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long the Borough will possess nine of these very important adjuncts to the social and physical life of the schools. If
the campaign of 'Sport for All' is to become a reality all major schools should have a sports complex as a selfcontained
unit consisting of a Games Hall, a floodlit hard porous area and a pool so that in any of the neighbourhoods
there will exist play and leisure areas which people can reach without travelling great distances. This might encourage
adults once again to walk to their fun!
Physical Education has much to give the less able and the handicapped child. This year great efforts have
been made to develop the work suitable for this section of the schools' community and the results have been very
rewarding. At adult level, the swimming pool at St. Olave's School has been a great boon for a group of seriously
physically handicapped people who each week come together for swimming recreation and social enjoyment. They
have raised considerable funds to help themselves and are now competing with similar people at places such as
Stoke Mandeville and even gaining gold and silver medals for their efforts. For every handicapped swimmer whether
limbless, blind or spastic, there is a voluntary helper who, apart from looking after the safety of the swimmer, also
becomes a friend and a companion in the very highest sense. They give without thought of reward and find justification
enough in the new-found happiness of their charges. Swimming, Archery, Table Tennis are available for the
disabled. Ways will be found of extending the range of activities— Billiards and Athletics will shortly become
available— so that for every sport there will be found the 'wheelchair' equivalent. Opportunities are being found to
raise the physical ability of seriously mentally-handicapped youngsters through play and games, who as a result
become more self-reliant and less in need of help from those in whose care they are placed. In Mrs. Rye, the
Borough is singularly fortunate in processing an Adviser with special ability in this kind of work. Under her leadership
rapid progress is being made with the integration of these pupils into the normal school system.
She has now been with us for five terms and has strengthened the Advisory team with her great experience
and understanding of the pupils who attend schools for handicapped children. In the realm of her specialism she has
conducted, in infants' schools secondary schools and special schools in Bromley, courses in movement education,
courses in games skills and courses in National Dance and in Modern Educational Dance.
In outdoor pursuits, much work has been done in the Borough, especially in the training of teachers in
Mountain Leadership, Camping and Orienteering and, on the pupils' side, in work connected with The Duke of
Edinburgh Award and courses concerned with adventure and initiative. The latter courses have taken place at
the camp site at Leigh where the existence of river, rook, forest, scrub and grassland provides a wider range of
activities involving orienteering, ecology, improvisation, adventure, endurance, camping, cooking and map-reading.
All this work and much more is monitored by a very fine band of dedicated P.E. teachers. Between them
they encourage the growth of forty-three sports in the Borough. It is a pleasure to record the gratitude and
appreciation of the Authority for all their fine efforts.
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