At St Bernard’s, we place a strong emphasis on the importance of sports in primary education, recognising how they contribute to teamwork, physical fitness, and personal development. We are proud to offer a variety of sports teams, including Gaelic football, football (soccer), and cross country for both boys and girls. Each team provides pupils with the opportunity to engage in physical activity while developing their skills.
The Gaelic football team focuses on building teamwork and strategy, with coaching from both school staff and external facilitators. Our Gaelic football teams compete competitively in Cumman na mBunscol Aontroim competitions throughout the year, along with non-competitive friendly matches against our neighbouring schools.
Our football teams compete in competitions such as the Edco Cup (9 a-side), the Cyril Murray Cup (7 a-side), the East Belfast Football League (6 a-side) and the South Belfast Football League (9 a-side), along with playing regular friendly matches and competitive festival days against local schools. This provides opportunities for every child to participate and grow across the school year in the sport.
For those who enjoy running, our cross country teams offer a chance to improve endurance and foster a love for the sport. Our teams participate in the Flahavan’s Cross Country League and the Belfast Primary School Relay, competing against other schools from across the city and county.
Our netball team invites girls from Primary 6 and 7 to develop their ball handling, co-ordination and fundamental movement skills through both friendly and competitive matches against other primary schools.
We encourage all students to participate, regardless of their skill level. Throughout the year, we host various events and competitions, such as our annual ‘All-Ireland Gaelic Football Tournament’, providing pupils in Primary 4 to Primary 7 an opportunity to have fun and showcase the skills they have accrued over the course of the school year. We also highlight student achievements and share stories of growth and success from our teams at weekly assemblies.
