Fantastic sporting facilities are on offer to all students at SWPS including a sports hall, an Astro turf, three netball and tennis courts, grass pitches, fitness suite, rowing suite, dance studio, dedicated PE classroom and the boat club. Our aim is to promote a positive attitude towards participation and performance in physical activities and to encourage students to adopt a lifelong healthy active lifestyle.
SPORT FOR LIFE – SWPS students have the opportunity to participate in an inclusive Physical Education programme which covers a broad range of sports across the curriculum. In Years 7-10 lessons include netball, hockey, gymnastics, dance, athletics, tennis, badminton, football, cricket and fitness. In Years 11-13 students can go the River Bourne Health club for swimming and fitness classes, row at our Boat Club, or participate in onsite activities which include pilates, hockey and netball. Skills such as teamwork, leadership and communication are developed throughout. SPORT FOR LIFE Our sports programme has been designed to help students turn their talent, skill and dedication into success. The extensive co-curricular programme is constantly evolving. Opportunities are provided for participation and excellence in physical activity and students are encouraged to represent the school in their chosen sport. Netball, hockey and rowing are our major sports and they produce excellent results. ROWING The jewel in our sporting crown is the SWPS Rowing Club boathouse on Laleham Reach. Here, students train and many have gone on to represent their country, win medals and enjoy success at the Henley Royal Regatta. SWPS alumna Hattie Taylor also rowed for Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics. Rowing is an exciting team and individual sport that gives the students physical benefits and also teaches organisation, time management and perseverance. Students can try the sport in Year 8 as a before school club initially on the rowing ergometers, with a ‘learn to row’ camp giving students an ‘on the water’ experience later in the term.
Students can then join the boat club from Year 9 onwards where a structured training plan with professional coaches and competitions will be available to all. The Boat Club is highly successful, winning many national titles and producing international junior athletes. SPORT FOR ALL All students can represent their House in Inter-House competitions which include netball, hockey, tennis, badminton, cricket and rounders with the year culminating in the annual Sports Day. A busy fixture list offers students the chance to compete against other schools. Many of our students get the opportunity to compete in county, regional and national competitions and many go on to represent at these levels independently. The Sports Department prides itself on encouraging students of all abilities to enjoy and participate in different sports. Our aim is that, during their time at SWPS, they will all find at least one sport or activity that they really enjoy and will be inspired to take part both in and beyond their lives at school.
Sport at SWPS supports a broad and balanced curricular and co-curricular programme, with a ‘sport for all’ approach whilst enabling our most promising students to achieve sporting excellence in their chosen activities. Our teams regularly compete in District Tournaments in a variety of sports and at County level in our major sports of netball and hockey. Teams are coached by highly experienced PE teachers and elite coaches whose credentials include national representation in performance and coaching.
NETBALL AND HOCKEY
BADMINTON
With a comprehensive fixtures programme all age groups from U12-U18 have regular opportunities to represent SWPS.
Badminton is an extremely popular co-curricular club, catering for all abilities. The performance highlight was the SWPS U14A badminton team triumphing at the KS3 District badminton championship.
During the 2022-23 netball season our U12, U13, and U15 teams won their respective District netball tournaments and our U14s were runners-up. An excellent standard of play was shown at the Surrey County netball Tournaments, with our U13A and U15A teams progressing through to the Surrey County netball finals. These competitions provide our elite teams with tough opposition. Additionally, SWPS players have been selected for Development Pathways and County netball representation. During the 2022-23 hockey season our SWPS U14 A and B hockey teams remained undefeated all season and won the St Teresa’s Invitational Tournament. SWPS participated in the Surrey tournaments, with the U13s achieving second place. The U12s showed their potential by achieving second place at the Epsom College Invitational Tournament. Multiple students have been selected for County representation, Future Talent Academy trials, and two students have been selected for the England Talent Academy. AT H L E T I C S District Athletics tournaments are always a highlight of the summer season. Our U12s came fourth out of 12 schools, and our U13s were victorious in their age category. As a result of some exceptional performances, four students were selected to represent the North-West Surrey District team.
CRICKET Cricket is an established sport at SWPS, with fixtures occurring across the U12 to U15 age range. The U13A were undefeated in all their matches last season. ROUNDERS SWPS has continued the run of success with school Rounders teams, securing the title of District Champions at U13, U14 and U15. TENNIS Students compete in a variety of events such as the Surrey Tennis Festival, where this year U12 students reached the semi-finals. Additionally, SWPS hold an annual Junior and Senior tournament which provides students with the opportunity to showcase their skills. SWIMMING Club swimmers can represent SWPS at a number of galas each year. At the District Gala the U12s came second and U13s came third. At other events, SWPS won multiple age group trophies. Two of our students have been invited to train with the Swim England Phase 2 National Training squad.
Rowing is the major ‘elite’ sport at SWPS, with a team of professional coaches running a programme designed to provide our athletes with a performance pathway from Year 8 to Year 13. In recent years, this has taken hundreds of eager Year 8 students from their Ready to Row land-training programme, and given them the opportunity to progress in a way that they can realistically target major national, and even international, success as they proceed through the school. R E P R E S E N T I N G G R E AT B R I TA I N In Summer 2022, our leading Year 12 athlete competed for the Great Britain Team at the Coupe de la Jeunesse (European U19 Championships), winning Gold and Silver Medals. This was followed by a successful Summer 2023, where SWPS students were selected to join the Great Britain Under 16 Team for the GB vs France J16 Match and two of our Sixth Form rowers competed for England at the Home International Regatta, winning two Gold medals.
of it. Our 1st Quad raced through to the Quarter Finals for the first time in our history, beating two Australian crews on their way through the rounds. Progressing to the last eight of Henley Royal Regatta was a major achievement for our programme, and a signal of our intent to continue this progress moving forwards. The 1st Quad also raced through to the Semi-Finals of Henley Women’s Regatta, which was the first time our Club had been represented at such a late stage in one of the two blue riband junior girls’ boat types at this competition!
DOMESTIC SUCCESSES
FUTURE ROWERS
2022-23 has been the Boat Club’s most successful domestic season so far. For the second consecutive year, the club won three medals at the prestigious National Schools’ Regatta, and four medals (including two Golds) at the British Rowing Junior Championships. Four athletes were selected for county representation for the highly competitive Thames Upriver Team at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta where they won Gold and Silver Medals.
In the younger year-groups, we introduce rowers to the basics of the sport in a fun and engaging way, creating a solid foundation which gives athletes the best chance of enjoying fast and successful rowing as they progress through the school. We regularly have three Year 9 octuple sculls competing at the National Schools’ Regatta, which sees many of our youngest rowers enjoying the challenge of national competition in a sport they only started eight months previously. Our Year 10 squad builds on this foundation year, and this is the first point at which our programme regularly and realistically targets national success. From Year 11 to Year 13 our rowers form the Senior Squad, which targets the club’s top performances each year.
H E N L E Y R O YA L R E G AT TA Henley Royal Regatta is the most prestigious river regatta in the world, with Olympic and World Champions sharing the water with elite domestic and overseas club rowers and junior athletes. In 2023, SWPS was one of only two girls’ school programmes to have qualified both a quad and an eight, meaning that thirteen of our students experienced the magic of Henley, with the global livestream, the thrill of the atmosphere, and the toplevel international competition. With crews coming from as far afield as Australia, USA and Canada, we are proud to create opportunities for our rowers to not only experience this regatta, but to prepare them with the realistic aim to be a central part
The Club is fortunate to benefit from the support of a wonderful Parents’ Committee, which runs a fun, social side of the Club, as well as providing useful funds for our developing range of equipment. The school supports the rowing provision fantastically well, and as well as an experienced coaching team, we enjoy a competitive fleet of boats and training facilities, including the amazing Boathouse which was opened in September 2016.
C E L E B R AT I N G S P O R T A Sports Awards event is held each year in the Summer term to recognise and celebrate the sports achievements of SWPS students in the school. Additionally, the school’s annual Showcase event allows students to share their creative talents. SPORTS SCHOLARSHIPS Sports scholarships are currently offered in Year 7 and Year 12. Sport scholars receive mentoring from staff and can participate in specialist strength and conditioning training. SPOR TS TOURS Sports tours enable the students not only to develop their sporting prowess but also enjoy a cultural experience that they will always remember. We aim to offer a Junior or Senior Hockey and Netball sports tour each October half term. S P O R T S S TA F F SWPS PE Department boasts a number of very experienced PE teachers as well as specialist sport coaches in the major games, with some National League players and England Pathway coaches.
Guildford Road, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 9BN 01932 574 900 reg@swps.org.uk swps.org.uk
09/23