Sam Quek – British field hockey player
by Educate Magazine May 9, 2017 · Latest Features
Introduced to hockey at school, Sam’s early talent led to her PE teacher encouraging her to join a club, which turned out to be the Mini Panthers in Wirral.
Chester HC was Sam’s first club as a junior starting in the fourth team before quickly gaining recognition and playing first team hockey for Chester in the National league. During her final season at Chester she was encouraged to train with Bowdon High Town ladies.
She plays as a defender for both England and Great Britain’s hockey teams, wearing squad number 13. She won gold as part of the British team at the 2016 Summer Olympics, who beat the Netherlands on a penalty shoot-out.
Sam was also awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours List 2017 for services to hockey.
Sam has now moved into the media spotlight after her participating as a contestant in the sixteenth series of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! and made it to the final four before being voted out on day 22; she finished in fourth place.
My schools:
I attended Birkenhead High School and Calday Grange Grammar.
My favourite teacher:
My favourite teacher was definitely Mrs Concannon, she was my PE teacher and encouraged me in taking up hockey and helping me realise my potential.
Favourite subject at school:
First and foremost was PE but I also loved biology and geography.
Were you streetwise or a bit of a geek?
I was definitely a bit of a geek.
My favourite childhood band/singer:
I love music but was torn between Blue and Destiny’s Child to who was the better.
My favourite extra-curricular activity: Definitely hockey but I was also into football and I am still a big Liverpool FC fan.
My favourite book:
Anything by Jaqueline Wilson, Girls in Love was my favourite book from Jaqueline.
Do you remember your first school crush?
Yes! But that is all I am saying on that subject.
School dinners:
We used to get the option of hot dinner, cold dinner (sandwiches), jacket potato or salad. No one thought it was cool to order jacket potato but I loved it so always did as I didn’t care what people thought. But I did love a hot dinner!!
My ambitions at school:
I always knew I wanted to go to university, which I did, Leeds Metropolitan University, but it wasn’t until I was about 16-years-old that I realised that I also wanted to be an Olympian.
