Peebles HS Senior A 55

Balerno Senior A 43

Peebles HS Senior B 42

Perth Academy Senior A 32

AS the flagship Scottish Schools’ Netball Championships draws towards the finals day, gold, silver and bronze section quarter- and semi-finals are being played the length and breadth of the country.

Each year the number of schools entering the championships increases, with hundreds of teams now starting out on the journey towards national success.

Into their 13th year of competing in this championships, Peebles Netball-coached teams have produced their best results to date - all five of the school teams, from S1 to Senior A, securing a place in the gold section of the Cup, and all five progressing to the quarter finals.

However, it is in the older age group, the senior section comprising S4 to S6 players, where Peebles has produced a most astonishing double this week, with both the A and B teams seeing off formidable opposition to both secure semi-final places in the Gold section of the Scottish Schools’ Championships.

This feat is unprecedented for any school and comes on the back of tough quarter final wins for the A team against Balerno HS, by 55 goals to 43, and for the B team against Perth Academy by 42 goals to 32.

For the B team, the victory was particularly sweet, having had their match postponed by Netball Scotland past the deadline set, in order to allow Perth to bring back some of its players from Netball Europe, having played for Scotland U17 last weekend.

Linda Nicholson, coach to the Peebles High School teams, was delighted by the success of her teams.

She said: “To be in the position of having not one but two senior teams in the semi-final of the Scottish Schools’ Gold section has to be one of the most outstanding achievements ever for our club.

"It represents over a decade of dedication, development and nurturing of players through the age groups, to get to a stage when we have such quality and depth through our senior ranks.

"This is not something that happens overnight!”

Unfortunately for Peebles, both their A and B teams were placed in the same side of the draw, meaning that only one of these squads will have the opportunity to play in finals day on March 22 at Ravenscraig Stadium, Motherwell.

With the S1 and S2 teams still to play their semi-finals, there is potential for further Peebles representation in the final.

The semi-final between Peebles A and Peebles B will take place on Monday, March 11, 5.20pm warm up at Peebles High School Sports Centre. Spectators welcome.

Peebles HS A: Rianna Sterricks (Capt), Jess Wodehouse (Vice Capt), Emma Raeburn, Ellie O’Hara, Hannah Little, Abbie Sorrell, Lucy Gray, Sophie Walpole, Emma Latto, Ruby Finn.

Peebles HS B: Lucy Sked (Capt), Abbey Scrimger, Hannah Wallace, Eleanor Smith, Emma Saxon, Molly Saxon, Emily Wilson, Imogen Lewis, Eilidh Naysmith, Lily Robertson.