As head Colin Dewis sits at his desk there is a knock. “Sir, can we do some fencing now please?” says a young boy surrounded by his friends.

“Well, we are doing fencing lessons next week – and I will put you at the top of my list,” says Mr Dewis, whose office is filled with footballs, archery bows and arrows and rugby boots.

He shouts after the boy: “There is skipping on in the playground at the moment – or you can do the climbing wall in the school hall or there is dancing in the playground.”

Glebefields Primary School, Tipton, has clubs with skipping, climbing, fencing, dancing and learning kickboxing or tae-kwondo on offer. They also do dancing from disco and tap to clog, Japanese, Scottish, Morris and traditional Irish jigs.

This week the World Skipping champions from Belgium taught pupils complicated moves. Academic performance is a priority but Mr Dewis is also aware of the power of building up children’s confidence. The school website says learning should be about fun – and the link to the school clubs comes complete with a gleeful “yippee!”.

“I have always been into sports such as hockey and rugby,” says Mr Dewis. “There are a lot of children that are not academic and they need to succeed at something. “They should have the chance to feel good about themselves in some way, whether that is by doing well with a skipping rope or on a climbing wall, it doesn’t matter.

“Every child in the school does skipping and we hardly have to teach it now because each year passes their skills down to the next one. The dancers love making up their own routines – there is a lot of creativity in sport.” Being involved in clubs allows pupils to travel around Europe. The skipping team has been to Italy, France and Spain to do street performances, while the dancers have been to Barcelona, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Holland and France.

The Glebefields Show, a travelling performance including a mixture of the skipping team, the choir and the dancers, helped Spice Girl Emma Bunton switch on Christmas lights in Covent Garden and previously performed in front of the late Queen Mother. The football club also go on tour and were picked by the FA to get tips from Steve McLaren.

“There is a clear policy that if there’s no work then there’s no play,” says Mr Dewis, aged 56. “Also there are no trips for any children who have got an attendance of below 90 per cent, unless there is a good reason.

“It is no surprise that we have an excellent attendance rate and Ofsted inspectors have judged the school to be outstanding.”

Mr Dewis, Sandwell’s longest serving head, for the last 19 years has helped pupils use their talents to raise thousands of pounds for children with leukaemia.

He said: “Every year I travel to Europe with six pupils and we go to a local town hall or council building and get permission for 40 of the children to put on a street performance there later that year. I am always trying to set up a show or sports tournament so the children can have the experience of travelling.

“I used to write to bosses at Covent Garden, who have let our pupils perform there for around 10 years, but now they contact me when they have an event coming up.” Leah Stanton, 10, of Burns Avenue, Tipton, said: “Everyone at the school has swimming lessons which is good fun and I also like disco and Irish dancing. Also, I have a badge to show I am a skipping champion.”