Rydal Penrhos School is proud to announce that Year 11 pupil Lily Copeland has been selected to play hockey for Wales.

Lily, who turned 16 on St David’s Day, has made the Wales Under 18s squad and will make her debut against Canada, at the National Sports Centre, Cardiff, in April.

The squad is made up of 24 players from across the country with Lily just one of two players from North Wales to make it through a gruelling year of trials which began at the start of last year.

Initially Lily was picked to represent the County (Eryri) to compete in the Hoci Cymru Under 15s County Championships. She was handed the role of captain and led them all the way to the final in Swansea in February 2024.

From there she was selected to attend one of three Regional Performance Centres set up to identify potential talent for the Hoci Cymru National Age Grade Squad (NAGS). She was nominated to attend trials in Cardiff and was selected to play for Wales in the prestigious School Games held at Loughborough University in July.

Off the back of the school games, Lily spent seven weekends at training camps in Cardiff, from September to January, as they slowly whittled an initial group of around 70 of the best young players in Wales, down to the final squad of 24. Over the first weekend of half-term, the squad gathered at Rydal Penrhos for an intensive three-day training camp in preparation for the Canada Series in April. This marks the first time the Wales squad has trained at Rydal Penrhos, instead of their headquarters at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.

Lily’s love for hockey began 10 years ago at Rydal Penrhos Prep School under the guidance of Mrs Jude Pyves, who she also plays alongside at Eirias Hockey Club. Lily became the youngest ever player to play North West League hockey for the Eirias Ladies Women’s First Team in 2023 when she made her debut at the tender age of 13. She has been ever present in the side for the last three seasons, playing as a forward. She also captained the North Wales Under 13s team in the 2022 season.

Lily has been part of several successful Rydal Penrhos U16 and U18 campaigns under the guidance of Senior School hockey coach Mr Dan Rippon. This prestigious call up is a culmination of Lily’s hard work and dedication to her sport, whether representing school, club, or region.

All of us at Rydal Penrhos would like to congratulate Lily on this exceptional achievement, and wish her the very best of luck as she represents Wales on the international stage. We have no doubt that she will make her school and country proud.