U12 IAPS National Hockey Finals

Last week we headed off to Repton School in Derbyshire for the U12 IAPS National Hockey Finals. 

After a long journey with a stop for supper we reached our overnight accommodation in Derby.  The girls were very excited but behaved impeccably and they settled quickly in their rooms. In the morning, after a great Premier Inn breakfast we headed off to Repton School.  The hockey facilities there are incredible and it was a real treat to be able to be part of this special tournament.  We warmed up with both excitement and nervous energy and were looking forward to a full day of hockey.  The atmosphere was electric.

We won our first two group games 1-0 beating both Westbourne House and Bishop Stortford, this was the perfect start and our confidence was growing.  We then come up against a very talented Downsend School and despite some good play we lost this one.  We ended off the group games with another win (3-0) against Spratton Hall and a lose (0-2) against Terrington Hall.

Our group seemed to have produced some interesting results and after all of the scores were collated, we finished an incredible 2^nd in our group taking us through to the main cup draw and one of the last 8 teams left in the competition.

In our final game of the day, we played some of our best hockey.  The girls certainly played with both passion and determination throughout the day and we were very proud of their efforts.   It was a special treat to see Ottilie an ex HZG pupil who just 4 years ago was in Year 8.  Ottilie went to Repton at the end of Year 8 and continued to excel on the hockey pitch.  She is currently part of the U16 England team and it was great to catch up with her.

Mrs Cobb