Three Hurst teams across the year groups took part in the national schools netball finals and performed extremely well. The students were fortunate enough to have a big build-up the week prior with a visit from Tamsin Greenway who came and did a session on relentless defence and winning under pressure before they headed to Oundle School, Peterborough for the finals.
1st VII
Our 1st VII team was the last 18 in the country, split between two pools. The pool matches for Hurst started off against Wirral Grammar School for Girls where the team beat them 10-9. Wirral Grammar School for Girls ended up a semi-finalist. After the first game, the team played seven more teams beating Durham Johnston Comprehensive School (15-8), Grammar School at Leeds (14-12), Stratford Girls Grammar School (13-9), Oakham (17-3) and Sevenoaks (12-6).
Beating Grammar School at Leeds was a massive achievement for the team as they travelled up in January and lost to them in the National Cup – it was a real confidence boost for the team. Unfortunately, the team only lost two pool games to Millfield (16-7) who ended up being bronze medallists and Stephen Perse Foundation (12-13) which unfortunately cost the team the semi-finals.
During the cup rounds the girls played their hearts out, playing with the best teams in the country. The team competed in every game, and it was a full squad effort despite injuries. The 1st VII played for 5/6 place vs Wrekin where they, unfortunately, lost (6-8) and then had to play for 7/8 place against Stephen Perse Foundation, where the girls took the win. Overall, the team did incredibly well and placed 7th in the entire country! They had amazing team spirit and parental support. It was a wonderful end to the Upper Sixth playing at Hurst.
U16
After winning the regional round of national schools the U16A team worked hard in preparation for the National Schools Finals. Being in the final 18 schools was a fantastic achievement and the team decided to take the day one game at a time.
The first game was against Cheadle Hulme, which the team knew would be a tough match as they won the competition last year. The game went end to end, however, with a last-minute interception, Hurst took the game 13-12! Yarm School followed, and the girls played some great netball to be in control of the match and take the win 14-10. There were six more games left in this group which saw Hurst take wins against Wakefield 15-6, Bromsgrove 11-9, Stamford High School 19-6, Brentwood 14-9, and St Catherine’s which was a game the team knew would be tough, however, during two turnovers in the last minute the team was able to sneak in a 12-11 win. Unfortunately, the team only lost one game against Torquay Grammar School due to errors creeping in and Torquay capitalising 11-15.
The U16A team was thrilled to have won their group and progressed through to the National Semi-Finals against Redmaids School. A few uncharacteristic errors at the beginning saw us trailing and the girls spent most of the game catching up, which resulted in a 9-14 loss. The team moved on to try and played North Chadderton, a team they have played a handful of times and have always fallen short. The girls needed to win this game to secure a bronze medal. The team started off slow due to some tired players and were 8-3 down but a change of players at halftime saw the team more determined than ever. The final whistle was blown, and the team managed to bring the score up to 12-12. Due to the draw, there was a straight turnaround and the girls had to play 2 minutes on either side – this was a very nervous four minutes of netball and the team managed to secure a bronze medal!
U14
The U14 team travelled up on Saturday morning so that they could watch and support the 1st VII and U16 teams despite not playing until Sunday. The U14 team was also in the final 18 of the country, split between two pools of nine teams. The pool matches unfortunately started off on a low as the team lost their first game to Withington 15-8 (who placed 2nd overall). However, after this, the girls were more determined than ever and won their next six games: 18-3 against RGS Newcastle, 14-6 against Taunton, 20-9 against Bradford Grammar, 15-11 against King’s School, Worcester, 18-7 against Repton and 17-9 against St Clere’s. In the final game of the pool, the team played Putney in which they drew 12-12. Putney was the overall winner of the day.
During the cup rounds the girls played for 5/6 place vs St Withun’s and unfortunately lost 15-13. This was disappointing for the team as they had already played them this year and beaten them twice. However, this made the team more determined than ever, and they played Bromsgrove for 7/8 place and won 11-8, securing 7th overall. The girls should be extremely proud of themselves, as only one other U14 team has made it to the National Finals in the past 24 years at Hurst.
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“ A fantastic weekend of netball with our 16A team collecting the bronze medal and both our 1st VII and 14A team just missing out on the semi-finals by very small margins. We were so proud to be the only school at the competition who had qualified in all three age groups and we felt the girls left it all on the courts. ” Ellen Franks, Head of Netball
