After last season’s disruptions, Alex Fletcher, Harrodian’s newly appointed Head of Netball (shown above with her predecessor in the role, Clair Foster) has been delighted that the school’s netballers have bounced back so strongly this autumn.
‘We've had 47 teams playing fixtures across the age groups and what all of them seem to have in common is a spirit of enthusiasm, energy and togetherness.' says Ms Fletcher. 'From the 8s in the Prep – who have played exceptionally this year – to Sixth Formers at the top of the school, there's such an appetite to get out there and play. At Under 18 level for example we’ve been putting out four teams all season, and as many as six in some weeks.’
The reward for the teams’ can-do spirit and commitment has been consistently good results across the netball age groups. The First VII – which features some highly promising young players from the 15s as well as Sixth-Formers – has been growing in strength throughout the autumn. Other senior teams have been matching their quality of performance. The Under 15s team has qualified for next spring's Surrey finals, for example, and the U16s and U14s both unluckily missed out on qualification by a single place.
Prep teams have enjoyed a great season too, with the 9s (year 5), the 10s (year 6) and the 11s (year 7) all performing well both in regular fixtures and in tournaments. The 8s (Year 4), deserve a special mention as they have excelled themselves by going the whole season unbeaten both in regular fixtures and in tournaments: ‘It’s a remarkable achievement by the whole year group of 30 girls,’ enthuses Hazel Lovegrove, Head of Prep Sport.
From the 8s in the Prep to Sixth Formers at the top of the school, there's such an appetite to get out there and play.
Ms Alex Fletcher, Head of Harrodian Netball
Clair Foster, Ms Fletcher’s predecessor as Head of Netball, is naturally thrilled by Harrodian netball's steady upward curve. When she acceded to the role back in 2012, after all, Harrodian was still struggling to come to terms with the extremely high standard of the local netball scene. 'We we were a a growing school with a restricted pool of available players trying to find our feet in Surrey which is the most competitive county a school can play in,’ she recalls. ‘Back in the early days we knew that taking part in tournaments with 13 or 14 schools taking part often involved fighting to avoid the wooden spoon. Now things are very different.’
I don't think any netball team will be arriving at Harrodian thinking they're in for an easy ride anytime soon
Ms Clair Foster, Head of Lower Prep
Bit by bit, Ms Foster and her team set about building a netballing culture at the school. ‘We worked hard on coaching and put the emphasis on exciting pre-season trips led by inspirational players such as Amanda Newton, former England Captain,’ she recalls. ‘We wanted to show our pupils the sort of success that they could aspire to.’
Ms Foster passed on the baton as Head of Netball when she became Head of Harrodian Lower Prep earlier this year but she is happy that, nine years on, our netballers are more than holding their own and believes that the sport's future here is in safe hands. ‘We all knew Fletch would be great as Head of Netball and our confidence in her has been borne out by continuing progress this year and the promising talent we can see emerging at so many levels of the school,' she says 'I don’t think any netball team will be arriving at Harrodian thinking they’re in for an easy ride anytime soon.'
Harrodian Headmaster, Mr Hooke, the first Head of Netball in his early days at the school, shares Ms Foster's confidence. He still takes a keen interest in the game and has been much impressed by what he's seen from the sidelines over the past three months. 'Watching our young talent emerging at every level in the school is really exciting,' he says. 'The future for netball at Harrodian looks really promising.'
