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Inspection report 2010
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Hockey
Aim
The sports programme aims to provide an environment in which every student gains a positive, fulfilling and rewarding experience and is able to strive for excellence. All students are encouraged to be actively involved in sporting activity throughout life.
We strive for excellence both in performance and attitude and to cater for all students regardless of ability by providing access to first class coaching, opportunity and facilities.
Important sporting values such as sportsmanship, codes of conduct, respect for officials, discipline, reliance, leadership, teamwork, winning, losing and simply having fun, are all fostered within the framework of the programmes offered.
In the Lower School, emphasis is placed on enjoying the game and each session is planned to enthuse and challenge the players, whilst emphasising core skills. As the girls progress into the Middle School, their basic skills are complemented with more complex concepts as their understanding of the game develops. The emphasis in the Sixth Form lies in developing greater consistency and improving performance through, conditioning and fitness, structured practices, match play strategies and coaching clinics.
Through this sporting programme we aim to maximise talent and performance through the development of core skills, tactical knowledge and game sense, alongside positive attitudes which value respect, commitment, determination and team work.
Coaching staff
The girls have access to a rich array of strong qualified and experienced coaching staff, several have played national league (for example, Glenn Kirkham, current England Men’s Hockey) and many play for Cambridgeshire clubs/leagues. We also provide visiting external coaches during the course of the year where players are given the opportunity to further their skills with specific master classes.
Teams
The girls have a well-developed hockey structure comprising of three senior U18 squads, two squads for each year group throughout the middle school & seven squads at U13 7 a-side level. All abilities have the chance to represent the school. All squads play a competitive, strong & established fixture list. We have also hosted and played a number of overseas teams, e.g. Balmoral Scholl, Argentina.
The school enters the National Schools Hockey Championship each year, at all age groups this includes the 7 a-side Schools Mini Championship.
Throughout the Michaelmas term the U18, U16 and U14 squads also work through a vigorous and structured Indoor Hockey programme, following which they go on to enter the Indoor National Schools Championship at U16 & U18 level.
Tours
We have a well-established structure for pre-season training, triangular fixtures within UK counties and annual mini tours to Surrey. In addition, we provide the opportunity to tour internationally, with a proposed development tour taking place to Malaysia in 2012. Previous tours have visited South America.
Talented individuals
We also encourage and create opportunities and pathways for individuals to develop and achieve further honours within their sport by joining local clubs and leagues. We have a number of students over a range of age levels who are involved in the England Hockey Regional Excel Pathway and a number who currently are involved within local clubs e.g. Cambridge City Academy. We also run a Hockey Leadership Award Scheme for the senior girls during their enrichment afternoons, which results in an England Hockey accredited coaching certificate.
We have a school conditioning/fitness coach who will support or establish fitness programmes specific to the individual and their sport.
Local links
We have facilitated and established links with local clubs, leagues and regional partnership schemes, East Hockey JRC/JRPC path. This link works to improve the standard of hockey in the local area through the promotion of hockey both within the school and the local club community.
