The 2016 National Schools Finals were once again held in the grounds of the beautiful Roedean School in Brighton on Saturday 19th March.
Despite the overcast conditions and the cool sea air there was no shortage of excitement as the teams arrived.
As teachers and parents arrived to set up their base camps for the day, the gazebos flew up and the girls from every team and age group took to court to warm up.
The Horizon Café on sight at Roedean did a roaring trade of cold food and hot drinks to warm and fuel the players, umpires, supporters, volunteers and staff alike!
The buzz for the day was already in place as 9.15am came to signal the start of the first games.
Throughout the day, the wonderful team of umpires commented on the fantastic level of play on court across all three age groups.
As the day went on and games and pools got more competitive, swarms of people were gathered around the results televisions eager to know where their school were placed.
It reached mid-afternoon before the sun burst its way through the clouds, giving everyone in attendance a much needed vitamin D boost!
After a full day of excellent netball, it came to the semi-finals and in the Under 14 section, Guildford High, Millfield School, Berkhamsted School and St Edmunds College battled it out to reach the final.
In the final, Berkhamsted School managed to beat Guildford High by 10 goals to 6 and become Under 14 National Champions.
The Under 16 category finished in a battle between Grammar School at Leeds and Oldham Hulme Grammar after they’d edged out Wirral Grammar and Aylesbury High in the semi-final stage.
Grammar School at Leeds put in a fantastic performance to take the title and beat Oldham Hulme 10-4.
The Under 19 finals were an emotionally charged event as it would be many of the girls playing in this category’s last shot at the title.
The final four teams left in the competition were Beaconsfield High, Brighton College, Fallibroome Academy and Grammar School at Leeds.
Grammar School at Leeds managed two titles in one day as the Under 19 side narrowly beat Beaconsfield High 10-9 in the final.
All that was left was to crown the champions and commend the top three sides in each age group for their extraordinary level of netball throughout the day.
In addition to these awards, teams were rewarded for their defensive and attacking records during the group stages of the day.
The award for the most goals scored went to Grammar School at Leeds’ Under 16 squad as they scored a whopping 116 goals before they’d even reached the semi-finals.
The defensive award also went to Grammar School at Leeds, but this time it was down to the work of the Under 19’s remarkable defence.
Lastly, the Endeavour Award went to the side that the umpires and officials deemed to play all of their matches in the spirit of the game. This award went to Durham High after impressing all that watched them across the group stages.
England Netball would like to thank all who played, supported and helped on the day, and to Roedean School for their fantastic hospitality.
Thank you for your help in making this event a success for another year.
Click here to view the Final Standings of the tournament!
