Ben Gaze

“I really enjoyed trying new things when I joined in Year 4.  I really enjoyed the science lab, History, acting in the school play, art and design, and playing hockey for the first time.  

I bought my first hockey stick at the school fete and tried out being in goal in my second year in Barrow Hills (Year 5).  I loved every moment of playing with my friends representing Barrow Hills against other schools and, of course, match teas!  I have Mr Conway to thank for encouraging me to join a club which I did, joining Guildford Hockey Club when I was 11 years old. 

My favourite memories have got to be my final year when I was lucky enough to Captain and play as part of a great team. We managed to progress through the local and regional rounds of the England Hockey schools’ ‘In2Hockey’ U12 tournament to reach the national finals at Nottingham Hockey Centre. The finals were tough as we were up against some big hockey schools but I like to think we punched above our weight, narrowly losing our pool games but winning our last match.  The whole school gave us a great send off when we left in the school  minibus.  Mr Conway and Mr Clarke made it a great experience and end of season for us all by arranging for us to have a special kit and taking us for a special celebratory tea on the way home. 

Outside of Barrow Hills, hockey continues to be a big part of my life, and I love it.  Since leaving Barrow Hills I have been lucky enough to be selected at a county, regional and international level. Here’s what I’ve been up to:  

2015/16 and 2016/17 – Surrey County Hockey Panthers U13

2017/18 and 2018/19 – Guildford Performance Centre U15

2019 – Wessex Leopards U15 Regional Team, England Hockey Futures Cup Tournament

2019/20 – England U16 Boys National Age Group (NAGs) – playing against Ireland

2020/21 – England U18 Boys National Age Group (NAGs) – playing against Wales and Scotland

2021/22 – Team England Future’s Programme and attended the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham 2022 as a guest

2021/22 – England U18s Boys National Age Group (NAGs) – playing against Spain, Belgium, Poland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales

2022/23 – National ‘Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme’ (TASS)

2022/23 – England U21s Boys National Age Group (NAGs) – playing against Scotland and Wales

2022/23 – GB ‘Elite Development Programme’ EDP (Junior GB squad)

In terms of Clubs, I played for Guildford Hockey Club between 2015 and 2022, and then for my university, Durham from 2022 until today.”