Queenswood was the only school in the country to qualify for the National Hockey Finals, held on Sunday 2 March at St George’s School, Weybridge, in both U14 and U18 age groups. Five schools qualify for this final stage – the best schools from the North, South, East, West and Midlands. The hockey season for Queenswood has been a busy and successful one, having already taken part in the U19 Clubs and Schools National Indoor Championships in January. The U18s, led by their captain and England International Amy K, finished a very creditable third place. We were the only school to score against the winning side Repton, and although we had hoped to finish as runner up we are very proud of our achievement. On the morning of departure Amy K and Libby S received their U18 England selection letters to participate in the Four Nations Championship at Easter.

The day started slowly for the U18s, going 2-0 down against Clifton College (the West Champions), but they found their stride in the second half to pull back a 2-2 draw - a great start. Goals were scored by Hannah W and Sophie A. Unfortunately in this game Amy K picked up an early injury to the ribs, meaning she had to come off; Hannah W had to move from the forward line to Sweeper to do some crucial work in defence in the last few minutes of the game. The second match saw Queenswood getting into their stride and winning the game against St Edwards from Oxford, with great saves from Arianne S and leading runs from Libby S to set up Hannah W for her first goal. Our third game was against Repton, the favourites and defending champions, a game we knew we had to win. Repton scored early, a goal from a short corner giving them a 1-0 advantage. Queenswood’s defence, headed up by vice-captain Victoria T and ably supported by Daisy-May P and Lucy S, did an effective job under significant pressure and were unlucky to concede a second goal. Q came back to earn three penalty corners in a row but were unable to convert, and the game ended 3-1 to Repton. We went into our final match needing a 1-0 victory to ensure the runner-up spot. Looking at the form from the day we anticipated a win against Hymers College. However, despite some great play from Jenny B and Libby S setting up the forward line we were unable to find the goal needed finishing the game 0-0.

The U14s started off nervously and found themselves under pressure against Canford School but despite their persistence our defence did a fantastic job led by vice-captain Cate G. This gave Queenswood more confidence in the second half and despite chances from Shona Y the score remained 0-0. The second game saw Queenswood face Arnold, on paper the weakest team in the competition. Queenswood started well, going 1-0 up thanks to a great goal from Shona Y. The second half saw Queenswood get well into their stride. Shona scored a hat-trick and we won 3-0. Queenswood then faced Oundle who were looking strong in their early games. Unfortunately the Queenswood defence gave away a penalty stroke early on and Oundle converted it to lead 1-0. Queenswood defended well; Lucie H and Charlotte E did some excellent work but we were unable to score. Our final match was against Kingston Grammar School, the team leading the competition so far. After a tackle from one of the Kingston midfield, Chloe H the captain was taken off injured. Queenswood went down 1-0 and half time was upon us. The Queenswood team made a good fight back in the second half but lost another 2 goals quickly and appeared to have a mountain to climb. Some brilliant work in midfield from Juliette M and Emily W set Shona Y up brilliantly to bring the score back to 3-1. Unfortunately time was against us and this was the final result. Queenswood U14 finished third in the competition, just ahead of Canford School on goal difference. A brilliant result in a National Final.

Queenswood U18 XI were described on the England Hockey Website as “the only team to rattle” the winners Repton. We feel very excited about the future of Hockey at Queenswood; as all the team qualify for next year’s tournament, they are all a year young and some will have another three years in this age group. Our U18 team, having taken part in both National Indoor and Outdoor Hockey finals this year, are our most successful First XI to date and we are confident that they can break their own record next year! With the added success of the U14 team we feel we have the depth to go from strength to strength.

Reporting by Jo Wakeley (Director of Sport) and Katharine Coke (PE Dept)