Sport In All Its Glory

The King’s School in Canterbury, founded in 597AD and reputedly England’s oldest school, offers a stunning range of sporting options underpinned by excellent modern facilities.

Name the sport and the chances are that King’s can offer it. Traditional team games such as rugby, netball, hockey, lacrosse and cricket sit happily alongside more specialist pursuits such as fencing, swimming, squash and sailing. With other options like pilates or Zumba classes also available, there really is something for everyone. State of the art equipment is provided, including a golf simulator which allows anyone to rehearse the dream of playing the 18^th hole at St. Andrews.

The diversity of the sports programme allows all pupils to find a mode of exercise they enjoy. For those with a particular passion for sport, the Excellence Programme—offered to sports scholars and others who display enthusiasm and potential—aims to improve sporting performance and encourage excellence in all sporting activities. Led by triple Olympic hockey player Jen Wilson, the programme has proved to be a great success with many of our current sports scholars excelling at international level.

Top athletes in recent years include:

• Matt Stonier, current English Schools Cross Country Champion and U20 European Cross Country team gold medallist.
• Millie Knight, partially sighted downhill skier, who won three medals (two silver and one bronze) in the downhill events at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games.
• Charlie Watson, Saracens and England U20 rugby player who received a Cambridge Blue in the Varsity Match at Twickenham last December during his first year at Selwyn College.
• Current rugby players Ludo Kolade and Harrison MacKinnon who have both been selected for Harlequins in their respective age groups as well as national selection for Ludo to the England Academy and Harrison to a Scotland U16 squad training camp.
• Twins Tom and Ian Wingfield who have represented Team GB in rowing at J16 level.
• Francesca Maini, British amateur kitesurfing champion, and her brother Mattia, ranked number two in his age group, are both tipped as potential Olympians when kitesurfing makes its Olympic debut in the 2024 Paris Games.

The development of these athletes has been aided by a strong coaching structure across all sports with inspirational and passionate staff at its core. Coaches include Mark Ealham and Susie Rowe, former England international cricketers, and Jon Williamson, England Rowing team manager at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

‘Enjoyable Sport for All’ sums up the King’s ethos. A balanced approach to winning and losing is seen as an integral part of a rounded, holistic education.

Learn more about King's School in Canterbury: https://www.kings-school.co.uk/