Rainford High crowned Great Britain North Region tennis champions

Rainford High has been crowned Great Britain North Region tennis champions following a hotly contested tournament in Sunderland.

Adding to what has already been a remarkable year for PE and sport at Rainford High, the Year 9 and 10 girls team were victorious in the prestigious Division One LTA Schools Team Tennis Tournament.

Students Erin Scott, Phoebe Mitchell, Beth Kearney, Megan Edmunds and Rebecca Pearce triumphed against two extremely strong independent schools; Strathallan School in Perthshire, Scotland, and Royal Grammar School Newcastle.

On the road to the finals, the school had already claimed the Lancashire and North West titles, but in Sunderland the girls proved that they deserved to be competing with the tennis elite.

They will now progress onto the national finals in Bolton as one of the top four schools in Great Britain and the only state school in the competition.

One of the students said: “It was a great experience to win the regional finals and although we know the standard is going to be really high, we can’t wait to play in the national finals against some of the top schools in Great Britain.”

Daniel Allen, PE teacher at Rainford High, praised the team’s accomplishment: “This is a fantastic achievement for the school and tennis in the region as a whole. The girls where a credit to the school both on and off the court.

“They are now really excited to be going to the national finals as one of the top four schools in Great Britain. This level of success is unprecedented for a state school in the region. A big thanks to our Principal, Ian Young, who has helped to support the team along the way and also to Rainford Tennis Club whom we have a great school-club link with.”

The finals will take place at Bolton Arena on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 December.