Sport

“Sport is, and always will be, a major priority at Withington. We maintain excellent rankings in all sporting competitions despite having a pupil roll which is half that of many of the schools we compete against. Our small size also means that, proportionally, more of our girls are likely to get the chance to play competitive sport.”

We are fortunate to have a new Sport and Fitness Centre, which provides indoor facilities including a large modern Sports Hall, a Gym/ Dance Studio, and a state-of-the-art fitness suite. The facility was opened by inspirational Paralympian athlete Dame Sarah Storey DBE. Emily Simon, the wife of one of our Founders, endowed our playing fields, which include an all-weather pitch and netball courts, both of which were resurfaced to the highest possible specification in 2019. These areas are floodlit to allow for matches and practices in the winter months.
The new facilities add to our existing four-badminton-court sized sports hall, a gymnasium which has been converted into a modern dance studio, a full-sized floodlit astroturf (which accommodates hockey in winter and nine tennis courts in summer), two outdoor floodlit netball courts and two grass lacrosse pitches.

Withington’s Sport and Fitness Centre

Team and recreational practices in hockey, lacrosse and netball take place at lunchtimes and after school. There are also many other sports clubs such as badminton, fitness, yoga, football and table tennis. Withington’s continued commitment to giving girls of all ability levels the opportunity to play, compete and enjoy team sports earned an award from the Greater Manchester Schools Games Programme whose competitions are designed to give pupils across the sporting proficiency range the opportunity to represent their schools and experience interschool competitions. Sports practice sessions are structured to enable girls to take part in many activities.

Alongside this, Withington’s success in National and regional competitions in athletics, badminton, hockey, netball and lacrosse has earned us a place in School Sport Magazine’s 2019 list of the top 100 independent sports schools in the country. This puts WGS in the top 10% of independent schools in a table that includes boys’, girls’ and co-ed schools.

We firmly believe that sport is for everyone and that playing team sports provides multiple learning and personal development experiences over and above physical fitness: developing friendships; understanding the importance of supporting and working with others; developing self-restraint and managing emotions; experiencing the spirit and camaraderie of being part of a team; winning and losing graciously; developing resilience and much else besides.

The Yoga taught is Children’s Yoga as opposed to the more ‘serious’, adult or traditional Yoga. It is an invaluable aid for maintaining and increasing muscle flexibility and the focus required to hold a posture promotes inner strength and confidence.

The very popular Trampoline Club takes place once a week after school and the girls very much enjoy advancing their trampoline skills. Trampolining is also taught as part of the Withington PE curriculum and this club supplements this. The School is very proud that one of our recent leavers is a full Great Britain trampoline international.

Gymnastics is a highly popular lunchtime activity. In beginners` gym girls gain confidence and improve their range of skills. There is also an advanced gym club who put together an impressive routine for the annual Gym and Dance Display every February. The standard of performance by the girls is excellent!

Withington enters county tournaments, National Schools’ Competitions and local rallies and invitation events. The PE Department also offers a ski trip every year.

County, Elite and National Sports Representation

At Withington, we have numerous pupils who not only keep up with their studies and take part in various other extra-curricular activities but also find time to commit to their sports at a very high level. Several girls train at the hockey Junior Regional Performance Centre and we have several players in the England Lacrosse Talent Pathway. In netball, our girls are represented in County squads, many are selected for Manchester Thunder and one student has been selected for the U19 England Academy. We also have girls who compete at national and county level in badminton, fencing, dressage and trampolining.

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