Team Bath Netball and Millfield join forces as famous sporting school becomes Futures Pathway Hub location

Millfield in Somerset, one of the country’s leading sporting schools, has become the latest Hub location for the Soldi-sponsored Team Bath Netball Futures Pathway – developing the next generation of netball talent in the South West.

The partnership enhances the strong links already existing between the sporting institutions, with several Millfield pupils having worn the famous Blue & Gold over the years.

Former England captain Pamela Cookey first played for Team Bath while studying A-levels at Millfield and current student Hannah Passmore was a member of the Blue & Gold’s Superleague squad during the 2019 season.

Schoolmate Anna Brophy also currently represents Team Bath at U19 level and a host of Millfield pupils have gone on to combine study and sport – not just netball – at the University of Bath.

Team Bath Netball Academy Head Coach Lois Jackson, who also attended Millfield on a netball scholarship, is delighted to see her alma mater come into the Futures Pathway programme.

“This partnership is something I am personally thrilled about being a previous pupil at the school,” she said. “Millfield has a wealth of expertise and I am looking forward to the crossover with the University BUCS teams, NPL teams and the Team Bath Futures Hub.

“This now takes Team Bath Netball up to five Hub sites in the South West so athletes can access high-quality netball closer to their homes, which has been one of our aims for the Academy since we started.”

Millfield is the fifth Futures Pathway Hub site in the South West of England, allowing aspiring netballers aged between 14 and 21 to benefit from Team Bath’s top-class coaching and sport science support in their local area.

Other Hubs are located at South Gloucestershire & Stroud College (Bristol), Truro & Penwith College (Cornwall), Bryanston School (Dorset) and the University of Exeter (Devon). There are also Futures Pathway Academies in Exeter (South) and the University of Bath (North).

Jenna Culley, Director of Netball at Millfield and Assistant Coach with Wales’ national netball team, will be lead coach at the new Hub and also involved with Team Bath’s Coach Education Programme.

Millfield Director of Sport Dr Scott Drawer said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with such a well-known institution with a history of supporting female development in the South West, and I can’t wait to see current and future Millfield netballers benefiting from the expert coaching and experience that Team Bath offers.”

The Team Bath Netball Futures Pathway is supported by Netball South West and sponsored by construction and development company Soldi, based in Radstock.