From our Sports Captain
Each year I spend at St Mary’s, I seem to love even more than the last. The school has enabled me to feel confident with who I am, whilst helping me to be pushed outside of my comfort zone and try new things, which I know has been the case for many St Mary’s girls.
One way in which St Mary’s has done this is through sport and physical activity; so, as Sports Captain, I will be sharing some of the sporting successes at school from this year.
Sport at St Mary’s has developed hugely over the past year, especially with the use of our wonderful new sports facilities at Long Road, and an increase in sporting opportunities available for the students.
Firstly, I would like to reflect on our amazing Sports Awards Dinner, which celebrated a range of sporting success throughout the school. Our other annual events include the Gymnastics Display, and the Dance Showcase, which both reflected the high level of sporting talent the students have.
Another huge highlight of the year was the Year 8 to 10 Netball Tour to Disneyland Paris. As well as a range of fun activities, the girls had great success in the Netball Tournament and the U14 A team came away with the Spirit of the Tournament Trophy – well done girls!! At the start of September, the Netball 1st team had a tour to Shropshire, where they competed against other all-girls schools, and came away with first place in the tournament.
A notable team success for me was when the 1st XI Hockey team represented the school in the U18 Tier 4 County Schools Tournament, winning the first round, and going on to represent the school in the East Regional Tournament. Year 8, 9 and 10 were also crowned District Hockey Champions.
Students in Year 9 have been working on their leadership skills, with a Sports Leaders Programme, where they have been planning sessions for Primary School pupils to take part in a carousel of sporting activities.
Rowing has flourished at St Mary’s, becoming even more popular. The rowing club has a strong reputation, competing in many races. We are very proud that our Rowing Club has been officially recognised as British Rowing Affiliated. This will allow all the girls to have many more rowing opportunities.
Finally, as the Sports Captain, I helped the PE department organise a new event called ‘Doubles with your daughter’. This is a parent and child tennis tournament that took place on a sunny Saturday morning, with a bake sale alongside, run by some Sixth Formers to raise money for ‘Women in Sport’. This event was very successful, and we hope this will become annual! I am hoping to develop this idea further by introducing a ‘Mothers vs Daughters Netball Tournament’ next year.
Connie P. Sports Captain
Return to Magnolian