St Ivo Academy, part of Astrea Academy Trust, is celebrating the success of their girls’ football teams across multiple-year groups.
Zoe Barratt, a 2021 leaver, and year 13 student Lucy O'Brien have made it to play for England women’s under-21s and Ipswich Town FC Women. Both are playing on the international stage, having begun their footballing careers at school with training and support from their inspirational teachers.
The school’s year seven and eight teams recently qualified for the English Football League (EFL) Regional Finals and represented Peterborough United Football Club, while the school’s year eight & nine teams have competed in the EFL Tournament.
Not to be outdone, the under-15 girls won the Cambridgeshire FA County Cup and are through to the third round of the Sisters n Sport National Cup.
School coach Lisa Trigg has driven St Ivo’s girl's football programme, building the programme from scratch, embedding it into the school’s day-to-day practices and establishing strong links in the local community and wider, allowing previous teams to play international matches.
This means that girls attending St Ivo can play football inside and outside of school in local clubs, with the two complementing and supporting each other.
Playing football has given the girls the opportunity to represent St Ivo in both local and national competitions, including the England FA pathways programme.
Football is not only keeping them fit and healthy but exposing them to the importance of teamwork and perseverance, and ultimately for some, will lead to a career. Training is at lunchtimes and after school, and any student, regardless of experience, is welcome.
Sam Griffin, Principal at St Ivo Academy, said: “We are absolutely delighted with our students’ achievements across all age groups. Our football teams are quite simply putting in fantastic performances and are clearly some of Britain’s best young footballers.
“I am so proud of our staff too. At St Ivo, we strive to inspire beyond measure, we have a PE department full of inspirational teachers who work tirelessly to develop students’ skills to ensure they become confident young adults, giving them countless important experiences and spurring them on to do their best.
“Everyone at St Ivo is ecstatic to see the girls’ success, and I look forward to seeing how far they can go!”
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