For many children, games time is eagerly awaited every day. They rush to the changing room to prepare for their game. Senior and junior teams compete against other schools at rugby, hockey and cricket. Headfort is fortunate to have numerous staff with expertise in coaching the main games. The teams enjoy their share of success, although experience of both defeat and victory is implicit in the idea of competitive sport. Mens sana in corpore sano (“a healthy mind in a healthy body”) is a worthwhile ideal. However, there are other ways of achieving it. A few children regard team games as a drudge; we do ask them to play at least once a week, but a wide range of other activities is on offer. Some form of exercise is a prerequisite to sound health.

The School is blessed with abundant space: there are two rugby pitches, two hockey pitches, a cricket pitch, plus an artificial wicket, and a small soccer pitch – all for a school of less than a hundred children. Riding, tennis, cooking and basketball are also practised in the afternoon.

Rugby is the principal boys’ game in the Autumn Term. More than most games, rugby can be influenced by the relative sizes of the players, and also by the belief that the result matters more than the game. The 1st XV frequently finds itself playing against larger opponents, yet often emerges victorious from these encounters. The team tours Scotland biennially.

On any particular day, two games of rugby are played. Lower down the school, there is less tackling and more emphasis on running and catching. The main game, Top Game, is more intensively coached. Headfort strives to produce teams that play attractive running rugby.

Hockey is the principal game for both boys and girls in the Spring Term. Girls also play hockey in the Autumn Term while the boys are playing rugby. Hockey is a skilful game that demands deft hands and strong wrists rather than great physical strength; it is especially well suited to coeducation at the prep-school age. The School fields a 1st XI (independent of gender) and also a Girls’ XI that generally acquit themselves well. The 1st XI contests the Leinster Hockey Union Under-13 Cup each year.

The Parents’ Hockey Match usually provides a stimulating encounter. Parents often have illustrious hockey careers behind them, and what they lack in fitness may be compensated for by extreme guile. The matches are closely fought and the school tends to win. We often also have a staff match, another tooth-and-nail encounter with fairly loose adherence to the rules....

“What is human life but a game of cricket?” The Duke of Dorset posed this rhetorical question in 1777 and, although cricket may be a minority sport in Ireland, it remains essential summer fare at Headfort. The hum of bees, the trill of birds, the thwack of leather against willow, the smell of freshly-cut grass – these all symbolise the bewitching idyll that is Headfort in summertime. A player may cull daisies and dream... but the game is also followed studiously here: the (co-ed) 1st XI have travelled to England and even to South Africa to compete against strong opposition, and the School has six times reached the final of the Leinster Under-13 Cup in the last ten years, winning on three occasions.

The nets – both outdoor and indoor – are in constant use during the summer, as is the artificial wicket. The children are expected to contribute towards the preparation of the wicket by manning the heavy roller in the mornings. Their exposure to cricket at Headfort often leads to a life-long love affair with the game.