of 2018, PE provision was seen as one of the best things in the school. The children loved the lessons, and I know that many are now playing tennis outside of school.”

Successful regional winners will now progress through to the LTA’s National finals in each of their respective categories, with St Peter’s CofE’s accomplishments to be judged alongside the best in the country.

LTA Chief Executive Scott Lloyd said: “These awards acknowledge the extraordinary contribution of the individuals and venues that help us open tennis up, bringing new fans and players to our sport.

“Now more than ever, it is important we celebrate their contributions and hope that tennis can rally together to get through this very challenging time.”

Launched in 2015, the LTA Tennis Awards serve to acknowledge the many thousands of individuals involved in tennis – from the 25,000 volunteers, to the 4,400 coaches and 940 officials, as well as the 20,000 schools, 2,700 clubs and over 9,700 LTA approved tournaments across the country.

Now in their fifth year, a record number of 2,100 nominations were received nationally for this year’s awards.

For more information about the work the LTA is doing to grow tennis in Britain, visit here.

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