Our GCSE and A Level PE students had the privilege to attend the Girls Go Gold Conference at the Abbey School in Reading. This annual GSA conference is one of the UK’s largest celebrations of young women in sport, which brought together 400 students from around 30 schools.
The morning commenced with an inspirational talk from Dame Katherine Grainger on the importance of never giving up on your dreams. Katherine is one of Britain’s most successful female Olympic athletes and the first British woman to win medals at five successive Olympic Games, including a memorable gold medal at London 2012. In 2016, she then became the most-decorated female Olympian of all time winning a silver medal in the Rio Olympic Games, narrowly missing the gold after leading for three quarters of the race.
Students then selected specialist masterclasses to attend which were run by leading coaches and athletes. Our girls attended a Netball defensive session with Fran Williams, one of England Roses Netballers who recently made history at the Netball World Cup and a Lacrosse session with Mike Molster who is the current Senior England Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach. The impressive roster of athletes and coaches led sessions in Athletics, Badminton, Cricket, Football, Hockey and Rugby.
In the afternoon, students attended a range of seminars including Sarah Hunter talking about leading the England Rugby team and breaking glass ceilings for females in a Rugby setting, and Dr Emma Ross who gave an extremely educational and beneficial seminar.
The day finished with a Q&A session with some inspirational professionals involved in Women’s Sport and was led by the legendary Dame Denise Lewis. The key message for our students was to dream big and that nothing is unachievable for young girls in sport. Students departed feeling not only inspired but empowered.
