This school built a SKATEPARK in their yard!

Likes: 11

Source:

BBC Newsround

Time:

3 Minutes

Accent:

British English

CEFR Level:

A2 – B1

Grammar:

Indefinite Wh- Words (whenever, whatever)

Topic:

Kids and Teens, Sport

Summary

This UK secondary school just made history with their incredible SKATEPARK! Folkestone Academy is breaking boundaries and changing education forever as the FIRST secondary school in the UK to build a purpose-built concrete skatepark right in their schoolyard!

Conversation Questions

What do you like about your school? How could it be better?
Do you think your school has enough sports facilities? Why/ why not?
What extra sports facilities would you like?
Do you think having a skatepark at school is a good idea? Why/ why not? Would you like one at your school?
Do you think that doing sport at school helps students in other ways? Why/ why not?

Transcription

… few weeks and months back at school, guys. And please let us know what’s going on.

Next, maybe one of the things you like about school is sport. If so, what do you play? Is it football, running, skipping? Well, one school in Folkestone decided they need to switch things up a bit for their pupils. So, Ricky grabbed his skateboard and went to find out more.

I bet you want to know why I’m bringing a skateboard to school. Well, come with me and have a look. I’m at a school today with something special in the playground: a skatepark. Folkestone Academy is the first school in the country with its very own purpose-built concrete skatepark in the playground for all its students to use. It’s proved really popular.

I definitely think more schools should have a skatepark.

Like, if you feel tired or kind of stressed, then you can do some skateboarding.

I use it on my BMX mostly. I can sort of skateboard, but not the best. Scooters are allowed, and that’s about it, really.

By day, Mr Dart is the school’s geography teacher. By breaktime, he’s the top skateboarder.

It’s the first, sort of, purpose-built concrete park in any school in the UK.

The kids are loving it. The reaction’s been really positive. How do they use it at school? What do they do?

So, we have two designated times during the week where we have a skateboard club on Tuesday lunchtimes, then after school on a Friday. So, that’s where they get the opportunity to come, if they’re a first-time skateboarder or scooter, to come and have a go, to have a have a lesson, get confident on it. And then during the week at lunchtimes, get a park pass and they can come and use it whenever they like, whenever they’ve got free time.

When Mr Dart, like, he trusts you enough, he’ll give you this pass. You can hand it to a teacher. If they say yes, you can go get your stuff and you can ride around on it for break.

Basically, you just go on it and do whatever you want, as long as you have helmets and pads and stuff.

Some people get bored at, like, lunch and break time, because they don’t always want to play football. So, you can just use one of your bike or scooter, and then you can go over there.

So, we’ve got knee pads, elbow pads, helmets available to all students to use. They are taken through the basics, how to stand on the board, how to balance, how to fall. When they get to the more, sort of, difficult parts of dropping in …… that will start with me supporting them and holding onto them as they drop in. They get used to the movement. So, once they can do it two or three times on their own, then they’re good to kind of get onto the skatepark and skate around themselves.

How does the skatepark help all the children at the school?

Well, I think it helps just making them want to come in more, so then they can do something they enjoy at school.
(End)

Vocabulary

Skipping (noun): jumping over a rope.
To switch something up (phrasal verb, informal): to change something and, often, make it better.
A pupil (noun): a student at a school.
To grab something (verb): to take or take hold of something quickly.
To bet (verb): to be certain that something is true.
A skatepark (noun): a place where people go skateboarding, skating, etc.
Purpose-built (adjective): designed and built for a specific use.
Concrete (noun): a very hard material used for building.
To prove (verb): to show a result after time.
Stressed (adjective): worried and nervous.
Sort of (idiom): in some way, to some degree.
By day (phrase): during the day, normally.
The top (adjective): the best.
A reaction (noun): an action or feeling that is a result of something else.
Designated (adjective): specifically chosen or used for a particular reason.
An opportunity (noun): a chance or possibility to do something.
First-time (adjective): doing something for the first time.
A pass (noun): a ticket or document that shows you can do something.
To trust someone (verb): to have confidence in someone, to believe someone can do something.
To hand something to someone (phrasal verb): to give something to someone.
Stuff (noun): things or possessions.
Around (adverb): in different directions with no specific destination.
As long as (idiom): if, or only if.
A helmet (noun): a strong, hard hat that protects your head.
A pad (noun): a piece of soft, thick material that protects a part of the body.
To take someone through something (phrasal verb): to explain and show something to someone.
To balance (verb): to be in a position where you can stand without falling to either side.
To fall (verb): to suddenly go down onto the ground by accident.
To drop in (phrasal verb): to start riding (a skateboard, bike, etc.) into a ramp, bowl, or half-pipe.
To support someone (verb): to help someone by holding them or carrying their weight.
To hold onto someone (phrasal verb): to hold someone strongly with your hands.
To get used to something (phrase): to become comfortable and familiar with something.
Once (conjunction): when, as soon as.
On their/ your/ his (etc.) own (idiom): alone.
Be good to (go or do something) (idiom): be prepared or ready to do something.

Grammar Explained

In this text, there are several examples of indefinite wh- words (whatever, whenever, whoever, etc.) If we add -ever to wh- words like what, when, who, how, where and which, it means ‘any at all or it doesn’t matter what/ when/ who/ how/ where/ which’.

Form	Meaning
whatever	‘anything at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter what’
whenever	‘any time at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter when’
whoever	‘any person at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter who’
however	‘any way at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter how’
wherever	‘any place at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter where’
whichever	‘any one at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter which’

‘Choose whatever you want for dinner, I don’t mind.’

‘She said we can arrive whenever we want.’

‘Whoever you ask, they will say the same thing.’

‘However I try to do it, it doesn’t work.’

‘Wherever you live in Spain, the food is great!’

‘We can play whichever game you like.’

We can use whatever, whenever, wherever and whoever to talk about people and things in a non-specific way:

‘What time can we start?’ ‘Whenever, really’ (no specific time/ it doesn’t matter).
‘Who do you want to invite?’ ‘I don’t mind, whoever you want’ (no specific people/ it doesn’t matter who).

Sometimes people use whatever in a disrespectful and informal way, to show they are not interested (for example, with exaggerated intonation):

Mum: ‘You need to tidy your room!’ Son: ‘Whatever!’

Examples in the text:

… they can come and use it whenever they like: ‘whenever’ is used here to mean ‘any time at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter when’.
whenever they’ve got free time: ‘whenever’ is used here to mean ‘any time at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter when’.
you just go on it and do whatever you want: ‘whatever’ is used here to mean ‘anything at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter what’.