Sport Academy

Sport Academy

The Sacred Heart College Sport Academy has been established to identify and work with high-performing students who we believe have the potential to become competitive athletes during their time at Sacred Heart College.

The aim is to improve the all-round level of players at a junior level so that by the time they reach the senior school, they are significantly advanced.  They will develop:

  • self-confidence and a greater willingness to take risks
  • growth in interpersonal skills and communication
  • perseverance and resilience
  • leadership skills
  • a connection between academic and sport achievement
  • the ability to be grounded and balanced young sports women

To ensure that our elite athletes achieve high performance we will provide:

  • advanced tuition and coaching from highly qualified staff
  • quality coaching programme that reflect the modern game
  • rigorous and competitive training both on the sports field and in the classroom
  • maintaining academic and personal standards that reflect the ethos of the school
  • high expectations of discipline and self-awareness

This aligns with our national sports agencies in the following ways:

  • High Performance Sport New Zealand endeavors to have more women and girls as leaders, working, coaching, and volunteering at all levels in physical activity/sport by uplifting the presence of Hineahuone
  • SportsNZ is committed to address the inequities for women and girls in sport
  • The New Zealand Government has injected $2.7 million into a 'Strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation'
  • Women in Sport Aotearoa aim to see women and girls valued, visible and influential in sport

Guidelines: Year 9

The Academy intake is approximately 30 Year 9 students each year.  

The Sport Academy is currently led by the Physical Education department.

Students will have Sport Academy lunchtime fitness sessions three or four times a term, and two full Sport Academy Days per term to focus on a topic that will benefit their goals, aspirations and develop skills. These lessons focus on:

  • nutrition
  • sports psychology
  • technical skills
  • fitness
  • leadership
  • nutrition
  • injury prevention/recovery
  • team work

Entry to the Sports Academy Programme

Entry at Year 9 will be a selection process using enrolment information, consultation with intermediate schools, and an interview.

If your daughter would like to be a part of the Sport Academy, please complete this enrolment form (paper copies are available from the school office) Sport Academy Application Form 2024

For further information about the programme please email Head of Department PE and Health, Briony Hibberd at [email protected]

If your daughter is accepted into the programme she will need to sign a contract.  Failure to follow the contract will result in expulsion from the course.

Selection is not limited to pure sporting talent.  There must be recognition from the students that they uphold standards of academic effort and focus in all subjects.

All Intermediate students entering high school whether local to the school or not, and who wish to perform at an elite level, are encouraged to apply.  

Maintenance of academic standards is a condition of continued involvement in the Sport Academy.  This requires a high degree of motivation and achievement at a level close to each individual's potential.

The student must also represent Sacred Heart College in the code for which she was selected for the Sport Academy.

Full attendance at school is expected.  Academy students are required to have an exemplary pastoral and behavioural record.