Sport

The Sedbergh School Football Club was founded in 1879 and has gained reputation as one of the very best rugby schools, consistently producing England internationals. Most famously, former England stars Will Greenwood and Will Carling are Old Sedberghians, while a number of OSs are still playing professional rugbyl. The School’s Director of Rugby, Simon Mulholland, has been recognised as the Coach of the Decade by Next Gen XV.

In the last ten years more than 40 school boy Internationals have come through the school. Sedbergh prides itself on playing an open and attacking style of rugby, where players are encouraged to keep the ball in hand and develop their attacking skills.

Sedbergh’s success on the rugby fields has been built through an intensive and comprehensive development program. Our program looks to develop talented and highly skilled rugby players who have the ability to play at the highest levels of schools rugby and beyond. The coaching is delivered by staff who have vast amounts of playing and coaching experiences at the very highest levels of the game. The playing programme takes the teams all over the UK in search of the highest quality opposition to challenge themselves against. The playing programme now include fixtures against schools such as Wellington, Millfield, Blackrock College, Dublin and Llandovery College, Wales.

The Football Club is especially proud of the number of boys who represent the school, with 11 teams taking the field on any weekend. The playing fields of Buskholme have been described by Phil Dowson as ‘the best setting I have ever played in’. It is safe to say our playing arena is one of the best in the country.

Cricket has been a longstanding part of the summer term at Sedbergh School. Recognised as a Top 100 School in The Cricketer Schools’ Guide, Sedbergh is renowned for its commitment to excellence in education and cricket.

Our school facilities include an impressive double sports hall containing two full-sized netball courts, and additional outdoor courts. Exceptional coaching, professional strength and conditioning programmes, physio and rehabilitation support are all available as part of the Sedbergh package.

Hockey is a core sport during Sedbergh’s Michaelmas Term, and continues to be played in the Lent Term. In addition to achieving team success across different age groups, several Sedbergh players have earned prestigious hockey scholarships at universities in the United States. During the season we field the 13 hockey teams we field during the season – seven girls’ and five boys’ teams.

The addition of two new flood-lit, all-weather Tiger-turf pitches in 2023 marked a significant expansion of our playing facilities. The pitches’ LED directional lighting allows pupils to train at any time of the year, and well into the evening. Nick Davey, Director of Hockey, believes in developing a culture where players can make decisions, knowing that the School and coaching team are 100% behind them.

The overall health and fitness of our players are enhanced by a hockey-specific, customised strength and conditioning program, overseen by former Argentinian national hockey player Flor Zappula. Most afternoons, our girls’ teams can be found practising or playing in regular fixtures against other schools, including the top hockey schools in the country, as well as clubs and universities.

Players training with local and national performance teams receive support to travel to coaching sessions. Additionally, our sixth form pupils have the opportunity to access individual coaching sessions to enhance their technical skills.

Tennis is played all year round on the school’s four all-weather outdoor courts and three full-size indoor courts within our two sports halls. In the summer, we also have an additional 12 outdoor astro courts. Players are coached by the Cumbria County Coach, a fully qualified, accredited Lawn Tennis Associations (LTA) coach.

Pupils also enjoy access to our squash courts and play Table Tennis and Touch Tennis.

Sedbergh is one of the UK’s most successful schools for target sports and boasts two indoor ranges. All pupils are given the opportunity to take part and we cater to all levels of participation in the sport, from casual shooters to those competing at national and international level.

Sedbergh has one of the strongest school Equestrian Teams in the UK and performed with distinction at Badminton and Royal Windsor. The School competes in the National Schools Equestrian Association Competitions (NSEA). The disciplines include Dressage, Show Jumping, Arena Eventing and One Day.

Across the Prep and Senior School, Sedbergh’s Equestrian Team has approximately 24 riders. The team competes successfully in the National Schools Equestrian Association Competitions (NSEA) and has included 2 National Champions and many other highly ranked riders.

The Equestrian Team trains and competes in disciplines including Dressage, Show Jumping, Arena Eventing and One Day Events at various heights starting at 70cm and going up to 1m 10. The competitions take place at local, county, regional and national levels against other schools, culminating in the National Schools Championships in October.

The school is flexible in looking after the equine commitments of our pupils wishing to train and compete outside school. However, our pupils are still able to experience all the opportunities that boarding life has to offer at Sedbergh.

Sedbergh School boasts one of the best environments in the country to run in; quiet country roads and a complete cross-country course with huge variety of fells. The Running Club caters for all athlete levels from beginner to elite with several senior teams and junior teams.

We have several fixtures each year both internal and external. The iconic ‘Wilson Run’ (ten mile) for sixth-form pupils is a headline event with other runs such as the Morgan Run, Three Peaks and Cross Country Trials. For the more adventurous, there are some school epics such as the ‘Ten Trigs’ or the ‘Howgill Tops’.

Sailing runs all-year at Sedbergh with activity peaking during the summer term when we sail five days a week. The Royal Navy CCF also regularly sails on during term-time. Our experience, location and facilities mean that we are equipped to provide a variety of experiences including recreational sailing, training and accreditation for RYA qualifications, annual ‘challenge’ yachting events, team-racing and attendance at regattas. As one of few schools that are a RYA registered training centre our qualified staff are able to offer training for RYA certifications.

We currently have 23 boats – including 2 powerboats and 10 Picos plus Fevas, Laser 3000s, single-handed Lasers and Argos’. Sedbergh is only 5.3 miles (a 15 minute drive) from Killington Lake where we store our boats and use the facilities of the Killington Sailing Association.

We regularly compete in endurance races such as the National Junior 12 hour race and the Southport 24 hour race, we sail the 3000 dinghy in class events and in handicap events such as the Great North Asymmetric Challenge and compete in club racing at Killington Sailing Association. We have a regular programme of fixtures against Rydal Penrhos and on occasion we take part in the NSSA events and the RYA junior travellers’ series.

In addition to our regular sailing programme, we also run an annual Challenge Week sailing event that provides opportunities for pupils to have unique – often once-in-a-lifetime – experiences that extend their skills and test their resilience. In 2024 we will take 10 of our Year 12 pupils on a 72ft tall ship to sail up the west coast of the UK. Past events have included the 3-Peaks Yacht Race.

Athletics, including track and running, is a popular option for pupils.

Our excellent indoor facilities at the Hirst Centre and in our second sports hall ensure that basketball can be played all year round. Pupils are given the opportunity of playing competitive games against other schools and inter-house competitions.

The School’s location in the stunning Howgill Fells on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales and on the border to the Lake District, means that pupils gravitate naturally towards activities such as fell running, climbing, fly fishing, ghyll scrambling, caving, mountain biking and open water swimming.

Football is a popular, all-year, activity amongst pupils who play on our excellent pitches.

During the summer term our golfers enjoy playing in the beautiful local environment.

Both our weights gym and our state of the art gym in the Hirst Centre are open to pupils every day for pupils to drop in for fitness training. Featuring treadmills, spin cycles and a suite of fitness equipment the Hirst Centre gym hosts regular classes including circuits, cross-fit and yoga.

Our 25m, heated, indoor pool is popular with pupils and the local community. The pool is not only used by pupils during sport but also on an evening and at weekends.

We encourage our pupils to develop healthy life habits, to be active and to enjoy a variety of sports. In addition to the sports above, pupils play fives on our indoor court, participate in paddle sports and rounders.