Our Class 5 children are 10 and 11. Recently they attended the national Steiner Waldorf Olympiad event at Michael Hall School in Forest Row. This event brings together Class 5 children from across the country and further afield to take part in a very special track and field event.
The Class 5 Olympiad is a cornerstone event in the Steiner Waldorf curriculum. It is the culmination of Class 5's study of ancient history and Greek mythology.Hundreds of students from Waldorf Steiner Schools across the UK gather to take part in traditional pentathlon events, including javelin, discus, wrestling, running and long jump. The children are grouped into mixed-school teams representing ancient Greek city-states. The Olympiad awards each child a medal for demonstrating traits such as movement, determination, kindness and grace, rather than for raw scores or winning.Participating in the Steiner Olympiad is a deeply character-building experience that boosts children’s confidence, fosters a strong sense of community and teamwork, and helps them discover self-mastery and focus.Here's what one parent had to say about their experience of the event:
From the moment the drums started to beat and the burning torches were lit in the opening ceremony you could feel that the day was going to be something special. That level of joy and excitement lasted the whole day and through most of the journey home too!The children were incredible from the start - cheering on their classmates, running with strength, jumping with grace and taking from it so much joy and fulfilment. I saw children who had struggled with the training really rise to the occasion and shine, running every race with absolute grit and determination.It hadn’t been an easy few days with such high temperatures but the children had been supported beautifully and I’ve never seen grins wider than I did on Saturday.The level of respect and honour given to the children was truly beautiful to see. One moment I will never forget is in the closing ceremony when the “archons” knelt before the children to honour and recognise all they had achieved.How lucky we feel to be part of this school, and the Steiner Waldorf community.
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