Teamwork activities for Key Stage 3 pupils

Teamwork activities, particularly games that involve movement in open spaces, are as important for Key Stage 3 pupils as they are for younger students. Spending time outside is a fantastic way to support your students’ learning by encouraging their communication and confidence, with the added movement improving concentration in lessons and exams. Getting outdoors can even support teenagers’ mental health.

Enjoying fresh air and spending time with friends and classmates isn’t just enjoyable for your pupils but is important for their educational growth and mental health. To help inspire your next outdoor teambuilding session, here are some ideas for teamwork activities for Key Stage 3 students.

For suggestions for younger children, read our blogs about engaging teambuilding activities for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 pupils.

Capture the flag

The aim of the game is to steal the other team’s flag without them noticing and return the captured flag back to your team’s own home base.

Equipment

• Two distinctive items to hide. These can be flags or items like frisbees, balls, or cushions.
• Cones, chalk, or tape to mark out boundaries.
• A whistle, which can be used to end or pause the game.

Safety

• Make sure all players know where the boundaries are
• Keep the playing area free from obstacles
• Remind pupils that tagging each other is the only form of physical contact allowed

Instructions

• Choose an area of green space with safe hiding spaces and clear boundaries. If there aren’t already boundaries, mark them clearly.
• Split the space in half using cones, chalk, or tape. On each side mark out an area that will act as a jail for captured players.
• Create a visible base on each side of the area. This can be a tree, cone, or other distinguishing feature.
• Divide your group into two and give them different coloured bibs to distinguish the two teams.
• Give each team a flag and tell them to hide it on their side of the playing area. Try behind a tree, blending your flag in with its surroundings, or in an easily defendable location.
• When the game starts, the teams should try to steal the other team’s flag. Players should work together to prevent their flag being discovered and stolen, tag the other team to send them to jail, stop opponents being freed from jail, and to steal the other team’s flag.
• Players are sent to jail when they are tagged by someone from the opposite team. They can then be freed from jail when they are tagged by someone from their own team. Players can only be tagged and sent to jail if they are on the opposing team’s side of the playing field, otherwise they are safe.
• If a player is tagged while holding the flag, they should put the flag on the ground where they were tagged, and gameplay should continue.
• To win, a team should either capture the other team’s flag and bring it to their own home base or send all of the other team to jail.

Raiders

Loot as many tokens from other teams as you can to win in this fast physical-contact free game.

Equipment

• Team tokens. These can be objects like balls, frisbees, or beanbags. There should an equal number of team tokens to number of players. These will be worth one point each.
• Special tokens. These should be visibly different to the team tokens, and there should be a third as many special tokens as there are players. These special tokens will be worth two points.
• Buckets or containers to mark out the different team bases and the central base
• Cones to mark out laying area boundaries.

Safety

• Make sure all players know where the boundaries are.
• Keep the playing area free from obstacles.
• Remind pupils that there shouldn’t be any physical contact with other players during this game.

Instructions

• Choose an area of green space with safe hiding spaces and clear boundaries. If there aren’t already boundaries, mark them with cones.
• Explain the boundaries of the playing area and how long the game will last.
• Divide your pupils into at least three teams.
• Create a central base and then three team bases in the playing area. Each team base should be the same distance from the central base, and each team’s base should be the same distance from every other team.
• Divide the team tokens evenly between the teams’ bases. Place the special tokens in the central base’s bucket.
• Once the game begins, players should loot tokens from other teams and the central base and bring them back to their own base. Each player can only move one token at a time.
• A team is out when they have no tokens in their base’s bucket. This team can still join in by causing mischief and returning other teams’ tokens to the central base.
• When there are only two teams left, the game ends.
• The team with the highest number of points in their base’s bucket at the end of the game wins.

Dodgeball

Throw balls at the opposite team to get them out and win the game.

Safety

• Only use soft balls.
• Tell your players where they’re allowed to aim the balls, e.g. below the shoulders or above the knee.

Equipment

• Medium sized soft foam balls
• Cones to mark the jail area

Instructions

• Arrange all of the balls on the central line.
• Blow a whistle and let the game begin.
• Players should stay on their side of the playing area at all times. They can get members of the opposite team out by hitting them with a ball, or by catching a ball thrown by an opposing player.
• When someone is out, they should stand in a clearly labelled area behind the opposing team. This will act as a jail. If a jailed player catches a ball thrown by their teammate they can rejoin the game.
• The last team with players left in wins.