Sport at Langley

Here at Langley, we pride ourselves on creating a sport environment in which all pupils are able learn, strive and succeed. We value the role we have, and what sport offers in terms of developing a love of movement and setting the foundations for life-long engagement in physical activity. Pupils get the opportunity to develop world-ready skills such as teamwork, communication and leadership and when things don’t go our way on the sports field we encourage pupils to be reflective, have a growth mindset and show resilience as they bounce back from set backs.

Our staff come from a variety of sporting and educational backgrounds and share their passion for sport with our pupils. They buy in to the long win approach to sport and the notion that it provides enjoyment and the ability to create life-long memories that our pupils will take with them when they leave. We have relationships with a number external organisations who help to extend the sporting offer that we give to our pupils, assisting in high performance participation and potential career opportunities in the sport and active leisure industry. For more information on our Vision for Sport, please see the document below and for any further questions please contact our Head of Sport, Stu Field at sfield@langleyschool.co.uk

Sporting Vision

Sport Staff Profiles

Stu Field scaled

Stu Field

Head of Langley Sport

Since being told, as an asthmatic 4 year old, that I ‘should take up a musical instrument, as you’ll never be very sporty’ I’ve tried my hardest to prove the doctor wrong. My main sports growing up were rugby, hockey and athletics, but I was always keen to try anything out. My focus went to hockey and throughout the past 20 years I have played at various levels including a short spell in the National League. In my latter years, I have swapped out the multidirectional running for sitting and pedalling, completing a number of 100-mile Sportives and being part of SNOW CC E-Racing team.

My proudest sporting moment was watching my wife be crowned European Champion with England Hockey O35s in Holland. It wasn’t me playing but I was proud to be able to support her to have that opportunity and experience.

Thinking about the future of sport at Langley, I’m excited about pupils and students experiencing different things in terms of physical activity; getting the opportunity to experiment, play and compete and look at the foundations that we can help with in terms of their long term active lifestyles.

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Peter Twentyman

Head of Prep Sport

Sport has always been a huge part of my life. From a young age I had great role models in the teachers I came across. The experiences I had in sport have shapes the person I am today and helped me develop the skills to be successful in what I now do. I want to ensure that the pupils I teach have the same positive experiences and gain as much from sport as I have.

Being involved in sport and physical activity has always been fun, and I have made so many friends and great memories in these pursuits. Sport and physical activity are a great vehicle for developing character and resilience. I am passionate about ensuring all the pupils I teach can develop these important traits and have positive experiences in sport and physical activity.

Thinking about the future of Langley Prep School Sport, I want to ensure we continue to provide as many opportunities for our pupils to engage in sport and physical activity as possible.

Fixtures, tours, tournaments, festivals, galas, races and so much more are important parts of the lives of our pupils at the Prep School. We feel this helps to build well rounded individuals who are ready to deal with any challenges the world puts in front of them.

I am passionate about building a lifelong love of physical activity and sport in all the pupils at Langley Prep School. Please get in contact if you would like to know more about the sport and physical activity opportunities at Langley Prep School.

Grant Holt

Grant Holt

Director of Football,
Langley Football Academy

Grant’s early career took him across the world, including playing in the likes of Australia and Singapore. Returning to the UK, he played for Sheffield Wednesday, Rochdale and Nottingham Forest, where he became the club’s top scorer and was awarded Player of the Season. After a loan period at Blackpool and a move to Shrewsbury Town, in 2009 Grant joined Norwich City and for three years in a row was awarded the Player of the Year and went down in City’s history as one of the top goal scorers. In 2013, Grant moved to Wigan Athletic, was then loaned to Aston Villa, before stints at Huddersfield, Wolverhampton, Rochdale and time up in Scotland playing for Hibernian. He also had spells at Kings Lynn Town, and Barrow, where he was player-coach, and Wroxham.

From league to FA Cup, Grant made 586 appearances during his playing career and scored an incredible 193 goals. Today, he leads the Langley Football Academy and is also a scout for West Ham.

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Steve Pope

Head of Rugby

Our new Head of Rugby joins Langley with over 20 years of experience working across schools, education, coaching and sports management. Steve Pope was formerly a professional player with Swansea Whites and London Welsh. He moved into coaching and education after a successful career playing carrier. He has worked in a number of schools (both state and independent), national league clubs and university games for both men and women.

A warm and personable man with a calm and friendly demeaner, he has a huge appetite for making learning fun and providing an enjoyable environment for the appropriate level of rugby abilities across the curriculum. Having played and coached across most age groups and senior teams in a number of representative teams, he has a broad depth of knowledge and vast toolbox of skills as a coach, educator and mentor.

Steve is hoping to further enhance the school’s rugby program and develop all variations of the game across the schools senior and prep arms. His focus will be working to build links with local and wider community partners, primary schools, local state schools and surrounding sports clubs.

Iain Martin

Iain Martin

Prep School Sports Coach

I started playing in goal during school hockey at U14 level as no-one else wanted that position, then I played for the county the following year, and progressed through to eastern counties U21. I played U18 and U21 internationally for Scotland, playing in the U21 European qualifiers in Denmark.

Captaining my college Borough Road to the British Colleges cup, beating Oxford University varsity side, on the way representing Scotland at hockey are some of my proudest moments. As are, coaching our U11 girls rugby side to win silver at the IAPS finals, and then coaching them to win the U13 East hockey finals – we are the first school from Norfolk ever to do so!

Thinking about the future of Langley sport, I’m delighted that we now play so many matches and involve all children, ensuring they represent the school, and with so many new sports being added to the curriculum for pupils it’s an exciting time.

Ali Colman

Ali Colman

Langley Football Academy’s Head of Football

I spent six years at the Community Sports Foundation working my way up from part time Coach to Sport Development Officer. The following six years after that I spent at Norwich City Football Club, working initially as Operations Manager/Academy Coach, and then moving to Foundation Phase Lead Coach position, before joining the Langley Football Academy.

My proudest sporting moments include seeing players that I’ve coached go on to make their first team debut for Norwich City, along with players I have coached representing their youth international teams, and of course Matt Ward coming into the LFA from China and leaving us as a professional footballer with Ipswich Town.

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Gina Hopkinson

Head of Netball

I’ve played netball since I was at primary school.  I’ve played at county and regional level.  I’m a netball coach, umpire and I mentor new netball umpires too.  I coach at Norfolk United Netball Club & I host a Walking Netball group in Wymondham.  I’ve also coached school teams at Norwich School & Wymondham College before arriving at Langley in 2023.

 

My proudest netballing moment was in 2022 when I volunteered at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.  I was able to mix with players, coaches and officials backstage and up close and personal.  For me, this was really exciting!

 

My aim is to increase participation in netball, bringing it to boys & girls at Langley, as the mixed & men’s game is very much on the rise.  I would love to see more of our pupils playing netball outside school hours.  

 

Before I moved into sports coaching at schools, I was a police officer for 29 years.  I retired as a police inspector in 2021.  The last post I held was as the Norfolk Constabulary Force Control Room manager, with one of my responsibilities being Tactical Firearms Commander where I commanded the initial response to armed incidents.

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Jordan King

Langley Football Academy Coach

My football journey started at a young age, progressing through the Norwich City football pathway, representing Norfolk U18’s and playing Step 4/5 senior football. Immediately after leaving school I went into a football coaching apprenticeship at Norwich City CSF, where I built around 12 years of coaching experience, working with elite football players and took various job roles to support young players with their football development.

Coaching is a strong passion of mine and something that I enjoy, seeing young players progress and helping them meet their individual goals. During my time with the football club I have experienced a number of players who have progressed into academy football and careers into the sporting industry.

In 2018 I completed my FA UEFA B Licence football qualification and this has allowed me to develop within my coaching career enhancing my personal development and experiences. I am always looking to grow in all areas as a coach and a person, benefiting the players who I work with.

At Langley I am looking forward to continuing to support and further develop the students at the school both on and off the pitch, with their future exit routes and pathways. I am aware of some of the previous success stories from the LFA and the most recent being Matty Ward, playing with him at Wroxham FC throughout his transition into senior football.

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Benjamin Whitbourn

Head of Cricket

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Ella Picton

Head of Hockey

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Kim Anastasiou

Teacher of PE / Games Staff

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Kerri Eke

Teacher of PE / Games Staff

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Hayden Edgecombe

Graduate Sports Assistant

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Oliver White

Graduate Sports Assistant

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