In today’s high-pressure world, young people often face significant challenges when performing under pressure - not only in competitive sports but also in exams, public speaking and other key moments of their development. At Alice Smith School, we have taken an innovative and holistic approach to tackle this challenge through our bespoke ‘Beyond the Game’ programme. This initiative, developed in partnership with mental wellbeing experts Future Action, is transforming how students build confidence, resilience, and emotional wellbeing.
Meeting the Challenge: Why Beyond the Game?
Despite the school’s solid foundational wellbeing and safeguarding practices, some students still face difficulties managing pressure. These challenges often occur during exams, sports events, or other performance situations. The key question then was: how can the school help students not just to survive but to excel in these moments?
The solution was to develop a tailored, evidence-informed programme that equips students with practical tools and strategies to perform confidently under pressure, not only during sports but also across their wider lives. This programme would focus on emotional regulation grounded in Polyvagal Theory - a scientific framework developed by Dr Stephen Porges that explains how our nervous system responds to stress and safety cues.
The 5C’s Framework: A Holistic Approach to Student Wellbeing
The ‘Beyond the Game’ programme is built around five interconnected components known as the 5C’s:
- Comprehensive Confidence: Helping students recognise and celebrate their diverse strengths and identities beyond sport, including their skills, passions, and personality traits. This balanced self-appreciation fosters authentic confidence.
- Causes of Performance Anxiety: Identifying specific situations that trigger anxiety or fear of judgment, empowering students to understand and name their barriers to success.
- Constructing Containers of Safety: Based on Polyvagal Theory, students learn practical strategies to expand their “window of tolerance,” helping them regulate emotions, reduce stress, and sustain focus under pressure.
- Catching Glimmers: Encouraging students to notice and celebrate fleeting moments of success, which motivates perseverance and builds courage, capabilities, and commitment.
- Coaching: Providing ongoing support and encouragement from educators who act as guides and cheerleaders, ensuring students feel supported throughout their journey.
This multi-layered approach addresses both the psychological and physiological aspects of performance, helping students better manage pressure in sports and other areas, such as exams, interviews, and public performances.
Training Educators and Embedding in School Culture
To make the programme effective and sustainable, Alice Smith is working with Neil Moggan alongside Richard Stockings from Future Action to train a group of educators and sports leaders. This training equips them with the knowledge and skills to embed the 5C’s framework into sports programmes and daily interactions with students. By rooting the initiative in both the school's curriculum and culture, the programme creates safe spaces for students to learn, grow, and flourish.
Real Results: Student Impact and School Community Benefits
Even in its early stages, the programme's impact is clear. Students report feeling more relaxed and confident under pressure. One Year 13 student shared personal strategies such as listening to calming music, relying on supportive figures like their mum and coach, and using rituals like deep breathing to stay calm before matches. These practical techniques have helped students develop a stronger sense of control and reduced anxiety.
The initiative has also deepened relationships between students and educators. The trust and sense of belonging within the school community have been enhanced, contributing to a psychologically safe environment where students feel genuinely cared for and empowered.
We held an updated advisory session for parents titled "Optimising Performance and Wellbeing in School Sport: A Polyvagal-Informed Approach." The programme equips students with practical tools grounded in Polyvagal Theory to build confidence, resilience, and emotional wellbeing, helping them thrive under pressure in sports and other performance situations.
Key elements shared with parents included:
- Preparing their children mentally for high-pressure moments by fostering a positive mindset and setting achievable goals.
- Strategies to help children stay composed and perform optimally, highlighting the influence of parental support on mental toughness.
- Emphasising that psychological skills learned in sports transfer to academic and everyday challenges, supporting overall wellbeing.
- The crucial role parents play in building psychological safety at home complements lessons from sports in developing confidence and adaptability.
Using the 5C’s framework (Confidence, Causes of Anxiety, Containers of Safety, Catching Glimmers, Coaching) to holistically support student wellbeing and performance.
This parent workshop aligns with the school's broader commitment to embedding this approach in the sports curriculum and school culture, enhancing students’ emotional regulation, focus, and sense of community. Parents are empowered with insights to support their children's resilience and mental strength beyond the sports field, preparing them for lifelong success.
Leading the Way in International Education
Alice Smith’s commitment to wellbeing as an integral part of physical education places it at the forefront of mental health support in international school sport. The programme’s alignment with broader educational frameworks like the Melbourne Metrics and NEASC accreditation standards demonstrates its relevance and scalability.
Alice Smith’s pioneering ‘Beyond the Game’ initiative was presented at the PHASE Asia Pacific Conference, where the school’s journey and insights were shared with educators across the region. This recognition underscores the potential for similar approaches to benefit young people worldwide.
Looking Ahead: Expanding the Reach of Life Skills
Future plans include expanding the programme to help students transfer these vital skills beyond the sports field - to public speaking, exams, school productions, and more. The ultimate goal is to equip students not only with academic knowledge but also with lifelong emotional resilience, confidence, and wellbeing tools that prepare them for an ever-changing world.
Alice Smith School’s ‘Beyond the Game’ programme with Future Action exemplifies how international schools can lead in integrating mental health, wellbeing, and performance support in a comprehensive, research-informed, and compassionate way. By addressing the whole student - mind, body, and emotions - this initiative is helping young people thrive under pressure on and off the field, setting them up for lifelong success.
Further reading and resources:
Here is the question prompt sheet for parents.
Please also take a look at the two case studies: