🏃Sports Day Poems KS2: Fun Performance Ideas for the Classroom 🎤
Sports Day is always one of the highlights of the summer term in primary schools. The egg-and-spoon, sack race and three-legged race bring out the best (and funniest!) performances from children and teachers alike. But Sports Day doesn’t just have to be about running, jumping and cheering — it’s also the perfect inspiration for poetry writing.
Using Sports Day poems KS2 is a fantastic way to capture the excitement of the big day. They’re funny, relatable, and brilliant for performance in class or assembly. They also provide excellent cross-curricular links between English and PE, making them ideal for literacy lessons.
👉 In my Poetry Days in primary schools across the UK I work hard to get the children excited about writing and performing their own poems. I visit over 100 schools every year and I’d love to work with your children and teachers.
📅 You can book me for:
In-person Poetry Days across the UK
Online Poetry Workshops (affordable and flexible)
➡ Secure your date here: Poets in Schools – Ian Bland
⚽ The Football Rap
The Football Rap is one of my most popular performance poems. With rhythm, rhyme and repetition, it’s brilliant for call-and-response or group performance.
The Football Rap
Head it in the air or trap it with your boot
Flick it on the volley when you’re ready to shoot
Waiting for that pass and you’re ready to score
Listen to the crowd as they give you a roar
You can give it a kick you can give it a tap
Cos you’re listening
TO THE FOOTBALL RAP!
Off the back of your heel off the back of your head
Defenders lives all filled with dread
Pass it down the middle feed it down the wing
Faithful fans all ready to sing!
You can give it a kick you can give it a tap
Cos you’re listening
TO THE FOOTBALL RAP!
You can dribble in the classroom and shimmy on the floor
You can play against the teachers on the corridor
Everybody’s playing nobody’s left out
You can even ask the dinner ladies for a knock about
You can give it a kick you can give it a tap
Cos you’re listening
TO THE FOOTBALL RAP!
Play it with your grandma let her show her flair
Play it with your grandad in his wheelchair
Football with your mother when she’s trying to make the dinner
Everybody playing and everyone a winner
You can give it a kick you can give it a tap
Cos you’re listening
TO THE FOOTBALL RAP!
👉 Download The Football Rap Writing Framework here
🎤 Classroom activity idea:
Perform the poem with stomps, claps, and chants to turn it into a full rap performance.
Split the class into groups: one group chants the chorus while another acts out the football moves.
👉 Related blog: Football Poems KS2
Get yourself a signed book!
🏆 Miss Ryde – the Teacher that Does PE Outside
Every school has a PE teacher like Miss Ryde — enthusiastic, unstoppable and determined to bring home the victory! This fast-paced list poem is a perfect fit for Sports Day energy.
Miss Ryde – the teacher that does PE outside…
Face: ruddy
Trainers: muddy
Rain: ignored
Fitness: assured
Cones: arranged
Fashion sense: strange
Excuses: rejected
Press ups: perfected
Checklist: ticked
Netball team: picked
Muscles: tightened
Targets: heightened
Lycra: expanded
Sacrifice: demanded
Losers: dropped
Ponytail: cropped
Minibus: queen
Winning: machine
Opponents: breached
Final: reached
Strategy: hatched
VICTORY: SNATCHED!
🎤 Classroom activity idea:
Perform in groups with actions for each line.
Let children write their own “PE teacher” or “coach” style poems based on Sports Day events.
👉 Related blog: Funny School Poems KS2
🏃 Obstacle Race (Shape Poem)
Shape poems are always a hit with children, and Sports Day is the perfect theme. Here’s my Obstacle Race poem, laid out in the shape of a race track.
🎤 Classroom activity idea:
Show the children how shape poems can follow the track or movement of the race.
Challenge them to create shape poems for the sack race, egg-and-spoon race, or three-legged race.
👉 Related blog: Shape Poems KS2
Closing Thoughts
Sports Day is about more than running and winning — it’s about teamwork, laughter and creating lasting memories. By turning these experiences into poetry, children can capture the energy of the day and bring it alive in words.
👉 In my Poetry Days in schools, children love performing poems like The Football Rap or creating their own hilarious sports poems. Whether in-person or online, I’ll inspire your pupils to write, laugh, and perform with confidence.
➡ Book your date here: Poets in Schools – Ian Bland
