WOODHOUSE Grove School created history on court earlier in the month, with three of their netball sides taking the country by storm, achieving great success in different age categories.

The U16s team took part in the England Schools National Finals, having battled through several regional heats to qualify. In dreadful weather conditions, with snow and biting wind, the girls blew away five teams in a row to reach the last four.

Unfortunately they were abruptly halted in the semi-finals, but in finishing the competition as the fourth best school in the country, they achieved the best result in Woodhouse Grove's history.

The school's U13 side suffered late heartbreak in the Independent Schools National Netball Cup Plate. They fought through to the final against Berkhamsted School, and led 14-11 with three minutes remaining.

Their opponents fought back though and recorded a narrow 21-17 victory. Despite defeat, Woodhouse Grove were commended for playing their part in a high-quality final quarter, which saw several great plays under intense pressure.

The U11s team, from the junior school at Brontë House, avenged the knockout defeats of their older colleagues with victory in the North of England Invitational at Newcastle Girls’ High School.

They nearly completed a double success with a second victory of the month but narrowly missed out at the HMC Netball tournament. They achieved the runners-up spot after a fine performance throughout the tournament.

Georgie Thompson, Head of Netball at Woodhouse Grove School, could not contain her delight at the way the girls have performed this year, saying:

"At Woodhouse Grove, we have always had a proud sporting heritage – but the progress of our netballers over the past few years has been exceptional.

"If netball is your sport, Woodhouse Grove is certainly the place to come!

"We are tremendously proud of the well-deserved success of our winning teams but I am equally delighted to see girls of all abilities enjoying the sport across every year group - and enjoying the opportunities the sport offers.

"Our seniors are just about to go on netball tour to New York and the Caribbean – it doesn’t get better than that!"