This week we marked the opening of the new Elite Netball court.
The Year 9 Elite Netball squad, who are the current League Champions for 2022/23; were the first to train on the court in the presence of Mr Clyne (Principal), Mr Smith (Vice Principal), Mr Hollyhead (Head of Elite Sport) & Mr Queally (Business Manager).
The court was designed in conjunction with England Netball and Northants Storm coaches, including Michele Hudson (Head Coach for Elite Netball), taking into account their comments and feedback.
The girls were incredibly impressed, and comments included: "This is brilliant", "It looks great", "The grip is perfect", and "This is better than any court I have ever played on".
Mr Hollyhead said:
"Following several months of planning, we are delighted with the outcome. The investment signifies the school's commitment to sports, which we believe plays a key role in developing the character of our young students. Given that the best performers in top-flight sports today are accepted to be the best people, we believe providing the best possible coaching in the best possible training environment increases the chances of our students maximising their potential alongside their Academic achievements."
"This is an exciting time as we are striving to explore further opportunities to enhance our Elite Sport provision for the current 109 pupils on the programme and the young athletes in the forthcoming years".
Mr Clyne added:
"I am proud of the achievements of our Elite Sports students, and this facility will no doubt help them to build on that. There is no better time for the new Year 7 intake to consider the opportunities offered by the Elite Sport Programme."
For more information for applications for Year 7 students starting in September 2023, and to complete the application form, please click this link: https://www.northampton-academy.org/elitesports