On Friday 20th September to Sunday 22nd September, our Year 8 netballers had an exciting opportunity to compete in a tournament while enjoying team-building activities in the magnificent surroundings of Condover Hall in Shropshire.

Emily Elphick and Anna Trueman reflected on the experience:

Emily Elphick – A Team Captain

“We all had a great time at Condover Hall with some excellent netball played and lots of fun. We really enjoyed all the activities, but my favourite was Jacob's ladder and the climbing wall. The food was really good, with pizza one night and fish and chips.

“The breakfast fuelled us for a big day of netball ahead. The first day of netball went really well, getting us into the cup competition with three wins and two losses. Unfortunately, the weather was very wet on the second day, so the plate and bowl competitions were called off, but luckily we got to play inside.

“The whole team worked really hard to win one game, lose one, and draw one. We had a 17-0 win, which really showed all our hard work. Overall, we came fourth. We all had a great time at Condover and everyone had loads of fun.”

Anna Trueman – B Team Captain

“Our experience at Condover was fantastic! We started on Friday evening with some really fun activities, such as abseiling, climbing and Jacob’s ladder.

“On Saturday, we played six netball matches in the group stage. We were up against some tough opposition, which really tested our ability, but even after a few losses, everyone kept going and pulled together as a team. We were delighted to get two wins, especially as we faced mainly A teams.

“On Sunday, based on our performance the day before, we were supposed to be sorted into a bowl, cup, or trophy tournament, but as the weather was so bad, our matches ended up being cancelled. Instead, we had a fun Sunday full of different activities, including a high ropes course, caving, and an umpire talk all about the current and new rules of netball.

“Even though we didn’t get to play on Sunday, we were awarded second place in the plate tournament and took home a silver medal each and a silver plate to keep at school.

“Overall, Condover was a great experience, and I would thoroughly recommend it.”