Amy Leask, director of sport at The Crypt School in Gloucester, is breaking down barriers.

The 28-year-old is the first female to hold the position in the school’s near 500-year history and she’s relishing the opportunity to lead from the front.

She’s been in the role since the start of the last school year, initially on an interim basis, and has certainly been making her mark. 

“I’m really keen on challenging stereotypes,” she told The Local Answer. “I want everyone to compete in all sport, I want to break down barriers.”

And that means girls being able to play football, rugby and cricket; sports that were played only by boys back in the day.

Those sports are still widely available to the boys at the 1,100 pupils-plus school, of course, but they are now widely available to the girls too.

The grammar school became fully co-educational only in the past few years and Leask said: “When I joined the school as a PE teacher, there were girls in the Sixth Form and Years 7 and 8.

“We were just starting a curriculum for PE for girls, the philosophy was about giving girls opportunities to play all sports.”

And Leask knows from personal experience how important it is for girls to be given the chance to play a sport of their choice.

Football was her favoured sport and she was lucky because she was able to play the game at a time when it was still not readily accessible for girls.

“I played football from the age of four,” said Leask, a ball-playing centre-back who has played for Cheltenham Town, Forest Green Rovers and Swindon Town. 

“My dad was a centre-back, he played football in the Army and semi-pro for Harrogate Railway.

“He coached my team in Chippenham when I was growing up and I played age group football for Wiltshire. 

“He inspired me, he was a real advocate of women playing football.”

And it’s not just football that Leask enjoys.

“I played rugby 7s for Jake Petelo’s All Stars two or three years ago,” she continued. “And I play netball in Cheltenham in a fun league on Monday evenings.”

Her sporting message to The Crypt pupils is simple.

“We believe in participation, development and challenge,” she said. “We want to challenge the elite athletes with competition and strength and conditioning, and we want every student to develop a love of sport.”

Netball remains the most popular sport for girls at the school followed by football, with rugby and cricket attracting increasing numbers.

“We still have loads of rounders fixtures but girls can have a career in cricket, you can’t in rounders,” explained Leask.

Not everyone who loves sport is lucky enough to work in the industry and Leask, a former student at the University of Gloucestershire, appreciates just how fortunate she is.

“I always knew I wanted to be a PE teacher,” she said. “I’m very lucky because I’ve got friends who still don’t know what they want to do now. 

“I loved Cheltenham and Gloucester when I was a student and always wanted to come back here.

“I live in Abbeydale now and I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

She readily admits she never imagined she’d be a director of sport so soon.

“I still have pinch-me moments,” she said. "You’re always thinking, ‘Where might I be be in five years’ time?’, but I never thought I’d be director of sport.

“I was 27 when I was given the opportunity. I count myself incredibly lucky but I’ve got to grab it with both hands.”

And with plenty of support at the school she’s certainly doing that.

“My colleagues are fantastic,” she said. “They have the same passion and love of sport that I do.

“We share the same philosophy, as a school we are still super competitive but we want to provide equal opportunities for everyone.”