At the GDST sport is central to the way we build resilient, happy, confident young women. Whether it is rugby or rowing, swimming or skateboarding, every girl is encouraged to step up, try something new and push herself further.
In today’s world girls need more than just access to sport they need the confidence to lead, the freedom to belong and the space to thrive without limits. Across our 26 schools that’s exactly what we deliver every day, for every girl.
GDST sports rallies each year in hockey, cricket, netball and football.
Schools from around the country united by a shared love of sport.
Girls competing in a community-wide celebration of skill, spirit and belonging.
Sporting facilities, from all-weather astroturf pitches to Paralympian-standard pools, designed specifically with girls’ needs in mind.
Specialist events like our annual Sport Scholars Day and working with elite athletes - supporting girls to reach national and international level in their chosen sport.
Launching in 2026: our Wellbeing Festival, placing mental health and movement at the heart of every girl’s school experience.
A pioneering Skateboarding Scholarship – the first of its kind in the UK.
Access to competitions at prestigious venues such as Lord’s Cricket Ground (MCC)
Fully-equipped gyms, dance studios and fitness suites to help every girl find her space
Our GDST sporting culture inspires ambition and nurtures enjoyment.
Our students regularly achieve outstanding sporting success both during and beyond their time at a GDST school including competition at the Olympics and Paralympics, swimming for Team GB, European championship hockey, national netball success as well as sports scholarships to the USA.
Our schools rank among the top-performing sports schools in the UK and are regularly recognised for innovation in girls’ sport.
"One day I'd love to be an England player."— Jess, Newcastle High School for Girls
"Never give up on yourself." — Juno, Brighton Girls
"I represented Wales in the European Championships." — Carys, Howells School, Llandaff
We hold the annual GDST Sport Scholars Day in partnership with the Mintridge Foundation (a charity harnessing the power of positive sporting role models) in which hundreds of selected GDST ‘sport scholars’ come together for a day of sports, workshops, talks and with ample opportunities to compete, collaborate and make friends.
Workshops have been run in previous years by sporting greats including Pamela Cookey (Former England Netball Captain and Sky Sports Presenter), Shona McCallin MBE (GB Hockey player) and Anne Meiwald (Professional Footballer for Watford and England Beach Soccer player).
Our schools offer a breadth of sports choices and no ‘off-limits’ labels.
Whether captaining a team, mentoring a peer, girls regularly take on leadership roles that shape their future
Challenging World Health Organisation research that 85% of adolescent girls don’t do enough exercise, by building a love of sport for life.
The Girls’ Futures Report – our landmark 2022 survey of students outside our family of schools – revealed that there was a decline in girls’ interest, or loss of confidence, in participating in sport as they reached senior school. This was particularly evident in mixed sex schools. In girls’ schools, the decline was significantly less. Follow-up research demonstrated that this loss of confidence was far less marked in GDST schools.
In 2022 we launched GDST Sport Scholars Day in partnership with the Mintridge Foundation (a charity harnessing the power of positive sporting role models) in which hundreds of selected GDST ‘sport scholars’ come together for a day of sports, workshops, talks and with ample opportunities to compete, collaborate and make friends.
Watch the film below (was first published in 2022 when we had 25 schools):
In 2026, we will launch the Health and Wellbeing Festival which will bring together hundreds of students from around the country to learn about the holistic side of physical exercise and mental fitness. Students will get the opportunity to take part in activities such as yoga, Pilates, meditation, mindfulness and sound baths.
Each year, hundreds of GDST girls from across our 26 schools come together in London – most recently at BASE Studio in London’s Vauxhall – for a day of dancing, choreography, workshops and collaboration. Each year is slightly different and dance styles have included everything from musical theatre, ballet, hip hop, commercial street and lyrical jazz. Day of Dance also affords girls the opportunity to quiz choreographers about their careers and perhaps hear some stories about famous pop stars and celebrities.
In 2025, Belvedere Academy won the Youth Sport Trust Award for Outstanding Secondary Practice.
Belvedere Academy staff have put in a huge amount of work to support their students’ health and wellbeing throughout adolescence, ensuring that PE is a positive and inclusive environment in the school.
”We are delighted that this award recognises the innovative work our PE team has led at Belvedere. Students engage in a range of activities from badminton to bench ball, from kin-ball to skipping. The programme has helped us all to remember the importance of physical activity in our everyday lives to protect our wellbeing. It helps us to build relationships within our community and reminds us all of the power of play. Our staff and amazing students have helped introduce the programme to a range of other schools across Liverpool. It is something we are hugely proud of.” — Julie Taylor, Principal of The Belvedere Academy.
GDST schools understand the importance of sport in helping to build resilience, teamwork, and self-belief. By creating opportunities for girls and young women to positively engage in PE and sport, our schools are helping girls to reach their full potential.
Josie, a Y10 student from Croydon High School, was named in the team of 54 athletes to represent Team GB at this Summer’s European Youth Olympic Festival in Skopje. Croydon High and the wider GDST Team are incredibly proud of Josie who thoroughly deserves this amazing opportunity!
We have a number of highly successful alumnae who have gone onto have national and international success in a range of sports. This includes Howell’s School, Llandaff’s Sarah Jones (Double Olympian & Tokyo bronze medalist), Northampton High School’s Ellie Robinson (bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics) and Croydon High School’s Margery Swinton (World Masters athlete and tireless champion for youth sport, inclusion, and education, whose work has transformed opportunities for children in rural Scotland).
The Sport Matters Committee (SMC) represents sport on behalf of the GDST to ensure it is properly integrated across our 24 independent schools and two academies. Coming together several times a year, the committee will plan, strategise and formulate new ideas, co-ordinate and manage the numerous GDST Rallies and events throughout the year, review budgets to ensure spend is spent efficiently and spread equally across geographical locations, and explores trends and opportunities for innovation in sports.
Our network of teaching staff at the GDST make our sports provision what it is. We have a number specialist coaches, passionate teachers, and a dedicated Trust Consultant Teacher who is involved in planning and coordinating the GDST rally schedule, chairing the Sport Matters Committee and developing new schemes and initiatives for sport across our family of schools.
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