The U16 National Schools Netball Squad had a lovely surprise on Thursday 14th March when Amelia Hall from the Superleague Netball Team Leeds Rhinos came to school to wish them luck ahead of their match at the weekend. 

Amelia talked to the squad about the importance of good mental preparation ahead of the tournament, the correct meals to eat before a big game or tournament and how to make sure they pull together as a team. 

It was such a privilege to have Amelia talk to the players and so inspiring to hear how she approaches match day and being such an important impact player for Leeds Rhinos. 

On Friday 15th March the team travelled to Oundle School in Peterborough to compete in the England Netball National Schools U16 Finals against the top school teams in the country. 

Here is a sports report from U16 co-captain Nancy: 

On Friday 15th March the U16 netball team travelled to Oundle school where we competed in the National Finals competition on Saturday 16th which we were all very excited for. We were put into a tough pool and started slowly against Bablake with a 12-12 draw at full time. Our team’s determination showed through in the next game as we beat Oakham 18-7 and continued with our winning streak with a 11-10 win against Berkhamsted, 17-11 win against RGS Newcastle and 15-11 win against Putney. Annoyingly for our squad, Putney won the competition overall and showed our squad how well we did in this finals competition. 

After lunch we had 3 more games. We had a slow start and lost to Hurstpierpoint 24-13 and lost our next game tightly against Withington 16-14. Despite these two losses our team pushed on and we were determined to get a win in our last match as it was maybe the last time that we were all going to play together as a squad. We won against Millfied 18-14 and this meant we finished 6th in the country which is the best Wakefield Girls’ has ever done in a National competition. We were so proud of each other for coming sixth in the whole country! (despite not having our starting GK due to injury). 

A massive well done to Charlotte A for stepping up into this role and doing an amazing job and well done to all the girls who all played a vital role in the team. Another massive thank you to the amazing teachers who helped us get there. We couldn’t have done it without you. 

A special thank you to Mrs Manson and Mrs Robinson for everything they have done for us girls as a squad, we are extremely grateful for all the opportunities you have given us throughout the years and all the memories we have made. We hope we can leave behind a school legacy and encourage the younger years to get involved.