International sport stars return for special event at The Perse
A trio of international sport stars returned to The Perse for an entertaining evening sharing their experiences and reflecting on life at school.
Great Britain and England hockey player Tess Howard (2017), England and Northampton Saints rugby ace Alex Coles (2018) and England Lions and Gloucestershire cricketer Zaman Akhter (2017) were joined in conversation with Perse Assistant Director of Sport (Performance) Ravi Mahendra in front of an enthralled audience in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre.
All three athletes looked back on stunning seasons, with Tess realising her dream of competing at the Olympics by playing for Team GB in Paris, Alex winning the Gallagher Premiership with Saints as well as featuring in Test matches in New Zealand and Japan with England, and Zaman taking five wickets on his England Lions debut against Sri Lanka during a whirlwind campaign that also saw Glos win the T20 Vitality Blast.
Besides relishing the chance to play in front of family and friends in Paris after the disappointment of missing Tokyo 2020 due to a serious knee injury, Tess was thrilled the GB women’s hockey team made history by becoming the first side to wear both skorts and shorts at the Olympics.
It followed her campaign for the FIH, hockey’s international governing body, to change their clothing regulations, allowing female players the choice to wear skorts or shorts after research she carried out found 70% of girls gave up sport due to issues with kit and body image.
As a result, Tess won the Changemaker honour at the 2023 The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards and she went on to speak passionately about her foundation Inclusive Sportswear, which bids to create a charter for best practice for kit inclusion across sport.
She said: “I was very uncomfortable in the uniform I had to wear and if that’s happening to me at elite level, it’s happening at school level. It’s all about creating a sense of belonging and enjoyment in sport.”
Alex reflected on how the battle to win the Premiership became known as ‘The Last Dance’ by the Saints squad – in reference to the Netflix series documenting basketball legend Michael Jordan’s final season with Chicago Bulls – due to key players Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam and Alex Waller coming to the end of their careers at the club.
He said: “It really was a big year for us. Luckily, we played well all year and we managed to sneak over the line. Northampton is a rugby town and thousands of people came to see us on an open-top bus parade. It was a real whirlwind and something you dream about, so to achieve it was so fulfilling.”
Zaman outlined the confidence he gained from dismissing England’s record Test run-scorer Joe Root twice as part of a five-wicket haul in Glos’ opening County Championship match against Yorkshire, which led to his call-up to the England Lions.
With a Lions tour to South Africa to come next month, he said: “To get that recognition having only played 13 games at the time, and to then go and get five wickets against Sri Lanka, was a pretty good feeling. The whole atmosphere around England cricket is just about expressing yourself and it keeps motivating you to do what you’re doing.”
The speakers shared their favourite Perse sporting and non-sporting memories from school, ranging from Tess’ pet dog marauding around the playing fields after escaping from her house to Alex’s impromptu a cappella performance during a talent show.
Tess emphasised the support she received as a talented hockey player at The Perse, and how her teachers allowed her to flourish both academically and in sport, adding: “My hockey development was recognised as something to be nurtured on its own terms rather than for the school’s benefit.”
Zaman, whose original focus was hockey, having played for the England U16 team, added: “The Perse made me fall in love with sport from a young age. I just had this awe of watching first-team games and thinking ‘I want to do that’.”
The wide-ranging conversation also saw Tess, Alex and Zaman talk about how they manage the ups and downs of being involved in elite-level sport, including the role of sports psychology and how continuing to study alongside playing had helped them, as well as considering life after sport.
However, all agreed a passion for their pursuits remained key to them staying at the top of their game, with The Perse having played a significant role in their journeys.