Fired up: Sport
Physical activity is as much a part of learning here as any academic subject. We aim to engender an attitude of sport for life and sport for all in every South Hampstead girl, grounding our PE provision in an ethos of inclusive excellence.
We want every girl to find their sporting niche. And there is plenty of choice from the dozens of different sporting activities on offer at the school’s impressive on-site facilities and four-acre sports ground nearby. There is a premier league cricket pitch available, numerous netball and tennis courts, a dance studio and fitness suite – and girls train for cross-country on nearby Hampstead Heath.
A to E team participation means that girls of all levels get to compete. Cricket and football, two of the fastest-growing women’s games, are key sports for us, along with netball, cross-country, athletics and gymnastics. But girls enjoy the whole spectrum of other sports and activities, from athletics, British Military Fitness and dance to trampolining, yoga and Zumba. ‘Sports for All’ weeks encourage pupils to try new sports such as handball, rugby and acroyoga.
Excellence is nurtured with regular competitive fixtures, specialist training coaches and our Going for Gold and Sports Scholarship programmes for our most talented sportswomen competing at county, regional and national levels. Sporting successes are celebrated at our annual Sports Awards evening, with prizes presented by inspirational guest speakers, including Olympic medallists. And the standards keep going up. At Sports Days, records are broken each year, testament to our growing focus on sports and the impressive breadth and depth of talent that is emerging.
Staff stories
Ms Kate MartinThe girls are full of energy here… there is an incredible amount of talent.
Facilities
- Full Size Sports Hall on site
- Multi Use Games Area on site
- Four Acre Sports Ground & Pavilion
- Five Netball Courts & One Mini Court
- Fitness Suite
- Dance Studio
- Eight Tennis Courts (three Hard, three Astro and two Clay)
- Seven A-Side Astro Pitch
- Two Squash Courts
Going for Gold programme
The Going for Gold programme supports those pupils who are recognised by the PE department to be gifted and talented in a sporting activity. The programme aims to help girls to realise their potential by achieving a good sport/work/life balance and by tracking and monitoring their progress. We currently have a number of students competing very successfully at county and/or National level in a range of sports.
Girls are asked to attend the ‘Going for Gold’ sessions if they are currently participating in a sport at County level or higher, or are recognised by the school as a girl who has great potential to reach such levels. A number of meetings or group sessions will take place over the course of the year and will focus on a variety of topics, such as Sports Psychology, Nutrition and Time Management.
We aim high for ourselves, not to be better than others.