Hockey is thriving at King Edward’s School and in recent years teams have progressed to the England Hockey National Finals, with the U16 team taking the runners-up spot in 2016. Most recently in 2024 the U16 team won the Tier 1 Plate competition. Players regularly take part in England Hockey’s single system, and have attended England Trials and a number of players play National League hockey at weekends.
As one of the School’s major games, hockey is played in all year groups. Hockey is played in games afternoons and there are regular matches for all age groups ranging from A to D team for the u12s all the way to 4 Senior teams in the upper school.
Boys who wish to play both hockey and rugby up to Senior level are catered for by a priority system, whereby they play rugby from September to December and hockey from January to March. There is a Senior tour every three years, with recent destinations including South Africa and India, and a junior tour within the UK or Europe. The most recent tour to South Africa in 2024 involved 28 boys taking part in the Cape Town International Hockey tournament alongside seeing many cultural sites in Cape Town.
Coaching in the sport is at the highest level and Director of Hockey is former GB international and Olympian James Fair, who is also a current assistant coach for a local National League team. Other international players and coaches are employed throughout the year in order to offer specialised coaching. Specialist performance software is used to film matches and players are able to access feedback from the matches which are filmed. A number of the teaching staff also make a significant contribution to the coaching of hockey.
The facilities for the game are exceptional. A high specification astro hockey pitch and pavilion provides a professional standard facility. We also have shared use of two full-sized, sand-filled hockey pitches on site and a further half-sized astroturf pitch for additional training. There is also a full-sized indoor hockey pitch within the Andrew Brode Sports Centre and this facility has helped the indoor teams make Regional finals for both u16 and u18 year groups.
If you are interested in finding out more information about hockey at King Edward’s School, please contact Mr James Fair: J.Fair@keschools.org.uk
