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Canford boosts sporting excellence with new coaching appointments and facilities development
Canford Sport begins the 2024/5 academic year with a number of expert coach appointments in core sports and ongoing development of its extensive facilities.
Greg Davis is our new Head of Hockey. He brings considerable expertise from his years in South Africa where he has coached, umpired and played at provincial level. Canford’s high level Hockey programme will be further supported in 2024/25 by a number of new well qualified Graduate Assistants and external coaches, along with the considerable help and specialisms within the current Canford teaching staff. Former Director of Hockey Matt Collison continues to coach the 1st XI boys’ and girls’ hockey sides alongside his new role as Head of Academic Physical Education.
Former Assistant Head of Rugby Tomas Roberts makes the well-deserved step up to Head of Rugby. Tom will also be a key coach for Bath Rugby Academy within their U15 PDG set-up. He will continue working with former England international and British Lion Tony Diprose who will combine his coaching within the rugby programme, alongside his main role as Director of Sport and Physical Wellbeing. A sign of the good health of the Canford rugby programme is that the school have been invited to the inaugural National Schools U15 Tournament at St. Josephs’s Ipswich in October where they will play against some of the best schools in the UK, as the hosts look to mirror the already incredibly successful National U18 tournament.
Charlotte Toogood has been appointed as Assistant Head of Rowing. She will support Director of Rowing Ian Dryden and in particular drive forward the growth of the girl’s programme which has been going from strength to strength and included boats at Henley Women’s Regatta and National Schools Regatta this year.
Further coaching support has also been added to our growing football programme led by James Crickmore, an Academy analyst and coach at AFC Bournemouth.
Sports facilities continue to be upgraded and this summer has seen a re-surface of ‘The Cage’ Netball and Tennis Courts and a new outdoor Basketball court, adding to the existing range of top quality facilities within the school’s 250 acres of grounds including a Sports Centre with 25m indoor pool and two well equipped gyms, an original Real tennis court, nine hole golf course and Boat House.
Tony Diprose, Director of Sport and Physical Wellbeing, commented:
The positive effects of sport on both mental and physical wellbeing are well recognised, and we are proud of the breadth of what we offer in our sporting programme giving the opportunity for every pupil to get involved in physical wellbeing in some way. Last year Canfordians took part in just under 1,000 sports fixtures across 16 sports with over 95% of all pupils representing the school in an official fixture. Our specialist coaching expertise has increased to support all the pupils including those on our elite scholar programme who are following regional and national pathways and we all look forward to another year of sport that will enable every pupil to explore and develop their sport, express themselves and excel in whatever their chosen sporting activity to whatever their level.
Find out more about sport at Canford including scholarship opportunities at 13+ and Sixth Form entry at