This Girl Can

Picture by Andrew Le Poidevin|TALLPICTURES.com

Ladies’ College student Hannah Le Pelley is making her mark on the local boxing scene having initially tried the sport a year ago through a school visit.

‘In February last year I came down with school and had a couple of sessions with Mandy, the Boxing Development Officer. Then about five of us decided to come along to the Sunday female only sessions,’ said Hannah.

Since then, Hannah has continued to train, moving to the Thursday night club sessions building up to her first skills bout in March against a visiting boxer from Hull. A skills bout allows a boxer to gain experience in a strictly controlled environment. There is no winner or loser.

‘I didn’t know what to expect, I just stayed calm and remembered what I had to do,’ said Hannah.

‘It all went really fast, and I just had to react to what she did. The bout only lasted one and a half minutes but it felt like a lot longer.

‘It felt great, it was slightly intimidating, but I just focused, and I really loved it.’

That first skills bout was a big success for Hannah against a tricky opponent and has whetted her appetite for more. She is focused on her GCSEs for now but is looking forward to next season when she is hoping to go one step further and compete in her first fight.

Boxing Development Officer, Mandy Hobart, is excited about Hannah’s potential.

‘It’s not just about the win, it’s about the experience and so we match boxers really carefully. We consider what kind of boxer they are, and we have lots of trust in our visiting teams to do the same,’ said Mandy.

Hannah is grateful to have found her way into the sport thanks to that initial school visit to the Boxing Club in St Martin’s

‘I have never been that sporty but just found that boxing was something that I really enjoyed. I am really keen on sparring and it’s a great way to de-stress. They are all so supportive at the club.’

Hannah says her parents were initially a bit worried about her taking up boxing but as soon as they found out more about what was involved, they supported her.

‘They have seen me spar and they have seen that it is safe. I would not do anything I am not comfortable with, and they trust my judgement.’

Head of PE at Ladies College, Helen Le Maitre, believes it’s important that their students get to experience a wide range of sports.

‘The Ladies' College is innovation and dynamic, not only within the academic curriculum but across the sports that we offer in lessons and throughout our co-curricular programme,’ said Helen

‘When boxing was introduced into the Year 10 PE Curriculum, with Mandy, the Development Officer, the girls relished the opportunity to try something new, exciting and challenging. Boxing is also one of the most popular choices in our Sixth Form Sports Programme, alongside Padel, Sailing, Football, Street Dance and Cricket.

‘Hannah is a classic example of a student at The Ladies' College who embraces new challenges, makes bold choices and shows bucket loads of bravery without fear of failure. Whilst enjoying the physicality of Boxing, she also loved the individual nature of the sport. This is not unusual for teenage girls. We are incredibly proud of what Hannah has achieved in such a short space of time and in awe of her bravery and fearlessness! We are also grateful to Mandy for being such an inspiring role model,’ said Helen.

Mandy has been in the full-time development officer role since August 2021 and has worked hard at introducing boxing to a wider audience through her work in schools.

‘It is so different to any other sport. It provides a great workout and a great release, especially for girls. The fact they realise they can do it, they get great satisfaction, and it gives them confidence,’ said Mandy.

‘They don’t realise what they can achieve and that they can go on to compete if they want to.’

Hannah says she would encourage anyone to give it a try.

‘Come down and give it a go, it may seem a bit frightening at first, but everyone is so friendly.’