Ashford School champions Netball with London Pulse

We are immensely proud to announce that Ashford School has officially partnered with the London Pulse Netball franchise, making us one of only a few schools who have joined forces with this prestigious organisation. 

Working with London Pulse offers us an exciting opportunity for girls’ sport at Ashford School, and will provide more netball opportunities for our girls, as well as other netball players in the area.  Our players will have the opportunity to train and play with high calibre athletes, which leads to trial opportunities. Importantly, the School’s players will receive exposure on the London Pulse digital and social media platforms, enabling them to increase their profile with talent scouts and other organisations. Lastly, this partnership offers focused training for our staff, with access to CPD.  

Hannah Hyams, the Head of Girls Games at Ashford School, approached London Pulse to start a branch here, as she felt that there were few opportunities to progress after club netball within this area of Kent. The club offering in this area is excellent and as a school we work closely with Breakaways Netball Club and Pilgrims Netball Club to signpost girls to clubs outside of school. However, when players are talented and wanting to progress after County there is not the visibility for them to be scouted. As such, this partnership now provides the local communities of Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone, Thanet and Maidstone with fantastic opportunities to progress in this sport. 

London Pulse are the rising stars of the Vitality Netball Super League Championship. Their aim is to connect with the communities in London (and now Kent) to play, watch and enjoy netball. They are passionate about finding and developing super-talented athletes. They compete in the country’s premier domestic competitions but offer much more than just the super league. They are based at the iconic Copper Box Arena: this multi-sport venue has a capacity of 7,481 and was first used for the 2021 Summer Olympics. It is in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in the heart of London.  

We are so pleased for our students who were recently selected to be a part of the London Pulse Hub at Ashford School: Gabriella, Abigail, Ellen and Emily. They will play their first tournament on Sunday 10 October at the University of Kent. We wish them the best of luck! 

In addition to this, we are extremely proud of the following girls who have been selected for the Kent Netball Pathway: Molly and Hannah (Year 8) and Polly and Poppy (Year 10). 

This is an exciting direction for Netball at Ashford School. Our focus is primarily on enjoyment, but now we have the opportunity for our top athletes to thrive within the sport.