On Wednesday 15 October 2023, Denstone College hosted the annual England Netball U19 Staffordshire County Schools Netball competition. The county rounds are the first stage in qualifying for the national school competition later in the year.
Denstone College were one of 7 schools and colleges competing on the day in a round robin format. The squad had a tough schedule taking on Newcastle under Lyme School in the first round who have won the competition on a number of occasions previously. However, on this occasion it was the Denstone girls who kept their cool to take the game 13-11.
Over the remaining 5 rounds the squad faced Thomas Alleynes (W 9-4), Stoke on Trent College (W16-6), St Josephs College (W16-3), Alleynes Academy (W10-6) and finally last years winners King Edwards VI, Lichfield (W12-7).
In preparation for the tournament, the squad have taken on extra evening practices, sessions in their lunch breaks as well as attending a day camp during their half term break to be as prepared as they could be to take on a challenging field. Their resilience, hard work and support of each other as a team saw the girls take top spot and bring home the first ever silverware for netball in any age group in Denstone History!
''After joining the school at the start of this academic year, I am so impressed with the dedication of the students and their approach to embracing all things netball. As a coaching team we have challenged them with new concepts, training methods and styles of play and they have taken it in their stride and I am so proud of the squad performance they put out on court in their first competition in this new team in such a short space of time. What is even more exciting is that this is the first time ever that the school has won this competition and progressed to the regional finals and so this is a special moment for the players and the school and their support networks.''
Amy Mountford
Denstone College Performance Netball Coach
