by Selena Whitehead, Head of Education, Amazing People Schools, June 2026
As the World Cup captures children’s imaginations, playgrounds across the country will be filled with football conversations, recreated goals and dreams of sporting success.
For schools, that’s an opportunity to do something even more powerful.
Every PE lesson is full of moments that shape children long after the whistle blows. A pupil who gets back up after missing a penalty. A teammate who encourages someone who is struggling. A child who has the courage to try a new skill, despite the fear of getting it wrong.
Those moments aren’t just building sporting ability.
They’re helping children develop the qualities they need to flourish in school, relationships and later life.
We often call these character strengths: qualities such as resilience, teamwork, self-regulation, courage, kindness, fairness and leadership.
At a time when schools are thinking about wellbeing, behaviour, belonging and helping every child achieve and thrive, these strengths have never mattered more.
This also connects closely with Ofsted’s focus on personal development, helping schools show how PE supports pupils’ wider development, wellbeing and readiness to learn.
How does PE support personal development and character strengths?
PE gives children opportunities to practise resilience, teamwork, leadership, courage, self-control and fairness. By helping pupils recognise and name these strengths, schools can support personal development, wellbeing and readiness to learn alongside physical education.
Why do character strengths matter for learning?
Character strengths don’t just help children feel good. They help children learn.
When pupils can persevere, manage emotions, work with others and stay open to challenge, they are better equipped to concentrate, participate and make progress.
Recent research from the University of Birmingham’s Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, based on data from more than three million pupils across more than 3,000 English secondary schools, found that schools recognised for high-quality character education showed stronger GCSE progress than comparable schools.
How can schools teach character strengths through PE?
If you’re a PE teacher, sports lead or member of the senior leadership team, here’s the encouraging news. You don’t need another initiative.
Every PE lesson already creates opportunities for pupils to practise perseverance when they’re tired, courage when they attempt something unfamiliar, self-control when decisions don’t go their way and teamwork under pressure.
The opportunity is simply to make those strengths visible.
Instead of saying, “Well done,” try saying, “That was real perseverance.”
Instead of simply celebrating the winning team, recognise the leadership, fairness or encouragement that helped them succeed.
During a plenary or cool down, ask pupils: “Which character strength did you use most today?”
There’s another benefit too. Recognising character strengths helps more pupils experience success. It shifts the focus away from simply asking, “Who’s the fastest?” or “Who’s the most naturally talented?” and instead celebrates perseverance, leadership, kindness, fairness and encouragement.
That can make PE more inclusive, helping every pupil see that they have strengths they can grow.
Why are sporting role models important in education?
In his Reith Lecture, Gareth Southgate reflected on the importance of positive role models for boys. Sport provides those role models in abundance, but children need help recognising the qualities that sit behind the medals, goals and trophies.
The sporting moments we remember most are rarely about skill alone.
Many of us remember Kevin Sinfield’s extraordinary support for Rob Burrow. It wasn’t simply a rugby story. It was a story of friendship, compassion and love.
When Simone Biles stepped away from competition to protect her wellbeing before returning stronger, she showed courage, resilience and self-control.
Marcus Rashford inspired millions not just through football, but through his empathy and determination to improve children’s lives.
These stories stay with young people because they reveal the person behind the performance.
Talent may inspire admiration. Character inspires growth.
How do role models help children understand resilience?
A recent Amazing People Schools and VSS live Q&A featuring England national and Chelse player Reece James
At Amazing People Schools, we partner with the charity Virtual Soccer Schools to host live Q&A sessions with elite footballers, which go out to hundreds of schools.
The questions children ask are very human. How do you deal with losing a match? How do you recover from injury? How do you deal with criticism? How do you stay motivated when things don’t go your way?
And the answers often come back to character strengths such as resilience, humility, adaptability and teamwork.
Children quickly realise that sporting success isn’t built on talent alone.
It’s built on strengths they can develop too.
That’s the power of role models.
Bring the World Cup into your classroom
The World Cup provides a brilliant opportunity to explore the qualities that make great players and great people.
Amazing People Schools has created a free, ready-to-use World Cup primary school resource that helps children explore character strengths through the stories of inspiring footballers.
With ready-to-use classroom activities, primary PE lesson ideas and engaging discussion prompts, it’s an easy way to harness World Cup excitement while supporting personal development, wellbeing and learning.
You’re not just teaching children how to move.
You’re helping them become more resilient learners, kinder teammates, more confident communicators and better problem-solvers. Because if you name the strength, you grow the strength.
Access your free World Cup resource and help your pupils discover the strengths behind the beautiful game.
About Amazing People Schools
Amazing People Schools helps every young person flourish in school and in life.
Our character strengths framework uses diverse role models and ready-to-use resources to build inclusive cultures, improve academic outcomes, wellbeing and behaviour, and develop human skills for the age of AI.
Interested in seeing how this could work in your setting? Explore our website and get in touch to book a discovery call.
