St Anthony’s Catholic Primary reaches National Dodgeball Championships

St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School has booked a place at the National Dodgeball Championships in Kettering after a rise that began only two years ago as an after-school club. The Years 4, 5 and 6 squad, coached by Scott, has moved from a small school program into the final stage of British Dodgeball’s primary-school pathway.

That route is built on county, regional and national rounds, and St Anthony’s cleared the first two hurdles in style. The team won the Hampshire County Championships in December before advancing through the South West Regional Championships in Bristol in June, earning the right to represent the South West at nationals. In a sport where primary-school squads can carry up to 10 players and use six on court at the start of a set, the Titchfield side has moved quickly from a small school program into the final stage of British Dodgeball’s primary-school pathway.

Headteacher Katrina Straker called the jump from after-school club to national-level competition a major achievement and praised the squad’s dedication, teamwork and resilience. The whole community will be behind the team as it heads to Kettering. St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School is on Primate Road, Titchfield Common, Fareham, Hampshire.

British Dodgeball’s primary-school season featured 28 county championships in 2022/23 before the regional and national stages, and that figure grew to 33 county events in 2023/24 as the pathway expanded into more areas of the UK. The National Championships were staged at Kettering Arena, with the primary schools finals scheduled for July 3, 2026 and the wider British Championships programme taking place there on July 4. Holt Primary School’s Year 6 side reached the same Kettering finals after coming through Wiltshire and the South West finals in Bristol.