One element of Friday afternoon Co-Curricular Programme (CCP) for Year 7 pupils has been a hit, with boys and girls showing off their skills at the new Harrow pump track.

Teacher of Mathematics (and the School’s BMX expert) Mr Nikhil Dholakia writes: “On the fourth Friday of term, our Year 7 pupils went to the Harrow pump track with our brand new Mongoose BMX bikes. Equipped with skills they have been learning in their Friday CCP sessions, they bravely tackled the jumps and berms (banked turns). Most confidently rode standing and started to learn the art of pumping (accelerating without peddling). 

“This is the first year of our new BMX programme. All Year 7’s get an introductory course as a part of CCP and we hope to expand to the other year groups with optional activities. BMX racing is the most accessible cycling discipline at a young age and there are excellent local tracks with clubs in Harrow, Ealing and Hayes. 

“Vanessa, Mriksh and Rajveer really stood out for their resilience and efforts to master new skills.”

Vanessa
“I have really enjoyed the last four weeks of cycling; I have learned how to generate speed without pedalling. Personally, I mostly enjoyed going to the public track as we got to use all our skills, we’ve learned into the track. The track was also fun to ride with all the jumps and hills and all the turns like the infinity sign one. I learned how to balance differently and ride standing on the bike. I also learnt about pumping which is adding pressure when going down hills to go up the jump.”

Mriksh
“At the BMX track I fell over a few times. My riding has become much better and I am now more confident. I am able to do the whole track standing up. The best thing about the trip was that it was a new experience, I have never been to a track like that before. It was really fun.”

Rajveer
“Best bit was going on the ramps and riding fast. I learnt how to go down the steep bits confidently and how to pump. I also learnt how to ride standing on a BMX.”