Rugby and Hockey Update by Mr Hanley, Head of Boys' Sport
The first half of term has flown by! The second part of the rugby season came to a conclusion with a final block fixture against Aldro. Unfortunately, frost stopped play for a couple of games this term so we haven’t quite managed as many fixtures as we would have liked. That said, there’s been plenty of rugby for all to get stuck into over the course of the season.
There have been really great moments for all teams this season but a couple of mentions as highlights for me:
- Firstly to the U11 age group, which have enjoyed a lot of success, this year in particular, but last Wednesday introduced a really new challenge for them: lots of absence! The ‘A’ team had five of their nine missing amongst others in the year and this obviously has huge repercussions in all the teams, with lots of reshuffling required. We came away that day with a draw in the As, and resounding win in the Bs and a narrow loss in the Cs but all boys deserve a huge amount of credit for the way they played. There really is a lot of quality and depth there.
- Due to bad weather, Year 3 and 4 missed out on all their rugby games last term as well as their inter-patrol event and this term's frosty start meant we were faced with the realistic possibility of losing another fixture as well. Fortunately, after some re-jigging of venues, the opposition agreed to come to us so we could finally have our first games of rugby with the Juniors! It was lovely to see all their faces as they took to the field, with many making their rugby debuts.
As of last week our attention has now shifted to hockey with a bit of rugby 7s thrown into the mix. The season began with a tough start against Cranleigh but all sides put up a really good showing for their first run outs. The U11s also had their IAPS event, which was a really tough ask so early in the season, but they made a really good account of themselves against some really strong schools. The season gets fully underway upon the return of the children from half term.
I would like to make mention of our Year 8 boys who entered the National Real Tennis Finals last Sunday; after an excellent day’s play we finished third and second overall. Congratulations to Nico dR, Logan L, Ben E and Sam K.
Netball and Hockey Update by Miss Lane, Head of Girls' Sport
A brief but busy half term has seen a lot of excitement and activity happening in the girls’ sports programme. The Year 5’s inter-patrol hockey tournament kicked off the term and concluded with the Panthers emerging as the winners. The Juniors (Years 3 & 4) also have completed their inter-patrol event, and it was exciting and impressive to see the progress made by all in such a short space of time. The victors of the Junior inter-patrol hockey were the Otters, who worked hard throughout and displayed wonderful defensive skills and scored several goals throughout. The U10A hockey team performed well, securing a respectable third place at the Highfield hockey tournament against some strong opponents. In netball, the second team claimed second place at the Westbourne House tournament, while the third team finished sixth. The 1st netball team has maintained an impressive undefeated record and is gearing up for the IAPS qualifiers at Charterhouse School following the half-term break.
After the break, there is a packed schedule ahead, including the Westbourne House first team netball tournament, the IAPS qualifiers, the U12A IAPS finals in March and the start of the girls’ football season. There is plenty to anticipate and prepare for in the upcoming fixtures and tournaments. Good luck to all the teams!
Sports Scholars
It has been a busy half of term for all our sports scholars as many have been off and completed assessment days and interviews. Mr Hanley and Miss Lane would like to wish you all the best of luck with your applications and we look forward to hearing how you all got on!
Cross Country at Highfield
Well done to all our teams (U9 - U13) who ran at the Highfield Cross Country event on the last day before half term. Despite the wet and mud, our pupils gave it their all.
Miss Lane was delighted to report that the U11 girls came second to Amesbury; the U12 girls came second to Churchers and our U13 girls came first, with two of our pupils coming first and third.
