Pupils from a school in Canterbury were delighted to gain the title of Under 11 National IAPS Hockey Champions at the hockey finals on Friday 16th November, held at Repton School, Derbyshire.
The talented girls from Junior King’s School, Canterbury had recently become the Regional Champions for the East of England and now had the chance to compete for the National title against 19 other schools from across the country.
The event was organised by the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS), which represents the leading 600 Independent Preparatory Schools and the tournament had included 125 teams at the outset. The team from Junior King’s played four pool matches against St George's (South) 0-0, Beaudesert (West) 0-1, Feltonfleet (South) 2-1 and The Elms (North) 1-0. After the pool matches they progressed on to Quarter-Finals as winners of their pool.
In the Quarter-Finals they played an incredible game against Forres Sandle Manor (West) winning 1-0, after having a goal disallowed. In the Semi-Finals against Dumpton (West), 1-1, the match went to penalties and was still level after the first round of three.
Then the match went to a sudden death, two further strokes were taken and the Junior King’s girls won after the second stroke. In the Final against RGS The Grange (North), the score remained level at 0-0 after six minutes and then Junior King’s scored four goals in the final nine minutes, a phenomenal 4-0 win.
The final match of the day encompassed all that had been learnt on the training ground and the girls dominated throughout, producing their best hockey of the day – an outstanding performance. “It was an incredible day and one in which the girls learnt much about themselves as individuals and also as a team.
It was an outstanding result and one that every member of the team contributed to,' said the team’s hockey coach, Mrs Clare Pattinson. Amanda Scott-Kilvert, the Head of Girls’ Sport at Junior King’s added:
“What an amazing achievement by a special group of young hockey players. To have the opportunity to compete at the National Finals is a great achievement and one we are all extremely proud of.”