This week, the Year 5 and 6 children brought their Mayan topic to life in the most exciting way — by stepping onto the playground to play the ancient ritual sport of Pok‑a‑Tok. The afternoon was packed with energy, teamwork and plenty of friendly competition. Below is a pupil’s own report from the tournament.

On Wednesday afternoon we were introduced to an ancient Mayan sport called Pok‑ta‑Pok. We tried to follow the rules as best we could, but we had to adapt them to suit the equipment we had. We were split into teams of five and there were nine pitches, so each team got to play eight or nine games.

As the teams played more and more games, we all started to get the hang of it and became more confident. After all our matches, the final was still to come!

Everyone gathered round and nerves started to grow as we waited to hear which two teams had made the final. The teachers announced the finalists, and they were one pupil’s team and another pupil’s team.
As the match began, I stepped onto the pitch and could hear my friends cheering, which made me burst with happiness. As the whistle blew, the ball bounced in and the opposing team passed it around using their feet, arms, chest and hips, eventually managing to score a goal.

It quickly passed to my team, who wasted no time in finding the right moment to strike. The game continued to swing from side to side and, as the final whistle blew, the score was 4–3 to the opposing team.

My team were really appreciative to have made the final, but still a bit upset that we didn’t win. Even though not everyone got to play in the final, we all had a brilliant and amazing afternoon.

Thank you to the Year 5/6 teachers for organising such a fun event!