Established in 2017 by Head of Netball, Zoe Macpherson, #LPGirlsCan Week has become a highlight of the summer sporting calendar. From Monday 7th to Friday 11th June, an exciting schedule of events inspired comradery and confidence amongst students to come together and try out new pursuits.
“#LPGirlsCan is all about getting our Leighton Park girls feeling comfortable in their bodies, being supportive around each other and giving a new sport a try” remarked Zoe. “One of the best things about the week is that we get in local clubs, sports professionals and female athletes, that the girls can look to as role models.”
Inspired by the national ‘This Girl Can’ campaign, #LPGirlsCan is just one of the School’s initiatives to promote female sport and tackle its large drop-out rate during adolescent years.
From their own research, This Girl Can say “…many women are put off taking part in physical activity due to a fear of judgement – this might be about the way the look when they exercise, that they’re not good enough to join in or they should be spending more time on their families, studies or other priorities.”
Netball Coach, Alice Ledson, commented “I think it’s important for the girls to have a week for themselves because a lot of promoted sport is about boys and men.” Zoe added “It’s not about us being better than the boys, it is about us being equal.”
Following its success last year, the #LPGirlsCan Google Classroom made a welcomed return, as an all-empowering hub of insider knowledge and motivational talks from leading ladies in sport.
Right off the bat, on Monday afternoon, the Senior first IX played Shiplake College in a lively game of rounders. They returned home on a high, triumphing 10-5.5. Back on home soil, Vice-Captain and football fanatic, Ellie, took to the pitch to help Fryer refine their ball skills.
Away from the hustle and bustle, in the Dance Studio, Isabelle Lauzeral, Modern Foreign Languages Teacher by day and Yoga Instructor by night, opened up her popular Sixth Form co-curricular club to staff.
Tuesday, saw Old Leightonian and Business Management student, Kierah Nabena, return to the Park for the first time since leaving in 2019. After designing their own #LPGirlsCan banners under the shade of the School Field English Oak, Fryer were eager for Kierah to share her football talents. Kierah also later joined Year 9 for their own training session.
Following their final lesson of the day, Fryer then took to the Sports Hall with History Teacher, Imogen Cook, for a friendly game of basketball. In her spare time Imogen is a national player and coach!
Midweek, Ellie Smales, Geography Teacher, switched things up on the pitch as she delivered rugby drills to Fryer, whilst Alice Ledson and Zoe Macpherson led Year 9 and 10 in a game of rounders.
On 10-Acre Field, Fryer had the opportunity to meet the UK only all-ladies baseball team, Belles Baseball. As a first introduction to the sport for many, the girls were in the best hands. The team commented “You girls were awesome! Thank you for having us. Great to see you trying new sports!”
The Senior 2nd VII team celebrated their victory against The Oratory, whilst the U15A’s played The Abbey School in a game of Cricket. Sarah Rawle, PE and Games Teacher, commented “We saw some great fielding from Charlotte, who also took a fantastic catch, excellent bowling from Ella who greatly restricted the run rate, and top batting from Harriet who hit our only boundary!”
During PSHE on Thursday, everybody took part in a heartening online dance workshop with AWA Dance, an organisation dedicated to the leadership development of women and girls. Founder, Director and Choreographer, Avatâra Ayuso, addressed students “Women and girls of the world, let’s be brave, let’s support each other, let’s admire each other, let’s believe in ourselves.”
As the School also celebrated Cricket Week, #LPGirlsCan could not be complete without the Year 9 and 10 Cricket Festival. Queen Anne’s and Holme Grange joined students for an afternoon of fun in the sun. The girls also had the option to try their hand at croquet.
To end the week, Old Leightonians, Livvy Edwards and Rosanna Collis were called upon to pass their netball know-how and rugby finesse onto enthusiastic Year 10s and 11s. Their sessions ended with a Q&A where the girls spoke about their experiences at university, being selected for the Loughborough Lightning teams for their respective sports.
Speaking fondly of her own #LPGirlsCan memories as a student, Livvy remarked, “The week is really important because it shows girls at the School that they can get involved in any sport, whether that be a typically male dominated sport or something more niche. Sport gives us so many life skills. Every year #LPGirlsCan just keeps getting better! It’s an event that all the girls look forward to in the Summer Term.”
Year 11 student Bisi added “It’s a special opportunity where we can thrive and perform our best with no pressure.”
Following a high-energy rugby session, Rosanna commented “Sport is such a good opportunity to work out who you are. Lots of friends come from sport and it brings everybody together. The PE Department here do a really great job of bringing external people in to coach, who can really make an impact on you when you’ve had a good training session with them.”
Tiger in Year 11 reflected, “It’s been really fun and engaging to spend a week playing sport with all the girls and to get everyone together again after being away from each other for so long. Going to more fixtures you can really see how everyone’s been more engaged with sport and excited to get involved.”
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