Major Sports - Girls' Sports
At Reed’s it is important to us that all girls are incorporated into the varied and active sports programme; trying things new to them as well as taking advantage of those sports that are more familiar.
Girls at Reed's play Major Sports of hockey in the Autumn term, netball in the Spring term along with cricket and tennis in the Summer term. Additional sports are offered through the games and activities options for girls; these include athletics, badminton, fitness, squash, swimming and Pilates. All sports are coached by highly motivated members of staff (including ex-Olympian hockey players) who give the girls a very positive and rewarding experience.
The number of girls within the school is relatively small, allowing someone who may have never perceived themselves as a sportswoman to be a fully integrated team member and a representative of the school on the sports field. Through the superb team morale and friendship that is built up and encouraged by the coaches, the girls compete successfully against much larger schools.
Elite level athletes can be entered into our High Performance Programme, which includes extra training sessions and a tailor-made programme put together by our specialist Strength and Conditioning coaches.
Hockey
Reed’s regularly fields between three and five teams for hockey during the season, allowing every girl who wishes to participate the opportunity to play. As Bronze medal winners in the South of England finals for three years, the 1st XI have become renowned as a competitive force. Reaching the semi-finals of the Independent Schools’ Cup and winning the St George’s Sixes Plate for the fourth time in previous years has reinforced their standing. Coaching is led by Head of Girls' Sport, Lucy Balls, with Director of Sport, Ben Edwards, and supported by our Hockey Professional, Brett Garrard, a double Olympian who has also led Surbiton ladies to five consecutive national titles.
Over the last few years many players have been selected for the England U18 squads or training camps and have gone on to represent their country at higher age level teams too.
Netball
Reed’s fields five netball teams at senior level who play competitive matches on a weekly basis, meaning all girls have the opportunity to play and be part of a team. Netball falls under the guidance of the Head of Girls’ Sport, Lucy Balls, who has 16 years experience of coaching Surrey school teams alongside professional, Liz Robertson, who has many years of experience coaching in Surrey, taking 65 teams to National finals, winning 16 of them. Statistics for 2019 were impressive - a record 20 matches out of 28 were won, with 510 goals for and just 266 against. The introduction of new hard courts has had a massive impact on training and the teams' successes.
Tennis
Over the last few years, girls’ tennis has made significant progress and Reed's are now one of the strongest schools in Surrey. Training continues throughout the year and elite players have access to our High Performance Programme. Teams compete annually in the Surrey League competition, the Surrey Cup (Branston Shield), the National Schools’ Championships (Aberdare Cup) and the St George’s Festival as well as the Independent Schools' Championships at Eton.
In recent years, the girls have won the Independent Schools National Schools Championships and the Surrey Cup (Branston Shield) and reached the finals of the Aberdare Cup.
GIRLS' TENNIS SUCCESSES & HONOURS
Cricket
Cricket has been recently introduced to the programme of Major Sports for girls, and two teams are now fielded. They are coached by our professional, Keith Medlycott, former Head Coach at Surrey CCC. The girls are able to train all year round in our state-of-the-art Indoor Cricket Centre as well as receive excellent support from qualified coaches and teachers during games and practices. A number of girls are members of local cricket clubs.
