On Friday 14th September, 15 Year 11 and Sixth Form students were invited to GSA Girls Go Gold conference at Tudor Hall School, Banbury. The conference aims to promote excellence in young women’s sport and gives the opportunity for girls to take part in various sports activities with elite athletes from various sports including hockey lacrosse, netball and rugby. Kharis Mgbezeh-Morrison and Ava Orman-Wheeler (Year 11) summarise their experience below:

 “As rowers we were a little apprehensive about what the day would entail as rowing is now our main sport. At first, it was daunting because of the phenomenal athletes that were going to attend. However, once we arrived it turned from nerve racking to excitement. The first speech by James Shone who is the founder of the charity I can and I am was inspirational! It wasn’t just about sport but a wider perspective that we could take on through life. Our favourite quote was ‘focusing on the things you can do and not the things you can’t do yet’.

“After this, we met Dame Alice Harpur School alumna, Gail Emms. She told us that you do not need raw talent to get to a high level in sport. A special highlight was meeting Clare Balding, we have seen her so many times on television and she knows so much about sport, it was a real privilege.

“Going into the netball we felt nervous and definitely out of our comfort zone. The nervousness stayed for a while until we learnt that training is just as important as the time playing the sport. Something we will remember at early morning rowing training.”