Emanuel provides opportunities for development through a variety of sports and provides talented pupils a chance to excel through access to outstanding coaching and competitive inter-school fixtures.
Phase 1 of our Off Site Sports Ground, Blagdons, is now complete with the new all weather pitch and cricket nets in full use.
The all weather pitch allows us to offer a broader range of co-educational sport with provision for hockey, netball, tennis, and football. The pitch provides a home venue for girls’ hockey and allows hockey and rugby matches to be run for girls and boys at the same time and location. The new pitch is also used for netball and football and will be used for recreational tennis in the summer.
‘There’s a great buzz’
The opening of the pitch brings a fantastic atmosphere to the sports ground on a Saturday morning. Girls’ hockey matches ran concurrently with boys’ rugby fixtures in the autumn term, creating a great community spirit.
“The new all weather pitch at Blagdons has made for a particularly enjoyable hockey season. Since year seven, we have always travelled to away matches for hockey which allowed for some fun coach karaoke but did mean that we never got a chance to play with a spirited, home crowd cheering us on. However, as of September, we have had an exciting new facility that not only allowed effective training to take place, but also meant that our Saturday matches occurred in a buzzing atmosphere with parents and pupils coming together to watch the thriving sport at Emanuel. Teams participating in rugby and hockey could play alongside each other, creating a communal environment that fuelled motivation and created that necessary drive to win.”
Work is currently underway on three new hard courts for netball and recreational tennis. These will be ready for use at the beginning of the summer term. Work will also take place to install three hybrid cricket pitches. Girls and boys and girls across the school will play cricket at the off-site sports facility in the summer term. This will be wonderful in terms of participation and team spirit, with girls and boys of all ages and abilities playing there.
We are incredibly grateful to the parents and supporters who have invested in this transformational capital project and the future of sport at Emanuel.
Start date: April 2022
Completion date: December 2027
Off Site Sports Ground
“The sports department are very excited to have a home for hockey and many other sports at our off-site sports facility in Raynes Park. It will be fantastic to see both boys and girls, in equal measure, representing the school in sports fixtures on Saturday mornings together at our home site. Parents are very much welcome to support our students in what promises to be a brilliant atmosphere as we continue to build our performance sport with the addition of the new all-weather AstroTurf.”
Kerry Smith, Director of Sport