Our Netball courts were filled with laughter and cheers as we hosted our KS2 Festival of Sport Netball Tournament 2026 for four Reading primary schools.

Redlands, Southcote, Christ the King and The Ridgeway primary schools all attended for an engaging morning on everything Netball. Sophie Rowse, Head of Netball, oversaw the event but our Sport Leaders taught and guided the students throughout the matches.

The morning started with an introduction to the sport, followed by some warmups. Once everyone was ready the tournament began, with each match lasting 12 minutes with half time to adjust strategies, allowing engaging plays and everyone a chance to take part. A lot of enthusiastic Netball was played and once finished everyone gathered for the anticipated results. It was very close between first and second, ultimately Redlands were declared the winners! As is tradition at the end of these tournaments, everyone came together at the end for hot dogs, hot chocolate and music for a hearty end to the morning.

Opportunities like this are always such great fun for all involved, especially for our students who get a chance to develop valuable skills in mentoring and leadership. Maiya (Lower Sixth) felt that: “It was great experience for umpiring, working with others, and coaching younger children. It was really beneficial in that sense! The kids definitely had a lot of fun, I also had a lot of fun with them. They took it seriously but knew it was okay to make mistakes, and I think they learnt a lot from that. So yeah, today was great!”

And the visiting students definitely had a lot of fun, as Franek (Year 5, Christ the King) enthused: “I enjoyed the morning a lot! The Leighton Park students are the reason I caught the hang of the game, teaching us useful tips and positioning.” Bartosz followed this up with: “The students were very useful and nice which made it an enjoyable morning. It took some getting used to, but they taught us positions and how best to play each match.”

Elanor (Year 5, Redlands) expressed: “I found today very fun and exciting! We worked with Maiya and Ruby today and they were very helpful, but they were also very kind which made it even better!”. Olly added: “I found today a challenge, but it was nice to be involved with it. We did win, but it’s mostly about enjoying it and not winning and I did really enjoy today.”

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