Women’s summer of sport 

Already dubbed by the British media as the ‘women’s summer of sport’, an unprecedented line-up of elite team events over the next few months promises to inspire a new generation of girls.

“It’s such a lovely clash of major women’s team sport events over the next few months,” says GDST’s Hannah Morrell, Trust Consultant Teacher for Sport. “The summer of sport provides a key opportunity for our students to look up to their role models and feel proud of the sportswomen they see competing in these pivotal tournaments – you really need to see it to be it.”

The Lionesses roar again

Taking place in Switzerland until 27 July, the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 features England as defending football champions against some formidable competition, following their historic Wembley triumph in 2022. Watched by over 17 million viewers in the UK alone, that final demonstrated the capacity of women’s football to unite the country behind women’s sport on an unprecedented scale. 

With over half a million tickets sold, this summer’s tournament is set to smash attendance records for women’s football, demonstrating the sport’s meteoric rise in popularity and commercial appeal. 

The impact of major tournaments like this on grassroots participation cannot be overstated, believes Hannah Morrell: “Following the 2022 Euros, the boost to girls’ and women’s football participation has just been amazing – we’ve had a huge number of GDST girls join their school clubs which means many of our schools can now field multiple teams for different age groups.”

And beyond the Euros, the domestic Women’s Super League (WSL) 2025 – 2026 season kicks off in September with the independent London City Lionesses the first women’s grassroots club to reach the top tier. “It was exciting to see that happen,” explains Hannah. “Because it highlights the growing professional pathways within women’s football.”

Within GDST schools, pathways for high performance players have opened up further with the introduction of GDST select teams, which comprise the most talented players from across the Trust’s 25 schools. “Our coaches attend the GDST tournaments to scout the most promising players who are then invited to trials,” Hannah adds.

Women’s Rugby World Cup

Meanwhile, the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup takes place in England between 22 August and 27 September. It gets underway with the opening game in Sunderland and culminates with the final at Twickenham. The second women’s Rugby Union World Cup hosted by England, the tournament has been expanded to 16 teams. New Zealand are the defending champions but England, the Red Roses, are currently ranked as the world’s top team.

‘Impact 25’ is the RFU’s legacy programme that aims to reach a total of 100,000 female rugby players by 2027 – from a current base of around 40,000 at approximately 800 clubs. This ambitious target reflects the tournament’s potential to serve as a springboard for long-term growth in girls’ and women’s rugby participation, creating more opportunities to get involved. The women’s game in England is already flourishing from the grassroots through to the elite level. 

“Rugby is definitely a growing sport here at GDST,” confirms Hannah Morrell. “Tag rugby, for instance, is really thriving at junior level. Let’s hope that the 2025 Rugby World Cup can have a similar impact on participation that the 2022 Euros had on women’s football then.”

Netball Super League

Over to the netball court: with London Pulse’s win at the Grand Final at London’s O2 Arena in the revamped Netball Super League earlier this year, the competition’s new format and the Vitality Roses’ successful international programme has further elevated this perennially popular female sport.

“Netball remains one of our most popular sports,” reflects Hannah Morrell. “The enthusiasm for elite netball among young spectators is evident in school trips to major matches – we recently took students from Blackheath High to a major tournament in Nottingham and it was full, which demonstrates the sport’s continuing appeal.”

Bowled over by women’s cricket

Cricket also occupies a prominent position in this summer of sport, with a women’s Test series against the West Indies and the ongoing success of The 100 tournament. After the summer, the Women’s Cricket World Cup takes place in India from 30 September to 2 November. 

“Cricket is another women’s sport that’s grown massively, especially in the last six years,” notes Hannah. The sport’s remarkable trajectory is evidenced by a BBC Sport statistic of a 150% increase in girls playing cricket since 2019.

GDST schools have a strategic approach to cricket development, Hannah continues. “Cricket now has a defined professional pathway for girls and we consciously try to create opportunities for our talented young female cricketers to play at the highest level. For instance, one of our alumnae has recently started playing for Kent County Cricket Club.”

An inspiring legacy for girls

After this momentous summer for women’s team sports, GDST girls will, Hannah, concludes, return in the autumn more motivated than ever to get involved themselves in the vast range of sporting options available to them. “There’s an outward growth of confidence within women and girls both watching and playing all these sports. I think this is such an exciting time to be a female athlete – we’re truly inspiring the next generation of sportswomen.” She hopes the resulting enthusiasm on GDST sports fields across the country will lead to even greater success over the next academic year and beyond.