It’s been big news that an astonishing one third of the Team GB squad in Paris this year went to boarding school. There is no doubt that UK boarding schools are creating some of the top athletes. The top three boarding schools who have ex-pupils going for gold this year are Plymouth College in Devon, Millfield School in Somerset and Whitgift School in South Croydon. But there are many other schools too.

Grace Moody-Stuart, director of the Good Schools Guide education consultants has said: “It can hardly be a surprise that schools fortunate enough to have astro pitches, rowing clubs and 50-metre swimming pools are the ones delivering the nation’s Olympians.” That “facilities are only part of the story. These schools identify talent at an early age and offer places at considerable discounts, often for free, in the hope of helping realise that sporting potential.” Plus “The best set-ups seamlessly interweave training and competitions with academic work, and pupils have at their disposal the collective experience and wisdom of seasoned coaches, not to mention onsite strength and conditioning teams, nutritionists and sports psychologists.”

The presence of boarding schools’ alumni competing at the games isn’t new though. And according to an article on Sky News, the numbers of boarders who compete in the Olympics applies to certain sports more heavily than others. 52% of the rowing squad and 47% of the hockey squad attended private schools in the past for example. Hardly surprising, these are sports that the schools excel in.

Hockey & rowing

Let’s start with hockey. Repton School ex-pupils Leah Wilkinson and Shona McCallin were in the women’s hockey team in the 2020 Tokyo games where the team won a Bronze medal. Clifton college’s Lily Owsley is playing this year for the Team GB hockey team. She’s played hockey for England and U.K., Olympics in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Izzy Petter and Will Calnan, alumni from Cranleigh School, will also be competing as part of Team GB Hockey this year. Both players having over 100 combined caps for both England and Great Britain and Izzy won Olympic bronze at Tokyo 2020.

Next, onto rowing. Queenswood in Hertfordshire have had Rowan McKellar win a World Cup Silver in rowing, she and her crew narrowly missed the podium at the Tokyo Olympics but as part of the women’s eight has just brought home Olympic bronze from Paris 2024. Helen Glover, who went to Millfield School, won a gold at London 2012 and she and her four team-mates have just won silver at the Paris games. Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne, who went to Hereford Cathedral School, made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games and has just had a bronze medal win in the women’s double sculls in Paris.

Some of the other sports that boarders tend to excel in include fencing, surfing, archery, water polo, golf and sailing. Not all are represented by Team GB this year but we have a feeling that the boarders have their sights set on these sports for the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. Read on.

Fencing

Fencing is a one of only four sports to have featured in every modern Olympic Games. Unfortunately, Great Britain didn’t send any fencing athletes to the games this year. However that doesn’t mean there isn’t any talent there. Far from it. Plymouth College has won over 50 National titles, with 25 Silver and 30 Bronze medals. Names to look out for in the future Olympics include Tia Simms-Lymn who has won nine National titles in Great Britain and competed in the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing. And, Ben Andrews, the current U20 and U23 British Champion in epee and Great Britain team member.

Surfing

A relatively new Olympic sport is surfing and introduced at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Again, Team GB have no representatives this time round but the hope is that it should inspire Britain’s crop of emerging talent. And we happen to know a boarding school that is the only boarding school in the UK offering a Surf Academy. Surfing is part of Kingsley School Devon’s curriculum and DNA, making the most of the beautiful North Devon coastline.

Archery

The world’s top Archery athletes will gather at the Paris 2024 Olympics which include four Old Whitgiftians, representing Team GB. Whitgift boasts outstanding levels of coaching and support. Including weekly coaching sessions and a truly inclusive and engaging sporting pursuit.

Water polo

Water polo is one of the oldest team sports in the modern-era Olympic Games programme, although the Women’s Olympic Water Polo Tournament was only added at the Sydney 2000 Games. Although Team GB is not competing at this year’s games, we have a lot of rising talent. With Head of Water Polo, Amelia Stewart, at Stamford Schools recognised as the runner-up in the prestigious Swim England Water Polo Coach of the Year regional awards; providing a wealth of experience and a passion for water polo for pupils there. And Millfield has a Water Polo team that won a national competition last year after being formed by an entrepreneurial Ukrainian pupil at the school just six months ago. Vitalii, a regular water polo player in his homeland, now trains with the team three times a week in the school’s 50m pool and is aiming for the team to compete and be successful in the highest ESSA Water Polo division next year.

Golf

Team GB is competing in the golf tournaments in the Paris games. Golf being another sport that boarding schools are outstanding in. Bradfield College has an outstanding reputation for golf and is able to boast some of the finest school facilities in the country. The College has a stunning 9 hole golf course, putting green, short game area and outdoor nets and has an indoor swing studio. The College has enjoyed great success in recent years with the 1st Team winning both the National HMC Foursomes and Micklem Trophies in 2017.

Sailing

Last but not least, sailing. Another sport where Team GB is competing in these games. Royal Hospital School and Ryde School are both first choices for pupils keen to pursue the sport. There is opportunity for sailing at Royal Hospital School due to the Royal Hospital School’s maritime heritage and location next to a 400 acre man-made reservoir and between the Stour and Orwell estuaries. And the location of Ryde School on the Isle of Wight means that they have partnerships across the island including Tackt-Isle; Royal Thames Yacht Club, via Cowes; Sea View Yacht Club and the Island Sailing Club. There is competitive racing within the school teams as well as in national competitions.

We’re at the finish line and would like to wish ALL athletes at the Paris Olympics the very best over the coming days.

Photo: By Luca Dugaro on Unsplash 

Sources:

https://academicfamilies.com/olympic-success-for-boarding-schools/
https://news.sky.com/story/one-in-three-of-team-gb-went-to-private-secondary-school-new-analysis-suggests-13184524
https://www.teamgb.com/athletes/our-athletes/5FH4icjG796D2GnbMHFhIL
https://www.boarding.org.uk/2024/07/25/cranleigh-alumni-competing-in-the-paris-olympics/
https://www.plymouthcollege.com/performance-sport-swimming/fencing
https://www.kingsleydevon.com/surfing/surfing-at-kingsley-devon
https://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/24478013.millfield-school-second-alumni-competing-paris-olympics/
https://www.whitgift.co.uk/co-curricular/sport/additional-sports/archery
https://www.worldaquatics.com/news/4056084/womens-water-polo-paris-2024-olympic-games-confirmed-team-player-rosters
https://stamfordschools.org.uk/news/swim-england-water-polo-coach-of-the-year-awards
https://www.bradfieldcollege.org.uk/co-curricular/sport/golf/
https://www.rydeschool.org.uk/senior/sailing
https://www.royalhospitalschool.org/co-curricular/sailing