Engage and Inspire Hockey Festival, Access to Sport for Inner City Schools

Alongside England Hockey (EH) and the local School Games Organiser (SGO), Barford Tigers Hockey Club helped organise and deliver the summer ‘Engage and Inspire Hockey Festival’ attend by several local primary schools.

This initiative, part of the Junior Hockey Framework that was started by EH in September 2025, and rolled out nationally to partner hockey clubs, with Barford Tigers delivering the local inaugural Primary Hockey Schools Festival in September 2025.

On Friday 5th June 2026, the summer ‘Engage and Inspire Hockey Festival’ was held at Holyhead School and hosted by Barford Tigers HC. In total six local Primary Schools attended (ages 9 & 10), with the students having a fantastic opportunity to learn and develop a range of hockey skills while demonstrating several important School Games Values, including teamwork, respect, determination, passion, and self-belief. It was wonderful to see them encouraging one another, trying new skills and showing such enthusiasm throughout the festival.

Barford Tigers HC would like to thank all the volunteers and coaches for generously sharing their time, expertise, and knowledge. Their coaching and encouragement made the experience both enjoyable and inspiring. It is safe to say that all students left feeling enthused about hockey!

Volunteers included: Sajinderpal Sihota, Charn Gill, Amanpreet Johal, Surinderpal Matharu, Pavan Basi, Harpreet Kalia & Sukhvinderjeet Sihota.

Barford Tigers understands the importance of primary schools in introducing hockey to a new audience, and most people’s first experience of playing hockey occurs within that school environment. As a result, Barford Tigers continues to promote the participation of hockey within the local community and partner with nearby primary schools to help create positive experiences for their pupils. Supporting these local initiatives helps strengthen our community link and provides students with the next step in their hockey journey, a pathway into their local hockey club.