In the footsteps of the victorious England women?s football team, girls are taking to the sport at school in greater numbers

As the whole nation cheered England?s historic win against Germany at the UEFA Women?s European Championships in front of a full- capacity crowd at Wembley stadium this summer, the hard work and the training of its talented squad ? AKA the Lionesses ? came to a glorious finale.

Following the Lionesses

Up and down the country, this dedication to the sport and its growing popularity can be seen in schools, where girls are embracing the skills and fast pace of football.
At independent schools, where hockey, lacrosse and netball have dominated girls? sport for decades, football has made great strides in recent years, with former professional coaches recruited to achieve the highest of standards. The girls at Repton Prep in Derbyshire started playing football in the 2020/21 season and at its senior school the following season. The girls? and boys? prep teams share coach, Ian Clarkson, a former professional footballer who played 450 career games and became Birmingham City?s youngest-ever captain.
After retiring from his playing career, he became fully involved in the coaching and development of young players and holds a full FA Youth Award-licensed coach status as well as UEFA B qualification. He leads all football coaching at Repton Prep, taking both the girls? and boys? teams to the ISFA regional and national finals.

Right attitude

In addition to...