Shenfield High School is very proud of its consistently outstanding standards in sport and exceptional extra-curricular success. Students applying for a place at Shenfield High School may also attend trials for a place in the Junior Sports Academy (JSA). Trials will take place on Saturday 15th October 2022. Our Junior Sports Academy will enable students to pursue their sporting interests and develop their talents. The JSA provides significant extra time to help develop the athlete’s skills and fitness, giving access to an Athlete Mentoring Programme, Strength and Conditioning, advanced coaching, fitness testing data analysis and parent-student athlete information evenings. Our facilities include a well-equipped gymnasium, an indoor heated swimming pool, a sports hall large enough to accommodate five badminton courts and with indoor cricket nets. We also have a ‘third generation’ artificial grass pitch, a new sports pavilion with classroom area and a Strength and Conditioning facility. Outside, the extensive playing fields are marked out to include one rugby, four football pitches and training areas. These facilities combined with the school’s reputation for football success helped us establish a Football Academy in 2010 and Cricket Academy in 2012.

The Shenfield Football Academy provides elite level football coaching and development for Year 12 and Year 13 male and female students. The 2-year course consists of 6 hours a week of coaching from UEFA qualified coaches as well as regular matches in the prestigious English Colleges Premier League. The Football Academy is also very proud of our former students who have gone on to play professional football (Sean Clare: Charlton AFC, Max Watters: Cardiff City FC, Taryn Allarakhia: Crawley Town FC) and many have gone on to study degree courses both in the UK and the USA alongside football scholarships. Overseas tours occur on a biennial basis and provide an exciting opportunity to learn of the huge scholarship opportunities available for talented footballers at American Colleges. Shenfield Football Academy for Girls, in association with the London Lionesses, was set up and welcomed its first participants in September 2020. In their first season they reached the National Cup semi-final and this programme works closely with other professional football clubs to support their schedules.

Shenfield’s football programme from U12-18 has become one of the most successful of its type anywhere in the country, reaching 10 National cup finals since 2015, including winning 6 National football titles in the last 7 years with 3 girls and 3 boys National titles.

Shenfield’s reputation for excellence in Cricket is also on a National level. The school has been recognised as a Top 100 school for cricket in each of the last 5 years, one of only 2 state schools on that list. On the back of this recognition we have been awarded a fixture with the MCC since 2019. Shenfield won an enthralling fixture by 1 wicket with 2 balls to spare in 2019 and have enjoyed tight games in everyone one of the fixtures. The Shenfield Cricket Academy train all year round and enjoy a biennial overseas tour having played in Cape Town in 2015 and 2017 and toured Barbados in 2019. We are fortunate that ex Shenfield High students Matthew Salisbury (Durham CCC) and Mady Villiers (England Women’s Cricket squad) come back to help coach within our programme and support Catherine Dalton (Essex CCC and Ireland, Level 3 coach) who is the lead coach alongside Director of Sport Garry Sapsford. The SCA played 15 games this 2022 season including 5 U17 National Cup fixtures on the way to the ¼ of the competition. The younger cricket teams also enjoyed significant success with 4 teams reaching Essex Cup finals in 2022 with the U15 and U17 girls being crowned County Champions.

Comprehensive fixtures for Shenfield High School teams are organised for all major sports. In recent years, our football, futsal, cricket, basketball, rugby, netball, tennis, athletics, trampolining and rounders’ teams have enjoyed considerable success. To evidence this fact Shenfield teams have won 15 National titles in a range of sports since 2002. A large number of Shenfield High School students have also been awarded county and national honours in their respective sports with some going on to professional sporting careers. The extensive extra-curricular programme provides excellent opportunities for regular practice at morning, lunch and after school training every day. All students who aspire to maximise their potential in a vast range of sports are therefore provided with the opportunity to be the best they can be. This is a key reason for our considerable success in district, county and national sporting competitions. Maximising Participation: For those students seeking a less competitive environment we have run a hugely successful ‘Rec Night’ club for the last 27 years where students come along and try their hand in a range of sports. From swimming, trampolining to badminton and table tennis, it is a great way to socialise and exercise with friends in a relaxed warm environment.
In every sense Shenfield PE is dedicated to fulfilling its aim of ‘Maximising Participation and Developing Excellence’.

Summary of 2022 SHS Sport:
• 3 NATIONAL Titles & 4 NATIONAL CUP FINALS! (3 x Football, 1 x Rounders)
• 1 National Cup Semi-Final (U18 girls Football)
• 9 Essex County titles (Football, Cricket, Basketball & Rounders)

If any further information is required on our sporting provision please email Director of Sport Garry Sapsford g.sapsford@shenfield.essex.sch.uk