Cottesmore was delighted to welcome Leah Wilkinson, Wales’ hockey captain, last week. Leah has collected over 150 caps for Wales. Following the success of her previous visit to Cottesmore, Leah returned to school to provide coaching for the Cottesmore staff and pupils. 

With hockey being an important sport for the children at Cottesmore, the girls were incredibly excited to meet Leah again. Making her Wales debut as a teenager in 2004 and, more recently, being appointed Assistant Director of Coaching for Woking Hockey Colts, this was a real occasion for the girls to learn. The afternoon was spent coaching staff on the Astro Pitch, with the sports staff participating, followed by the girls’ hockey teams. Leah’s visit was concluded with the 1st Girls’ hockey team who enjoyed supper together. The entire experience was a fantastic opportunity for the Cottesmore girls to learn first-hand about high-octane hockey and what it takes to compete on a national and global stage.

Sian Kerr, Head of Girls’ Games at Cottesmore School said, “We were thrilled to welcome Leah back to Cottesmore. Leah is an exceptional role model for our girls; they thoroughly enjoyed their time with her and embraced the opportunity to train with an international player, who imparted words of wisdom on winning matches”. Leah added “it was lovely to be back at Cottesmore and to be made to feel so welcome – it was great to see the enthusiasm and ability in the team here at Cottesmore and I’m sure they’ll do great things together this season”.