Secondary Focus Specialist Sports

At many UK independent schools, sport is taken very seriously indeed. Schools make space in their busy timetables for plenty of sports lessons and students benefit from state-of-the art facilities and high-level coaching. At Sedbergh School www.sedberghschool.org in Cumbria, sport is timetabled four times a week, with an additional full program of sports fixtures and other activities organized for every Saturday afternoon. And the sport does not have to stop there. “Because we board seven days a week, pupils have access to extra coaching both early in the morning and after prep during evenings to allow individuals to reach their full sporting potential,” says David Milner at the school.

While many schools specialize in a core range of sports, such as rugby, cricket, hockey and netball, they also offer a wide range of other sports. At Millfield School www.millfieldschool.com in Somerset, for example, every student participates in a major sport, such as rugby or cricket, alongside any of the over 30 further sports and activities that are available – from badminton and basketball to modern pentathlon, ski racing and trampolining. To further the sporting development of its students, Millfield has also launched an Institute of Sports and Wellbeing, which provides support in nutrition, physiotherapy, performance analysis and strength and conditioning.

Many of these independent schools nurture the talents of a high proportion of national sportsmen and women. Over 30 per cent of Britain’s medalists in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games hailed from fee-paying schools, even though only seven per cent of the UK’s population attends such schools. Most independent schools have a long rollcall of sporting professionals among their alumni. According to Norman Miller at Brighton College www.brightoncollege.org.uk, 14 old Brightonians have become professional cricketers, 22 pupils have been junior rugby internationals, and 12 pupils are currently part of the England Netball Academy (England are currently ranked world no.2).

Some independent schools, whilst still offering a wide range of different sports, have a sports specialism. Queenswood School www.queenswood.org in Hatfield is particularly well known for its achievements in tennis. “We were ranked by the LTA [Lawn Tennis Association] as the number-one school in the UK for girls’ tennis, and in June this year won the bronze medal at the International Schools Sports Federation Tennis World Schools Championships in Italy,” states Nick Kelley at the school. The school also offers sports scholarships, with their tennis scholarship program being particularly popular among German students. “For tennis scholars, training is based at the Gosling Tennis Academy, offering a world class coaching team comprising five LTA Level 5 Master Performance Coaches, plus a strength and conditioning team.”

St Joseph’s College www.stjos.co.uk in Ipswich, meanwhile, offers a football academy in partnership with Xplore www.xploretheworld.com. Students enrolled at the academy benefit from 14 hours of training/playing per week, including match analysis, strength and conditioning and one-to-one mentoring. Specifically with international students in mind, the college also offers a specialized International Football Academy program in their Academic Year and, according to Emma Devine-Gay,  Xplore, are looking to extend this to include other sports such as rugby, cricket and netball in the future.

Despite their impressive sporting credentials, schools are keen to stress that they are not just for elite athletes. “Everyone is encouraged to participate, whatever their expertise,” asserts Nick. “There are opportunities to compete at many levels, and girls can participate at inter-school, district, county, regional and national level in a wide range of sports.”

All students, regardless of sporting ability are, according to Michael Davidson, Brighton College Head of Sport, all given the same sporting opportunities and support. “We actually don’t like the idea that any pupils are given an exclusive offering,” he explains. “So we offer a number of extension opportunities, with anything from strength and conditioning, nutrition and skills – but these are available to any pupils who want to participate. We chase up pupils we believe should be there, but never turn anyone away!”

Sports can be a considerable draw for international students, says David. “We have many international students who are attracted by the outstanding sport provision at Sedbergh School,” he observes. “We are currently the number one school for rugby and continue to invest heavily in the facilities across the campus. Other popular sports for our international students include shooting, riding, hockey, tennis, athletics and cricket.”

The range of sports can also broaden the experience of international students still further. “Mostly our sports are traditional English game-based sports,” says Michael. “Some international pupils can feel a little intimidated. But we had a Zimbabwean boy who joined the college as a cricket scholar but ended up playing 1st XV rugby and 2nd XI football.”

State-of-the-art facilities

Many independent schools invest heavily to offer their students state-of-the-art facilities – an attractive draw for students and parents. At the end of this year, Brighton College will be opening a UK£55 million new Sport & Science Centre which will provide facilities for sports like volleyball, badminton, swimming, water polo, netball, basketball, futsal, cricket, athletics and indoor hockey. The futuristic new building includes a 25-metre pool, double height sports hall plus a rooftop running track with panoramic views over the sea and South Downs.

At Queenswood School, sports facilities include an indoor sports hall, 25-metre swimming pool, 27 tennis courts, an aerobics room, a dance studio, a weights room, a nine-hole mini golf course, a polo field, an astroturf pitch and grass athletics track. “We opened a state-of-the-art sports hall in 2019,” says Nick Kelley. “It has retractable seating for 580 spectators, a gym and aerobics suite, and provision for hockey, netball, fencing and badminton. We introduced polo as a co-curricular option in 2017 and added outdoor netball courts in 2018.”