Maths
Sports day league: fixtures and table
Record results for a six-team round robin and turn them into a league table. Use the cross-results grid and separate teacher notes to check all 15 fixtures, wins, draws, losses, goal difference and points.
Read the material
Record results for a six-team round robin and turn them into a league table. Use the cross-results grid and separate teacher notes to check all 15 fixtures, wins, draws, losses, goal difference and points.
Student activity: UK. Use the preview for diagrams and layout.
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NAME CLASS DATE LEARNING GOAL Record match results and turn them into a league table. HOW TO PLAY 1. Write a name for each team. 2. After each match, write both scores. 3. On page 2, build the table and check it. SUCCESS CRITERIA I can record a score for every fixture. I can work out wins, draws, losses and points. I can check that a league table adds up. NAME YOUR TEAMS TEAM 1 TEAM 2 TEAM 3 TEAM 4 TEAM 5 TEAM 6 Fixture board 15 matches Write each team's score in the tile next to its name. Example: if Team 1 wins 3 to 1, write 3 by Team 1 and 1 by Team 6. ROUND 1 ROUND 2 ROUND 3 ROUND 4 ROUND 5 FIXTURE DETECTIVE Matches each team plays Matches in one round Team 2 meets Team 4 in round MATHS AGES 9 TO 14 DATA AND NUMBER Sports day league: fixtures 1 Team 1 V Team 6 1 Team 2 V Team 5 2 Team 3 V Team 4 3 Team 1 V Team 5 4 Team 6 V Team 4 5 Team 2 V Team 3 6 Team 1 V Team 4 7 Team 5 V Team 3 8 Team 6 V Team 2 9 Team 1 V Team 3 10 Team 4 V Team 2 11 Team 5 V Team 6 12 Team 1 V Team 2 13 Team 3 V Team 6 14 Team 4 V Team 5 15
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W win = 3 points D draw = 1 point L loss = 0 points P = W + D + L Difference = For − Against Points = 3 × W + D League table After 5 rounds Fill one row per team. For = goals scored, Against = goals let in. Rank by points for Pos. TEAM P W D L FOR AGAINST DIFFERENCE POINTS POS EXAMPLE Comets (not a real result) 5 3 1 1 9 5 +4 10 – Team 1 Team 2 Team 3 Team 4 Team 5 Team 6 CHECK IT Total W = total L Total For = Against Total P should be 30 Difference total should be 0 Cross-results grid Each match goes in two cells. Team 1 beats Team 6 by 3 to 1? Row T1, column T6: 3–1. Row T6, column T1: 1–3. ROW TEAM SCORES FIRST T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T1 NO MATCH T2 NO MATCH T3 NO MATCH T4 NO MATCH T5 NO MATCH T6 NO MATCH BONUS ROUND Eight teams each play every other team once. How many matches? MATHS AGES 9 TO 14 LEAGUE TABLE Sports day league: table 2 3
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Fixture check The round in which each pair meets: every pair once (15 matches), every team once per round. MEETS T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 Team 1 – R5 R4 R3 R2 R1 Team 2 R5 – R2 R4 R1 R3 Team 3 R4 R2 – R1 R3 R5 Team 4 R3 R4 R1 – R5 R2 Team 5 R2 R1 R3 R5 – R4 Team 6 R1 R3 R5 R2 R4 – The example row "Comets" is made up, so it never matches the fixtures. P 5 = W 3 + D 1 + L 1. Points = 3 × 3 + 1 = 10. Difference = 9 − 5 = +4. Checking the table Every win is someone's loss: total W = total L. Every goal scored is a goal let in: total For = total Against, so the Difference column adds up to 0. 15 matches, 2 teams each: total P = 30. A win adds 3 points to the league, a draw adds 2 (1 each): total points = 45 − number of draws. Draws come in pairs: total D is even. Breaking ties A common convention: rank by points, then goal difference, then goals scored. It is a convention, not a rule: the class can agree a different one (for example the result between the tied teams) before the first match. Maths extension With n teams, each team plays n − 1 others and each match involves 2 teams, so matches = n(n − 1) ÷ 2. 6 teams 15 8 teams (bonus) 28 5 teams 10 8 teams: 8 × 7 ÷ 2 = 28 matches, 7 rounds of 4. An odd number of teams needs a rest (a "bye") for one team each round. Support and stretch. Support: fill the grid first, then count W, D and L along each row. Stretch: can more wins mean a lower place? (Yes: 2 W, 3 L = 6 points; 1 W, 4 D = 7 points.) TEACHER PAGE CHECKS, TIE-BREAKS AND EXTENSION Sports day league: teacher notes 1 FIXTURE DETECTIVE ANSWERS Each team plays 5 matches (one against each other team). One round has 3 matches (6 teams ÷ 2). Team 2 meets Team 4 in round 4. 2 3 COMMON SLIPS Updating only the winner's row after a result. Giving 2 points for a win, or 0 for a draw. Writing a mirror score the wrong way round in the grid. Dropping the minus sign in Difference (5 − 8 = −3). 4 5 ONE RESULT, TWO ROWS (THE PAGE 1 EXAMPLE) Team 1 beats Team 6 by 3 to 1. Team 1: P +1, W +1, For +3, Against +1, Points +3. Team 6: P +1, L +1, For +1, Against +3, Points +0. Grid: row T1, column T6 = 3–1; row T6, column T1 = 1–3. HOW THESE FIXTURES WERE MADE The circle method: Team 1 stays put while Teams 2 to 6 rotate one place each round. It makes a fair round robin for any even number of teams; ask pupils to spot the rotation in the fixture board. TALK QUESTION "Why must the Difference column add up to 0?" Each goal is +1 for one team and −1 for the other.
A teaching sequence
Record each round-robin result consistently, calculate a league table and explain why its totals must agree.
Check the five-round pairing structure
Read the five-round fixture board. Check that every team plays once per round and meets each other team once, giving 15 matches altogether.
Does each team appear once per round and meet all five opponents?
Record results in both grid directions
Write both scores beside the correct teams as each fixture finishes. Use the cross-results grid to record each match twice, with the row team’s score first.
Have you written the row team's score first in each cell?
Calculate the five-result team rows
Build the league table from each team’s five results. Calculate played as wins plus draws plus losses, difference as goals for minus goals against, and points as three times wins plus draws.
Do played, difference and points follow the printed calculations?
Check totals and the agreed ranking rule
Compare whole-table totals before ranking teams. Agree and apply the event’s tie-break rule, then use the teacher notes to discuss why the checks work and how the fixture count changes with eight teams.
Which tie-break convention has the event actually agreed to use?
Before you teach
Look for the thinking behind an answer, choose the support your class needs and leave room for an independent response.
What to look for
Check all 15 pairings against the teacher fixture matrix: each team plays five matches, each round has three matches and Teams 2 and 4 meet in round 4. Total wins must equal total losses; goals for must equal goals against; total played must be 30 and total difference zero. Total points should be 45 minus the number of drawn fixtures, while the sum of the teams’ draw entries is even. Ask why one goal adds one to one team’s difference and subtracts one from another’s.
Give a little support
Fill the cross-results grid first, then count wins, draws and losses along each row. Use consistent team names and colours, and have an adult confirm disputed scores. Model the two table rows affected by one result before pupils calculate a full league.
Take the idea further
Explain the formula n times (n minus one), divided by two. Check that eight teams need 28 matches and five teams need 10, with a bye each round for an odd number of teams. Compare two wins and three losses with one win and four draws to explain how more wins can still give fewer points.
Things to keep in mind
The Comets row is an illustrative calculation and does not match the fixtures. Ranking by points, then goal difference, then goals scored is presented as a convention, so agree the actual event rule first. The chart does not establish venue, supervision, access, equipment or sport-specific arrangements.
Keep the idea. Make it yours.
Bring your topic, learning goal and class context to PLAI™, then review what you create.
Another starting point
Explore a different teaching task from this selection.
Round-robin tournament planner
Name the six teams, agree match duration, scoring conventions and tie-break rules, and check that the available time and equipment fit the schedule. The printed example is fictional; replace it with the event’s own results.
Explore resourceIdeas for using this resource
Sample teaching perspectives on what to try, what to adapt and what to watch for.
Meet The Creators
Meet the creators whose teaching interests connect with this template. Find an approach to try with your class.
Liam Dawes
A prompt or checklist can help pupils reflect on a skill, but it should not reduce physical education to a written task.
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Gavin Stourton
I adapt games through space, equipment and roles so pupils with different confidence and experience can practise, make decisions and contribute while keeping the activity’s purpose clear.
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Adam Threlkeld
I connect GCSE PE theory with practical sport, choosing examples and exam questions that help students explain a concept in terms of the activity they experience.
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Page-Turner Planner
The sports-day sheet schedules six teams across 15 round-robin matches and provides spaces for scores and a league table. Pupils explain why the team totals agree.
After the Bell
The consistency check makes the relationship between fixtures and standings explicit. Pupils can use it to spot a missing result or an arithmetic error after recording matches.
Chalk Dust & Checklists
Enter team names consistently, record both sides' scores and compare the number of fixtures against each team's played total. Calculate the table together once before using it independently.
Planning List
Check the printed scoring method and agree tie-break rules before using this six-team, 15-match chart for actual standings.