U18 National Waterpolo Champions Again for 2026!
By Jaspreet G, Year 13
On the 20th March 2026, the U18 Water Polo team travelled to Marlborough College to compete in the ESSA National Water Polo Finals. Having won the preliminary round with strong scores across the board, we were confident as we stepped into the finals.
The team consisted of Alice W (Y13), Captain Jaspreet G (Y13), Aneira B (Y11), Manpreet G (Y11), Abigail F (Y11), Emily B (Y11), Iskra C P (Y11), Romilly C (Y11), Lydia T (Y10), Nikhita S-K (Y10), Ella S (Y10), Alice N (Y10), Alice W B (Y9) & Layla R (Y9).
In our group, we had the top 5 Water Polo schools in the country and we competed against Marlborough College, Alleyn’s School, Croydon High School and Bolton High. Our first match was against Alleyn’s School, where we played with concentration and determination. The matches that followed also ended in strong wins across the board against Marlborough College and Croydon High.
Having won all of our matches, as did Bolton, the final match was deemed to be a final – NHEHS VS Bolton. The first quarter started well with Manpreet scoring the first 3 goals for NHEHS giving us a lead of 3-0 in the first 2 minutes of the match. Bolton followed this with a goal, leaving the score of the first half 3-1 to NHEHS. With another goal scored and a 6v5 goal by Emily, the score was now brought to 5-3. Defence was kept tight for the remaining time of the match by Alice and Iskra. With 2 minutes remaining, 1 goal was conceded, but 2 goals were scored, leaving the game with a final score of 7-4 to NHEHS. Shout out to Iskra, who was awarded MVP for the final game against Bolton due to some amazing goalkeeping skills throughout the match.
We are so proud to be National Champions once again and excited to keep the title from last year.
Thank you to Mr Bent for his support throughout our journey and Claudio for his coaching throughout the tournament. This was both mine and Alice’s last time representing NHEHS in Water Polo and we both couldn’t be prouder of what the team achieved. Since only the two of us will be leaving, the rest of the squad will continue to train hard together to ensure that we continue to hold the title of U18 ESSA National Water Polo Champions!
