Felsted’s spirited Under-14s didn’t let tough opposition stop them from booking their place in the regional round of the England Netball School Nationals for the first time in the school’s history.
The Felsted girls showed their talent in seven intense 15-minute matches against some of the best local teams in the Essex County round, held at New Hall. Skill and vision in the midcourt, solid defence and sharp shooting in the circle helped Felsted to secure the top spot in the tricky pool and move on to face Southend High School in the semi-finals. Relentless pressure and vital interceptions brought Felsted a hard-fought 11-9 victory in that match, and a place in the regional round of the Nationals. But there was still a final match to play to determine the winner of the Essex competition, and although Felsted put in a valiant effort, favourites New Hall lived up to their billing and took the title.
‘The Felsted team’s performance throughout the day was nothing short of immense,’ said Lindsay Keable, Felsted’s Director of Netball and former England and Netball Super League professional player. ‘The girls represented themselves, the team and the school, superbly. This team is bursting with talent, and I can’t wait to see how they perform against bigger schools from the region.’
Felsted Goal Attack and Goal Defence Freya R was named Player of the Final for her exceptional performance in both attack and defence. Her ability to transition seamlessly between the two roles played a pivotal part, and ehr contributions were instrumental in keeping Felsted in contention.
The regional round of the national competition takes place in February at Stanborough School in Hertfordshire, where Felsted will meet top teams from Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Thurrock.
Felsted has produced a string of international athletes over the decades in a variety of sports and six current pupils are members of U13 County, U15 and U19 Performance Academies for high-profile Netball Super League teams London Pulse and Saracens Mavericks.
Netball is introduced to all pupils in Year 3 and is a core sport for girls throughout the Senior School in the Spring term, with coaching offered all year round. There is a full fixture list for teams from A to D for U14 and U15 with 1st to 5th teams from Year 11 to Year 13 and Felsted has had much success in netball over the years, including finishing fourth in the 2024 National IAPS Championships.
Felsted School won Boarding School of the Year 2023 at the TES Schools Awards and in March 2024 was appointed by IB-Schools.com as ‘A Top 20 UK IB School for 2023’ for excellence in academic achievement. In 2024 Felsted was also awarded a prestigious Eco-Schools’ Green Flag for their exceptional work in promoting sustainability and raising environmental awareness, Felsted was also awarded the esteemed ‘Sleep Champion’ status by the Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA), and most recently, an Independent Schools of the Year Award for ‘The Development Award for an Outstanding Fundraising Achievement 2024’ by Independent School Parent magazine.
Categories: School News Taunton School
