Queen Elizabeth II High School’s under-14 girls hockey team enjoyed an historic trip to the English State Schools’ National Championships in Nottingham last weekend.

The squad became the first Manx school to participate in the event and enjoyed a dominant couple of days, winning all of their games and only conceding once to clinch the vase title.

Despite a gruelling travel schedule that saw them arrive at their hotel at 2.30am before being back on the road by 8.30am, the girls got their pool one campaign off to a flying start at the Nottingham Hockey Centre as they thrashed De Lisle College 1 by six goals to nil in their opening game.

They followed that up with a 2-0 success over King Ecgbert School, before claiming dominant 5-0 and 7-0 wins over Hinchingbrooke School and Emmanuel College 2 respectively.

The Peel side then rounded off their group campaign with a 5-0 victory against King’s Priory School and a more competitive 1-0 win over Alderman White School.

That set up a final against an equally successful opponent from Hayesfield who had topped pool two with a record of five wins from five games.

Battling fatigue from a lack of sleep and six high-intensity games in quick succession, the Manx girls dug deep and held a narrow one-goal lead for most of the match, surviving several dangerous attacks thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Darcy Gilbert.

The game remained on a knife edge until the closing stages when, in the final play of the game, QEII were awarded a short corner which they successfully converted to secure a 2-0 victory, sparking celebrations among the travelling staff and players.

After receiving the trophy, the girls raced back to Liverpool to catch the evening sailing home.

QEII squad: Elena Atherton, Bethany Chapman-Beale, Bonnie Ellison (C), Saoirse Gell, Darcy Gilbert (GK), Niamh Higgins, Rhea Maher (VC), Eve Martin, Libby Shimmin & Olivia Williamson.

During the tournament, the girls received a special boost from Isle of Man hockey star and current England under-21 captain Sienna Dunn who visited the team to cheer them on during several matches.

Manx Hockey Association’s 2025-26 season will conclude on Friday and Saturday, April 24-25 with finals day at the National Sports Centre, with the fixtures as follows:

Friday, April 24:

Women’s Bowl

Vikings C v Ramsey B @ 7pm

Women’s Cup

Valkyrs A v Castletown A @ 8.30pm

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Saturday, April 25:

Women’s Plate

Valkyrs B v Bacchas B @ 11.05am

Men’s Bowl

Bacchas C v Vikings C @ 12.35pm

Men’s Cup

Vikings A v Bacchas A @ 2.05pm

Men’s Plate

Bacchas B v Castletown B @ 3.35pm

Under-15s League

(at QEII)

Bacchas v Ramsey Rogues and Rascals @ 11.05am

Valkyrs v Castletown Sabres @ 12.35pm

Vikings v Harlequins @ 2.05pm