At the end of November five members of the Netball Academy Squad travelled to Nottingham for a gruelling two day trial to select players for the AoC Sport National Netball Squad.

Hannah Barnes, Jade Richards, Jess Jeffery, Emma Mortimore and Anya Kilburn-Thompson all made the journey after selection through the AoC Sport South West Regional tournament.

The team acquitted themselves superbly with Hannah gaining selection for the squad. She now has a busy schedule for the AoC Sport National Team comprising of a training weekend in January at Gateshead, games against Northern Ireland in February, Scotland in March, a training weekend in April based at Bilborough College and games against Wales in June.

Hannah said:
‘The trial was a good experience with some talented players and the quality definitely challenged us and pushed us to play the best we could. It was really nice to have the other girls up there with me as we gave each other support and encouragement throughout the two days and enjoyed the experience together. From the trial, the 2016/17 squad looks very strong, I have seen a lot of them playing before in previous matches throughout the year and am excited to play alongside them. The first training weekend is the 14th and 15th of January in Gateshead where we will be playing the NPL Regional squad. The Exeter College Academy has been brilliant, we are really looking forward to the Nationals Championships and have a strong hope to do really well up there. We have really developed and bonded as a team and I can't wait for what happens in the future.”