The Manchester Grammar School is named one of the best sports schools in the country

The Manchester Grammar School has been recognised as the best independent sport schools in the North of England by a national magazine.

The latest issue of School Sport magazine has named MGS as one of the top ten independent schools in the UK for its varied sporting programme, and ranks as the best school in the entire North of England.

In the magazine’s list, MGS is ranked as the fifth best school nationally.

The list reflects competitive achievement in a range of sports throughout 2017 and honours those schools that take competition seriously.

Based on 20 different sports and more than 120 different national competitions, the list was compiled based on success in a range of sports rather than a single sport.

MGS was also named as the North-West Independent School of the Year 2018 in The Sunday Times’ schools’ guide.

2017 was a year of celebration at MGS, with success in a range of different sports.

In rugby, a hugely successful season on the field for MGS teams saw the School being crowned Lancashire Rugby’s School of the Year, reflecting a truly outstanding year for the School, with MGS teams winning no less than nine trophies.

For the first time in nearly a decade, the Final of the Under-19s Manchester Schools Cup was an all-MGS affair, with our First XI beating our Second XI to lift the trophy. The Under-12s were also crowned champions in the Manchester Cup.

In cricket, our Junior School team won an unprecedented treble of titles in a record-breaking season, winning the Reeman 6s tournament, the Lancashire Cup and the Association of Junior Schools (AJIS) Cup. They also finished third in the National Cup, an amazing achievement considering the calibre of teams drawn from across the country.

There were also national successes in table tennis, cross country, badmintion, fencing, tennis, water polo and martial arts.

Director of Sport at The Manchester Grammar School, Mark Walmsley, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be named as one of the best independent sports schools in the country.

“Out of the hundreds of entrants, to be chosen as the best in the North of England, and fifth across the whole country, is a fantastic achievement and is testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff.

“Sport has always played a huge part of life here at MGS, and we aim to cater for every boy, whatever his ability and interest, to give them the chance to try out new activities and find new passions. The range of opportunities is vast, and boys are provided with a great many chances to represent the School in a wide range of sports, including athletics, badminton, basketball, cricket, cross country, cycling, fencing, golf, football, judo, rowing, rugby, squash, swimming, table tennis, tennis and water polo.

“Playing competitive sport promotes the value of teamwork among our boys and our aim is to provide an environment where boys can flourish and develop their sporting skills with input from specialist coaches.

“We are also extremely proud that many of our boys have gone on to achieve sporting success on both the national and international stages when they leave MGS, and our state-of-the-art sports hall provides us with the facilities to train the next generation of sporting stars.”