AWARDS
Let’s get physical
Epsom College’s Director of Sport, MICHAEL JOHNSON discusses the sports department’s efforts to create a broader offering for girls, in the hope that it will inspire them to stay active for life
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n recent years, our sports department has worked hard to build upon its offering for girls, to encourage every pupil to feel inspired by sport and exercise from an early age, so that participating in physical activity becomes an enjoyable part of everyday life. Epsom’s efforts in recent years have included large investments in state-of-the-art training facilities for our major girls’ sports, an increase in specialist-coaching expertise with the appointment of a host of former county and national players, and launch of an inspiring female industry speaker programme. Our girls’ sports push was driven by a Sport England study that found by the time girls reach their mid-teens, only 10 per cent meet the recommended activity levels of 60 minutes every day. Now, I can detail how the college is bucking this worrying national trend to achieve exceptionally high participation rates, as well as success at the highest competitive level. Epsom has invested heavily in girls’ sports in recent years. The college is one of only a handful of schools in the UK to have a professionalgrade, water-based AstroTurf, the same as those used at the Olympic
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independentschoolparent.com | AUTUMN 2021
