Functional Snooker
Cue Zone Into Schools is the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Associations (WPBSA) World Wide Grass Roots development programme; its main objective is to develop the game of snooker within schools using a concept known as Functional Snooker.
Functional Snooker has been recognised by OFSTED as a good practice in teaching English and Maths through sport. This concept removes traditional scoring, replacing it with numbered balls which retain their values, whilst others have symbols to indicate whether to multiply, subtract or use addition to calculate the value of the shot. Within the programme there is a facility for schools to develop their own Cue Zone, which contains six-foot snooker tables, which can be used as a teaching and learning resource or as an enrichment tool.
The first phase of Cue Zone Into Schools was launched at the 2013 World Snooker Championship in Sheffield with twelve schools taking part across the UK, with many achieving nationally recognised qualifications using snooker.
Functional Snooker has been developed to support the teaching and learning of English and maths from aged 7 and upwards.
At Key Stages 2 and 3 it is aimed at supporting the achievement of English and Maths at Entry Levels 2 and 3 and level 1 and in particular older children who have failed to achieve in line with their age.
The concept is very much based on embedded learning and the game is the starting point for schools to develop their own specific teaching and learning resources once children are showing the desire to learn English and Maths.
Numbered balls retain their values whilst others have symbols to indicate whether to multiply, subtract or use addition to calculate the value of the shot.
More detailed information is available in the PDF version of the journal, which can be downloaded here: