Bede’s pupils through to England Hockey U18 Qualifiers

Ryana MacDonald-Gay and Izzy Atherton, both Lower Sixth pupils at Bede’s Senior School in Upper Dicker, celebrate reaching the England U18 National Squad Phase Two Assessment group.
Mark Dunford
By Mark Dunford
Published 17th Nov 2020, 14:07 BST
Updated 17th Nov 2020, 14:12 BST
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While Ryana (midfield) was automatically selected as part of the England U16 squad last year, Izzy (goalkeeper) was assessed alongside 200 other participants to make the 61-player shortlist.

Both girls are a year young for the U18 category, making this an even more significant achievement.

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The next assessment day was due to be held in November, however owing to lockdown restrictions this has been postponed with a new date yet to be confirmed.

Pictured L to R: Izzy Atherton and Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Lower Sixth pupils at Bede’s Senior SchoolPictured L to R: Izzy Atherton and Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Lower Sixth pupils at Bede’s Senior School
Pictured L to R: Izzy Atherton and Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Lower Sixth pupils at Bede’s Senior School

Mr Theo Dowse, Assistant Director of Hockey at Bede’s, said: “Reaching Phase Two of the U18 England Squad selection is a fantastic achievement, and Ryana and Izzy should both be very proud of all of the hard work that they have put in to get to this point. To see their dedication to the sport pay such dividends is amazing, and I know that all of their coaches and teammates at Bede’s wish them the best of luck with the next round and beyond.”

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