Netball Teams Shoot for National Finals

The Grange’s U14 and U16 netball teams travelled to Formby High School in late January to compete in the North West round of the National Tournament with both teams showing that they belong at this level.

Both teams qualified as one of two teams to go through to represent Cheshire in the county round back in November. Since then the teams worked hard to improve their tournament play leading to some fantastic netball on the day.

The U14 team had their toughest game first and lost out 10-7 to a strong Saddleworth team. This meant that they would probably need to win all of the rest of their games to go through. They did this brilliantly beating Cumbria and Lancashire’s top teams (Segburgh & Stoneyhurst) in closely fought contests before a convincing win over Birkenhead School to finish off the rounds. This meant that they progressed to the semi-finals but faced the top of the other side of the draw - Wirral Grammar. “We couldn’t clinch the victory this time but the U14 squad proved themselves to be one of the best in the North West with their fantastic performance,” said Miss Fowler.

The U16 team made up mainly of U15 players also played some great netball in the rounds, they had Parenthorn in their group who have previously won the National competition. The Grange beat Lancashire’s top team 11-4, Cumbria’s best 16-5, and Merseyside’s champions 20-2 showing their class and efficient attacking. They then faced Parenthorn and put up a great fight but lost 15-10 coming much closer to them than any other school. This meant a tough semi-final against the other Manchester team, Withington, who had won their group. The semi-final was a close battle but the team just missed out a National final spot.

“Both of our teams were definitely in the mix with the best in the region and they played some outstanding netball on the day. Mrs Watson and I were so proud of how they conducted themselves both on and off the court. They will have another opportunity next year and I know that they will keep up the hard work to ensure that they give themselves every possible opportunity,” commented Miss Fowler, Head of Netball.