Sport Girls

Central to our sporting program is a team sports ethos. Girls play full seasons of Hockey, Netball and Tennis, alongside Athletics, Cross Country, Swimming and Rounders. Each year the school fields 75 teams ranging from 1st XI to U8 levels with B, C and D teams being fielded in each age group whenever possible, playing over 800 fixtures against other Independent schools from Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire. Competition is embraced by pupils of all ages and abilities and encourages team awareness and teaches the importance of winning without arrogance and losing with good grace.

The School is lucky to have very good sporting facilities, the brand new Paver hockey pitch has provided an excellent astroturf surface at the school which doubles as 9 full size floodlight tennis courts in the summer term.
The floodlit Netball courts provide a good all weather surface and Blaxton Sports Ground provides 25 acres of sports pitches, including numerous rounders pitches. The school also has recently opened its own high performance centre, which houses 3 Olympic lifting platforms, a sprint track and numerous piece of functional training equipment.

Many of our pupils play representative sport at County, Regional and National level. A number of our pupils are part of academy programs in various sports. We have excellent links with regional academies and ensure that our pupils’ sporting, academic and social development is well catered for.

We run a successful scholarship program for outstanding sportspeople and sports’ tours occur on a regular basis, including recent visits to Holland and Condover Hall and an upcoming tour to South Africa.

Sports at Hill House

Hockey

Hockey is the major sport at Hill House for Girls in the Michaelmas Term and for Boys in the Lent Term. Last season over 350 pupils represented the school on Hockey pitches throughout the North of England.

The Paver Hockey pitch opened in September 2015 and is finished to a very high specification. The new pitch brought great excitement for pupils and staff, who could not wait to play on it. The coaching at Hill House School is of a high standard, with many of the academic staff (some of whom have international honours) contributing alongside professional coaches. Over the past 12 months the pupils have benefited from coaching sessions from GB internationals Imran Sherwani, Ollie Willars and Chloe Rodgers.

The School currently runs 34 teams, from 1st XI to Under 9 C team level, encouraging all girls and boys to enjoy and develop in the sport. Fixtures tend to take place during games afternoons and after school, and the teams also have two training sessions a week.

Hill House School has been host to the County round of the U11, U13, U14 and U16 tournaments and also hosted the U13 North West regional final of the England hockey IN2 Hockey Tournament. The school is county champion at most age ranges.

Hill House has embarked on a number of international Hockey tours with Holland being the predominant destination. The tours are designed specifically to provide not only a high level of Hockey but also a range of educational and cultural experiences. In summer 2017 we are travelling further afield with a Girls’ hockey squad travelling to South Africa.

A number of players at the school have gone onto play representative hockey through the England Hockey single system pathway at South Yorkshire, JDC, JAC and JRPC.

Netball

Netball is the major sport at Hill House for girls in the Lent Term. The girls start Netball in Year 3 through to 6th form. It is a fast paced game offering challenges both physical and mental and sees pupils given the chance to display leadership, confidence, determination and teamwork.

We currently run 25 teams from U8 through to 1st VII which enables all pupils to have the opportunity to represent the school and to develop their netballing skills against appropriate competition.

Fixtures against other Independent schools from Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire generally take place during games afternoons, providing teams with the opportunity to test their skills in competitive situations. During the season we enter many tournament and competitions at various age groups. These are exciting events as they enable players to play against different oppositions from further afield.

We have developed good links with the Yorkshire Jets super league team and have a number of pupils representing both Yorkshire and South Yorkshire at various age groups.

We run an annual Netball tour to Condover Hall in Shropshire where the girls play a number of matches over the weekend against schools from all over the country as well as embarking on team building activities.

Tennis

The School introduced 9 new Astroturf tennis courts to our facilities this year and tennis is now the major sport for girls during the summer term.

Pupils start tennis in Years 3 and 4, playing during PE lessons. Years 5 to Upper Sixth play tennis during their games afternoons and, from Year 7 play competitive matches against other Independent Schools. The school also has strong links with Doncaster LTC.

The school’s philosophy is to extend and challenge players to the best of their abilities, but also to provide a good grounding in a sport which will give them lifelong opportunities to play tennis both competitively and socially.

Fixtures / results

Please visit our sports fixtures and results portal for details of matches, results as well as venues.

Clarion Call

High Performance Centre

The School’s High Performance Centre which opened in September 2015 caters for the development of all aspiring athletes within the school. We have a specialist strength and conditioning coach programming and leading sessions based around Fundamental Movement Skills for the younger year groups right through to Olympic lifting and Strength training for the senior pupils.

Pupils using the High Performance Centre have varying programs depending on their physical maturation and sporting goals, whether it is improved strength, body composition, speed or aerobic capacity. Our facilities can accommodate each child’s individual development in a safe and controlled environment.

Ethos

Hill House School seeks to promote a positive, lifelong approach to sport through the provision of a wide choice of activities and the development of excellence in those who choose to pursue an activity to a higher level. This is reflected in the department’s philosophy, ‘Enthuse, inspire and provide the opportunity to excel’
Sport is a fantastic way to develop lifelong skills both on and off the sports field. Participating in sport enables you to learn about yourself and others around you especially when under pressure, and also the opportunity to contribute to a team engenders a sense of identity and pride in the school.
Excellent coaching and teaching is fundamental to developing sportsmen and women. At Hill House we strive to develop player creativity by teaching through a games based approach, using constraints to manipulate the games to produce the desired technical and tactical outcomes and develop game understanding.

Facilities
The School is lucky to have very good sporting facilities, Blaxton Sports Ground provides 25 acres of sports pitches, including 2 excellent cricket squares, 4 rugby pitches and 3 football pitches.
The brand new Paver hockey pitch has provided an excellent astroturf surface at the school, which doubles as 9 full size floodlight tennis courts in the summer term.
The school also has recently opened its own high performance centre, which houses 3 Olympic lifting platforms, a sprint track and numerous piece of functional training equipment.
Scholarships
Hill House offers Sports Scholarships from age 11 and Leadership Scholarships through sport are available at Sixth Form. Hill House provides the opportunity to combine an excellent education up to A Level with a tailored, high performance sports program. Successful sports scholarship candidates will get fee remissions together with a year round training programme.

Year round training programme
- Specific skills and team training three times a week
- High level coaching
- Additional strength and conditioning training
- Competitive fixtures in all major sports
Scholarship applicants
Scholarship applicants should be of Regional/County level and above. Bursaries are also available to augment the value of any scholarship award, subject to means-testing.

Staff
Games and Physical Education lessons are taught by our 7 fully qualified and highly experienced P.E. specialists many of whom have a particular strength in their chosen sport. In addition, other teaching staff with excellent coaching credentials also teach games and take teams where appropriate. All these are supplemented by a team of external professional coaches.