Sedbergh Cumbria

This next generation of sportsmen and women work hard as a team, not just in the classroom or on the sports pitch but in the field. They are learning that lifelong passion is a marathon not a sprint

- Sam Rickitt

SEDBERGH School, set in the magnificent Howgill Fells in Cumbria, is synonymous with rugby, the Wilson Run (a gruelling 10-mile fell race) and a can-do attitude. Founded in 1525, it has just celebrated its 500th anniversary. The school hymn may attest that it is the mountain fastness of Cautley, Calf and Winder that makes a Sedberghian but mixed in is a hefty dose of four core principles: humility, ambition, resilience and kindness. All of these are roundly demonstrated on the driven game shoot, managed by the pupils, that is offered as an activity.

The shoot was founded by former housemaster Chris Hattam, and has since been developed and overseen by master Simon Arnold. “We run this shoot like a proper syndicate,” Arnold explains. “The boys and girls are involved in every aspect of a shoot: they help buy and raise the birds, feed, maintain pens, organise days, manage finances and process the game at the end of the day.” All members are expected to learn how to dress game, and it is either made into pheasant pie mix for the shoot by a local supplier or vacuum-packed to be eaten at the annual shoot dinner.

Young shots starting their sporting journey are supported by a mentoring system that sees guns accompanied on the peg by experienced volunteers. There are 24 full syndicate members, along with a number of half-guns who earn their stripes beating as a stepping stone to full membership.