Football

Football is the dominant sport for boys at St. Edmund’s in the Michaelmas term with a range of Prep School teams participating in weekly matches. In the Prep School, all boys in Forms 3 to 8 play in matches for the majority of the term against a range of local schools, with the U13A’s playing schools further afield to challenge them against stronger teams. Pupils in Form 6 and below play in 7-a-side matches while pupils in Form 7 and upwards play either 9 or 11-a-side. We have a range of teams for each age group with each pupil finding a team to suit their level.

We are proud to field over eight teams per week and at U13 we are able to field over seven teams. The highlight of this season saw the U13As have an unbeaten session barring one defeat in the later rounds of a national cup competition. 

The last few years have seen us follow the trend of an increased participation in girls’ football with all girls playing in the Prep School for six weeks during the Lent term. This year saw us participate in the ESFA Small Schools Cup where the U13/U16 boys and girls teams made their way deep into the competition.

As a school, we have a whole-school footballing identity which involves us playing a possession-based style of football, where pupils are taught to protect and keep the ball as a team, including promoting an attacking mindset. Over the years, we have built links with several different football organisations which has seen a number of boys and girls represent the County and District, as well as playing for a range of club academies.

Football is one of the most popular sports at St. Edmund’s where pupils have many opportunities to participate in the “beautiful game” including after school clubs for boys and girls throughout the year; in addition to the training pupils receive three times a week in games lessons throughout their respective football season.