It has been a busy start to the year in PE. Netball and Hockey trials dominated the first couple of weeks and now that squads have been selected, competitive sport is well underway. Cross Country and Swimming also featured in this first half term. Mrs Victoria Kirby, Director of Sport, reports:
Year 10 Netball Team
The first competition of the season was the Ison Versatility Netball Competition which we host every year in memory of a much-loved teacher and colleague, Mrs Jackie Ison, who taught in the PE Department from 1985 to 2007. The tournament involves players swapping positions every game in a particular order so that they have an opportunity to play every position on the court. Our Year 9 team played some brilliant netball against Year 10 teams from other schools and finished in 6th place out of 12 teams. The Year 10 team were undefeated throughout the tournament and finished as District Champions. The same Year 10 team played in the District Netball Tournament held in cold and windy conditions on Wednesday 11 October 2017. It took a while for the team to settle into their usual style of play, but once they had, the goals kept going in and the defence worked hard to prevent the other teams from scoring. In the end, they finished as runners up.
Year 11 Netball Team
The Year 11s have also had their District Netball Tournament this half term and with such enthusiasm in Year 11, we entered 2 teams into the tournament. The B team had a tough draw in the same pool as our A Team and all the other A teams in the District, but nonetheless fought really hard and played some great netball. The A Team played brilliantly, only losing to St Nicholas' School, which is always a very tightly fought match, and so finished as runners up.
U14 + U16 Hampshire County Netball Tournament
On 7 October 2017, our U14 and U16 Netball teams competed at the Hampshire County Tournament in Southampton. The standard of play was extremely high and our girls performed extremely well. Unfortunately, neither team qualified for the regional rounds of the National Schools' Competition, but should still be very proud of their match play throughout the day. Our netball teams also play in the District Netball League where so far this term we have had 10 matches, 9 of which we have won.
Hockey
The Hockey season has got off to a strong start and our teams are playing in the newly formed District Hockey League. Year 7 and 8 hockey clubs have been very well attended. The Year 7s had their first game just before half term and Years 8, 9 and 10 matches start after half term.
The U18s lost to a strong Gordon's team 7-0. The score did not reflect the hard work and teamwork during the match. Unfortunately, we just could not convert our chances in the D.
Our U16s played their first league match against Bohunt and won 8-0. There was a great display of skill, possession and hunger to win. In mid-October a mixed team from Years 7-13 played against our U16 squad who going out on tour to Barbados in December. The U16s lost 2-0 and again, there was a great display of skill and teamwork and with a performance like that, it promises to be a fantastic tour. Well done and thanks to all the girls in the mixed team who produced an end to end thrilling match.
Year 7 Cross Country
On 3 October 2017, we hosted a Year 7 Cross-Country Run with some of the local schools. Nearly 30 girls from Year 7 ran in this and our top 3 finishers were Freya, Amelia and Ava (all from 7 Alpha). These girls, combined with three Year 8 girls, Katy (8 Omega), Rosie (8 Omega) and Chantelle (8B), made up the Junior team in the first round of the ESAA Cross-Country Cup on 9 October 2017. They finished in fourth place and have qualified for the Regional Round which will take place on a Saturday in November.
Swimming Relays
The Junior and Intermediate teams competed in the county rounds of the National Schools' Swimming Relay Championships, both teams won their freestyle relay heats. Qualification for the National Schools' Finals which take place in the Olympic Pool are based on times and so we are now awaiting news of whether we have qualified.
SOCs Sport
We introduced our new SOCs Sport system this term which provides easy access to information for parents. Sports clubs have been really well attended this term and you have all shown huge enthusiasm for sport. The schedule continues to be very busy next half term so please keep an eye on SOCs sport for more information.