Yarm School is celebrating International call ups for two of its netball stars.
Kaia Harte (16) and Poppy Gratton (15) have both been selected to represent their country in the U17 Netball European Championships.
Kaia competed for the Republic of Ireland in the U17 Challenge Cup, playing against Isle of Man, Malta and Gibraltar on Friday, 28th February – Sunday, 1st March. The Republic of Ireland won the Challenge Cup and Kaia was awarded the accolade of player of the tournament.
Poppy Gratton represented Scotland in the U17 European Championship on Friday, 6th – Sunday, 8th March. The Championships were held at the Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre in South Wales and featured competition from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Switzerland.
Scotland won bronze overall following two strong wins against Switzerland and Northern Ireland.
Netball success is nothing new at Yarm School. In January 2019, the U16 and U19 netball squads qualified for the National Schools Netball Competition, the biggest schools’ competition in the netball calendar, where they represented the North East at Stanborough School in Welwyn Garden City.
The U11 Netball Team followed suit and were crowned regional winners and competed in the national finals, for the second year running, where they placed in the top 20.
Kaia said: “I am so proud to have represented The Republic of Ireland at the U17 Challenge. It felt amazing to walk away winners. I am also happy that Poppy made it to the Championship with Scotland, she played incredibly”
Poppy said: “It was an amazing experience to represent Scotland at the European Championships. I couldn’t be prouder of my team or our performance! It’s amazing that Kaia was picked as player of the tournament for Ireland in the Challenge Cup, she played so well. Both myself and Kaia are very grateful to our coaches for getting us to this level.”
Yarm School headmaster Huw Williams said: “Yarm School celebrates so much success across many sports. I am delighted for Kaia and Poppy. To be chosen to represent your country is an honour and they have done themselves and Yarm School proud.”