Sport at the Senior School

Athletics at Ashford School is there for all, regardless of ability, and is a popular co-curricular option in the Summer Term. Running, jumping and throwing comprise the core skills for most competitive and recreational sports, so participation enhances a pupil’s all-round sporting abilities.

Training facilities are primarily based on the grass tracks at Ashford Prep School and at the Senior site on Mace Lane. The tartan track at the Julie Rose Stadium is also used for additional training and competitions. Pupils compete in both district and county competitions and we have had a number of athletes selected to compete in the National Finals each year in both individual and team events.

Recent successes include:

• Girls District Athletics Champions 2022 in Year 7, 8 and 10
• Boys District Athletics Champions 2022 in Year 10
• Three pupils qualified for and competed at the IAPS Athletics National Finals 2023
• Ava was crowned National Race Walking Champion for U13’s in 2023
• Jess represents England at the 2022 Schools International Track and Field Championships. Jess was crowned Kent U20 Race Walking Champion for 2023 and finished 2^nd at Nationals 2023 in the 10k event.

Cross Country takes place during the Autumn and Spring terms. Boys and girls of a wide range of ability select the co-curricular Runfit club every Monday which focuses on the long-term athletics development.

Ashford School enters the Kent Schools Finals, enjoying much success at all age levels. Pupils have gone on to compete in the National English Schools Championships representing Kent. Many of our pupils regularly gain county and regional recognition in Cross Country. Inter House Cross Country in October, involves pupils in Year 7-10 and is keenly contested each year. Notable recent successes include:

• Dobson Cross Country Team Champions – 2021
• Ava, Year 7, Kent Schools Cross Country Champion 2021
• Ava, Year 7, South East Schools Inter Counties Cross Country Championship  2022 – 2nd place

Mr Matt Russen

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Badminton is a popular option for pupils both during timetable PE lessons for Year 7-10, during Senior Games and also as a co-curricular activity. We have 4 high quality courts in the Sports Hall and also use the Stour Centre facilities which has a further 8 badminton courts.

Many pupils participate in recreational badminton, but we also have competitive badminton teams who enter district and national badminton competitions at U14, U16 and U18, where we compete against other schools throughout Kent often with great success. We have a number of talented players in the Kent system. Notable recent successes include:

• U18 Granville Champions 2020 and 2023
• U16 Boys District Champions 2020 and 2023

Badminton is proving to be increasingly popular, thanks to the fantastic facilities in the Sports Hall and the top quality coaching available at Ashford School.

Mr Adam Stew
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Basketball is played in Physical Education and Games lessons. Our extensive Sports Hall which includes a full size court, suspended hoops and a radio-controlled fully functional electronic scoreboard means that we have first class facilities that are used for all sessions. Basketball is a very popular recreational sport and many students are passionate about it, especially in the boarding houses. There are weekly practice sessions during Senior Games and boarders activities where the students enjoy themselves and play to a very high standard.

Friendly matches are organised for our Senior pupils during the Autumn and Spring terms.

Mr Ashley Cook
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Cricket is the performance sport for both boys and girls in the Summer Term. All pupils are given the opportunity to play hardball cricket fixtures whilst representing the school.

In the Junior age groups, pupils are coached in the basic skills of batting, bowling and fielding. There is an emphasis on executing simple skills well and on learning how to read and understand the game. As pupils move up the school they develop their knowledge and understanding of the game, coaching sessions become more demanding, and they have a wider experience of playing matches.

Notable achievements include:

• National Champions 2022 at U15 Girls Indoor Cricket
• Nationals Runners Up 2023 at U13 Girls Indoor Cricket
• Listed in the Top 100 Cricketing Schools in the Country 2020 and 2022
• 1XI Boys victory over the MCC in 2022

Ashford Prep School offers three grass and one artificial wicket in addition to three Flicx wickets and four indoor nets. Our top class facilities are regularly used by Southern Spartans as well as by Kent Cricket for training and fixtures.

We have close links with Kent County Cricket Club through our coaching staff and we also have several players who have been successful in being selected for Kent Squads and South East Stars.

Overseas tours and pre-season trips are a regular feature of the school: a pre-season tour took place to La Manga Club Resort in April 2018 and we regularly host the MCC.

Mr Ashley Cook
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As a School we offer a full Hockey programme. All of our students play at U13 level, offering A through to E teams. This allows all pupils to participate in inter-school fixtures, with a view to developing their Hockey skills. We then continue with teams at U14, U15, 1st and 2nd XI level. The School competes in a full fixture list against some of the strongest opposition from around the County.

The School is extremely fortunate to have AstroTurf pitches at both the Senior and Prep School sites, as well as use of the facilities of Ball Lane, the home of Ashford Hockey Club. These high quality facilities enable us to successfully host County and Regional tournaments such as U12 boys Tier 2 and U16 girls Tier 3. The school continues to develop strong links with numerous local teams, with a number of pupils actively representing Ashford, Folkestone and Canterbury Hockey clubs outside of school hours.

There are several pupils across the school that have been selected to represent the District, County and at National Level. This includes Joe, Maddie, Aoife, Jessie and Anna who are all involved with the Regional Talent Academy. The U13’s, U15’s & 1^st XI pupils participate every year in their individual county tournaments. They have been many fantastic achievements over the years, including the 1^st XI boys reaching the Kent Cup finals two years in a row. These results are testament to hard work put in by both pupils and coaching staff. To summarise:

• 2023 County Champions at Boys U11 and U12
• 2023 South East Regional Champions Boys U11
• 2023 Regionals for U16 Girls (Runners Up), U11, U12, 2023U16 Girls County Champions and
• 2022 Regional Finals U11 Girls
• 2022 County Finalists Girls U16A
• 2021 County Champions U14A Girls

The Sports Centre also provides fantastic indoor facilities that allows our pupils the opportunity to experience the high paced thrill of the indoor version of the game. Two squads (U16 and U18) compete in the National Schools Competition each year which is hosted at Ashford School.

Overseas and preseason trips are a regular feature of the school: with an annual tour to Holland for the Girls’ and Boys’ teams a real highlight.

Mrs Sophie Hewitt

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Biathlon

As an integral part of the performance swimming programme, Ashford pupils have the opportunity to diversify and excel in Modern Biathlon – a combination of running and swimming. They are supported with their running through our Runfit programme which has long term athlete development at its core. Many of our pupils have qualified for the British Schools Championships achieving both individual and team success. Ashford School proudly hosts their own Summer Biathlon every year which sees over 100 pupils competing against others from visiting schools. Notable recent successes include:

• Nationals Biathlon Team Champions 2023 – U13 Girls
• European Champion in Triathle after competing in Marathon Greece – Zara 2022
• British Schools Biathlon Championships 2022 – five top 10 individual finishes and three top 10 team finishes across various age groups
• Tilly, U12 British Biathlon Champion 2021 and runner up 2022

Netball is the performance sport for girls in the Spring Term and Ashford School encourages pupils of all abilities and ages to enjoy Netball, whether it be at a recreational or competitive level. We have seven netball courts across both sites, including one indoor court at Ashford Senior School. These facilities are used regularly for training and both mid-week and Saturday fixtures.

Netball is extremely popular at Ashford School, from elite to social levels of competition. We offer a highly competitive fixture list including Kent County tournaments and matches against local and regional competition. Our aim within the netball programme is for all pupils to have the opportunity to play for their school during term time. Specialist coaching is available at all levels with each team having their own individual coach. We have a number of girls playing at both club level and within the London Pulse and Kent performance pathways.

We pride ourselves on working closely with the local clubs in the area to ensure girls have the opportunity to play outside of the school environment. Testament to this is an increasing number of girls playing in the Canterbury, Ashford, Maidstone and Kent County leagues as part of club teams. In addition to this the netball programme has a partnership with London Pulse Netball Franchise. Every Tuesday evening London Pulse run their Hub training session in the sports hall. This provides girls from both the school and the local area opportunity to play and train at an elite standard.

Each year the Netball season includes an inter-house competition, providing friendly rivalry and the chance for pupils to get involved and support one another. Trips and tours are a large part of the netball programme including the Senior Netball tour to Brighton and trips to watch International and Super League fixtures at the Copper Box Arena.

Miss Hannah Hyams
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Rugby is offered all year round at Ashford School. In the Autumn Term, Rugby is the performance sport for boys, with all pupils training a minimum of twice a week with competitive fixtures on Saturday’s and during the week against local independent and grammar schools. In the Spring Term, we a run a Sevens programme for our U15, U16 and U18’s to suitably prepare them for the annual Kent Sevens and Rosslyn Park National Sevens Competition. In the Summer Term all age groups have Pre-Season training, in which coaches work on technical and tactical skills as well as fitness training, with pupils able to access our dedicated Strength & Conditioning Coach for personalised summer programmes.

Ashford School currently field three competitive Senior teams and a further seven junior teams all the way down to the U12s. Three of these junior sides are B team squads, which enables every boy to be given the opportunity to represent Ashford School on the rugby pitch, regardless of their sporting background and or experiences.

We aim to nurture and develop the core skills of all pupils, and instil the values and ethos that underpin the sport of Rugby throughout all our players and squads. In the junior years, boys are taught to master the basic skills and game understanding, including a large focus on safety. Emphasis is placed on enjoying the game regardless of body shape and skill set, and each session is planned to challenge the players to progress, both as individuals and as collective playing squads. As the boys progress through the School, greater emphasis is placed on the more technical and complex aspects of the game, such as attack and defence alignments, set piece plays and situational tactics, with players in the Senior Squads benefitting from video analysis sessions as well as classroom-based learning when appropriate.

The School greatly benefits from the wide range of excellent facilities available to all its pupils. Situated in 25 acres of stunning Kent countryside, Ashford Prep School has four pristine full-size rugby pitches. Players and parents also benefit from the brand-new Sports Pavilion located in the centre of these eye-catching grounds. Many outside organisations including local rugby clubs, The Saracens and Kent County and Academic programmes are often hosted by the Ashford School facilities due to their professional quality and durability. At the Senior School we have one rugby pitch as well as two other grass training paddocks. This is in addition to a fully-equipped Fitness Suite, which is often used for squad fitness sessions as well as Strength & Conditioning sessions that run at lunchtimes and after School with our S&C Coach.

The School benefits from strong links with several local rugby clubs, especially Ashford RFC and Canterbury RFC; as well as a mutual sharing of facilities, the School hosts an annual Club Development Day, in which club coaches are invited to come in and lead joint sessions with our pupils and alongside their own club players to help promote the many benefits of being involved in the youth club rugby scene. A growing number of our pupils represent Ashford RFC, Canterbury RFC and other local clubs. We also host annual taster sessions for Girls Rugby in collaboration with our most local club, Ashford RFC, who have a thriving womens’ and girls’ section that several of our pupils are involved with, and who are always keen to welcome new players and their families to their warm and friendly club.

The development and support of aspirational elite rugby players at Ashford School is at an all-time high. Notable recent successes and opportunities include:

• In 2022, two former pupils signed professional contracts; Michael Etete (2016) as a full-time professional for Bath Rugby and Anthony Mark (2022) as a contracted Senior Academy Player for Saracens, who has also subsequently been selected for the England U20 squad
• We have an increasing number of pupils involved in both the Saracens Academy Pathway. From the U14-U16 age groups, twenty-one players are currently involved in either the Saracens Player Development Group (PDG) or Saracens Developing Player Programme (DPP), with one U16 player currently in the Saracens Player Development Group (SPDG) and sixth former who is playing for both the Saracens U17 and U18 squads
• Our current 1st XV captain 2023, Toki has played for both Kent U17 and U18 squads
• Aspirational elite coaches/players join us for the annual club training day. In 2021, we welcomed Drew Fautley, a former international player and coach for the USA 15’s and 7’s squads, who won numerous World Rugby accolades and having been involved in the GB Olympic Pathway
• Overseas tours and trips are also a regular feature of Ashford School’s rugby programme, with pupils in Year 9 and 10 touring Noordwijk in The Netherlands every two years to play against Bassetts RFC
• The Schools also make yearly trips to watch elite rugby matches, including Autumn International matches at Twickenham, as well as London-based club sides including Saracens and Ealing Trailfinders.

These are all wonderful opportunities and really reflects the growing status and quality of performance rugby at Ashford School. Head of Rugby, Mr Phil Bubb, is part of the Saracens PDG coaching team, and has high hopes that many more aspirational young rugby players at Ashford School will go on to benefit from being involved in this excellent representative coaching programme in the future.

Mr Phil Bubb
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Our Director of Swimming, Robin Francis OLY, oversees the Ashford School swim programme and develops swimmers within the performance pathway. Swimming in its entirety is broken down as follows:

Performance Swimming

Ashford School Swimming offers a fully integrated programme, combining both academic and swimming excellence. Pastoral care and modern boarding facilities are available to support the long-term development of talented athletes between the ages of 8-18 years. As an accredited Swim England Club, squad members compete on a national circuit, ranging from County to Regional and National level meets. With a team of highly qualified and experienced coaches, the school focuses on providing an inspirational environment for those wishing to commit and achieve.

Facilities include, 2 x 20m swimming pools, modern strength and conditioning suite, sports hall and extensive grounds.

Curriculum Swimming

Teaching key aquatic skills, with a view to developing a lifelong love for swimming. Reception – Yr6 swim once a week throughout the academic year and Yr7 – Yr10 once a week throughout the Autumn and Spring term.

• Nursery: One term of lessons in their final year
• Reception – Yr4: One lesson of Swimming/Water Safety Skills per week throughout the whole academic year
• Yr5 – Yr10: Swimming, including Personal Survival/Waterpolo and Synchro to complement existing knowledge
• GCSE programme support

Learn To Swim

The programme follows the Swim England Learn to Swim Pathway, equipping swimmers with the skills to be competent, confident and safe in the water.

• Internal Learn to Swim (Prep School enrichment programme)
• Local Primary School Swim Programme (PSP)
• Community Learn to Swim Programme (CLTSP)

Mr Robin Francis

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Tennis is a very popular Summer Term sport. The Senior School has four hard courts, six AstroTurf courts and a further two hard courts at the Prep School. In addition, senior students can train on clay courts as we have strong links with Wye Tennis Club.

Teams are put out at Senior, Under 15 and Under 13 levels for boys and girls. Experienced teachers and coaches, including Nick Skelton (L5 coach from Sellindge Tennis Club), run weekly training sessions throughout the Summer Term. This also includes one to one coaching sessions.

Friendly fixtures against local schools are organised mid-week and inter house tennis tournament takes place in July each year.

Sue Rea
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