Thursday 5 March 2015 The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) took three teams to the finals of the England Hockey National Schools Championships for Girls having won through in all possible age categories. It is the second year running that GSAL has reached the national finals of this competition, having made their debut at the event last year with both the U16 and U14 teams competing. This year the U18s also won through, making GSAL one of only two schools in the country to achieve a full complement of teams across all three age groups. The schools finals were played for the first time at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, hockey’s Olympic legacy venue at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The top eight school teams in the country competed in each age category, having reached the national final after success in a series of county and regional rounds. The U16s achieved the highest placing of the three GSAL teams. They progressed from their group as runners up to face Clifton College in the playoff for third place overall. The game finished 1-1 at full time and was decided in dramatic fashion as GSAL clinched the match 6-5 on penalties. GSAL’s acting head of hockey Charlotte Glass said: “Given the reputation and history of the other schools in the competition coming in the top three nationally is an outstanding achievement. All the girls delivered tremendous team performances and have set the bar high in terms of our national standings. “This success in the national competition shows how hockey is flourishing across all age groups at GSAL and we look forward to more successes from them in the future as their experience at this level grows.” The U14s were the last to play and hoped to emulate the success of the U16s as they secured a playoff place after two wins and a loss in the pool matches. In the third place playoff they faced Blundells School who denied GSAL third place with a goal in the dying moments of the match. For the U18 team it was their first time at the national finals. They started the pool games strongly with a draw and a win, but a loss in the last match left them placed third on goal difference alone, but unable to progress from the group. GSAL’s pursuit of a national hockey title continues – the U13 girls hockey team compete for a place in their national final when they play in the north east round later this month. General Senior School News
