Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith, is amongst the top 1% of sporting state schools in the UK, according to School Sports magazine.
QEGS placed 27th in the magazine’s annual chart, which is compiled from state schools’ results in some 20 different sports across more than 120 national competitions.
QEGS’ teams performed well in a range of sports last year, with some impressive results, including:
- Runners – the boys’ team reached the English schools cross country cup final; the girls’ team came third in the national schools’ cross country relay.
- Badminton – the boys’ and girls’ key stage 3 teams, and boys’ key stage 4 team reached the county finals.
- Tennis – the junior boys’ team won the county championships.
- Rugby – the under 15’s team made it to the semi-finals of the NatWest national schools vase and were winners of the Cumbria cup.
- Gymnastics – a gold medal for the under-14s and a silver medal for the under-19s teams.
Head of PE, Mr Alastair Worth, said: “Our main aim in all the sports we do at QEGS is for the students to enjoy themselves. Winning is always less important to us than whether they have done the best they can and had a good time, and we operate a policy of ‘if you train, you play’. Our teams worked incredibly hard last year and their obvious enjoyment has been reflected in the success and recognition they have achieved, which is fully deserved. We are very proud of them all.”
A spokesperson for School Sports magazine said: “Our top sporting state schools of the year reflects competitive achievement in a range of sports throughout 2018 and honours those schools that take competitive sport especially seriously. An indication of just how difficult it is to reach the list can be seen when you realise that reaching the top 30 means you are in the top 1% of sporting schools in the country.”
