Three senior students from Taunton School have been selected to compete in their sport at national level.
Ben, in Year 11, represented England Hockey in a series of matches against Ireland and was chosen as captain for a number of these, including the four nations (Scotland, England, Netherlands, and France) final over the Easter break.
Zoe, in Year 12, has been selected to join the Northern Ireland U21 Netball squad after achieving great success with the school’s 1st netball team, including winning the Somerset County Championship and Collegiate 7s netball tournament.
Meanwhile, Year 10 student Johanna picked up the trophy for the 52kg category in the Taekwondo German Nationals.
“We are incredibly proud of Ben, Zoe and Johanna,” said Dan Pettifer, Director of Sport at Taunton School. “They each manage to combine performance at a high level in their sport with their academic studies and engaging fully in school life.
“At Taunton School we do everything we can to support our elite athletes while ensuring that all students find their own exceptional in the sport they love, whatever level they are at.”
“I’m so excited to have been selected to represent Northern Ireland,” said Zoe. “It will mean quite a lot of travelling for me, but it’s a brilliant opportunity and the schedule means I can continue to play for the Taunton School 1st netball team.”
Ben said that it was an honour to be chosen to captain the England Hockey team against Ireland. “I love playing hockey,” he said. “I thoroughly enjoyed playing in this competition, especially being captain for a number of matches, and I look forward to playing more matches with England Hockey.”
Johanna, who was competing for the fourth time in the Taekwondo German Nationals in Ochsenhausen, said she was happy to have won another German Nationals. “It was a dream come true after a long time without Taekwondo,” said Johanna. “It makes all the training worthwhile.”
Taunton School has offered each student bespoke support and coaching and training sessions with the help of its Head of Athletic Development, Tim Thompson, to further develop skills, fitness and strength and conditioning. This is something the school does for all its top-level athletes including Sixth Form student Izzy who recently qualified for Olympic swimming trials and alumnus Tom Abell who now plays for Somerset’s county cricket team, spending last season as the team’s captain.