Sport

Stonyhurst is world famous for its rugby and although pupils are not required to play rugby throughout their time at the school, many choose to do so, taking part in a number of matches, tournaments and tours throughout their time at the College. Rugby has long been a sporting option at Stonyhurst, providing a number of pupils with the training and experience to go on to have successful professional sporting careers. We can boast several international sports people among our alumni, including Joe Ansbro (played for Scotland); Will Greenwood, Kyran Bracken and Iain Balshaw (all members of the England squad who won the 2003 Rugby world Cup). 

The rugby teams at Stonyhurst play in numerous matches and tournaments throughout the rugby season. One of the biggest tournaments is the annual Stonyhurst Rugby 7s Tournament, a highlight in our sporting year, and in the sporting year of the schools who venture down The Avenue to compete. In addition to the matches, both at home and away and tournaments, the Games Department organises regular trips to South Africa, where they play a number of matches against various schools in Johannesburg and Cape Town. During the tour the pupils enjoy other activities including safaris, charity work and training sessions with South African coaches.

We have a water-based astroturf facilities on which boys and girls can develop their hockey skills. Hockey is one of the main winter sports at Stonyhurst, for both Lower and Higher Line girls, played during the Christmas and Easter terms. Although compulsory for Lower Line, many choose to continue with hockey once they reach Higher Line.  

The hockey teams at Stonyhurst compete in a variety of tournaments, including the Lancashire Schools’ County Hockey Tournament, the National Schools’ Hockey Tournament and annual 7s tournaments, and embark on hockey tours during their time at the College. Stonyhurst has good connections with local clubs, such as Clitheroe Blackburn Northern and Pendle Forest. Many of the girls are involved with Lancashire Schools Hockey, and then progress through the England Hockey High Performance Pathway.

Netball is one of the major winter games here at Stonyhurst, it is compulsory for Lower Line girls, but often the sport of choice for our Higher Line girls. With six outdoor netball courts and the use of our indoor sports hall, there is plenty of space for our pupils to enjoy netball. We have A and B teams in each Lowerline age group and 4 senior teams ranging from the Elite teams to recreational players.

Many of our girls go on to represent the County and progress through the High performance pathways. We have links with Manchester Thunder and Leeds Rhinos netball. Every year we enter the National Schools, ISNC; and we regularly represent Lancashire in Regional Finals. We also host the annual Stonyhurst Invitation netball and hockey tournament, this year alone we had 24 teams in the netball.

With high-performance facilities including a state-of-the-art, LTA registered tennis dome and a variety of outdoor courts, The Tennis Academy at Stonyhurst offers the perfect location for tennis coaching. Our tennis provision is headed up by former professional tennis player and Director of Tennis, David Shaw alongside Liz Thomas, Level 4 LTA Senior Performance Tennis Coach and former professional. The facilities and top-quality training programme offered at Stonyhurst will nurture the next generation of players. Whether they play on one of the seven outdoor courts, surrounded by the beautiful grounds and historic buildings or venture into the modern indoor tennis court providing a place to play tennis all year-round.

Stonyhurst College’s world-class tennis dome was opened in May 2017 by tennis legend Tim Henman OBE. The dome is 10m high and offers two Grand Slam size tennis courts, with high-performing acoustics and glare-free playing conditions.

It really is a top-class facility which will create a multitude of opportunities for children of all ages to enjoy the all-round benefits of tennis.

Tim Henman OBE

The Stonyhurst Tennis Academy and its members have received/achieved a number of prestigious awards, including:

- Lawn Tennis Registered Centre – awarded in November 2018
- Stonyhurst and SMH became members of the Tennis Foundation – November 2018
- Head Tennis UK agreement was confirmed – September 2018
- 8 Stonyhurst College pupils became Tennis Leaders, mentored by our Director of Tennis. These College students will be able to support the academy programme gaining valuable teaching experience along the way.

Our 25 metre, 6-lane, indoor swimming pool is the perfect facility for all who love swimming. Opened in 1987 by Olympic gold medallist David Wilkie, our pool has offered a wonderful space for our pupils to practice or improve on their swimming skill. Our pupils take swimming as a games option and our swimming teams take part in regular galas and competitions including inter-line competitions at the College, inter-school competitions and in tournaments such as the Bath Cup.

In addition to swimming our pupils can participate in other water sports including water polo and scuba diving.