SPORTS

Highlights from the end of term

Table Tennis Success

The U16 Table Tennis players, Sayan, Rohan, Boris and Alex, won the County Finals recently with some exceptional displays of skill. Sayan and Rohan won all their matches, and Sayan beat the Watford Grammar School top seed player by nine points to one in the last game. This meant that we had won the Final by two points as we drew on matches won and games won with Watford but beat them by two points in the head to head match.

They will now proceed to the Regional Finals on 11 January in Wellingborough.

Rugby

The match against Mill Hill at StoneX stadium was a big one for the U16s team, with pressure building to play at a professional stadium in front of a bigger crowd than usual. Mill Hill were a tough opposition, organised and physical, and the match was very entertaining, both to play and to watch back. It was great to face such a good team, and we were quite equally matched for most of the game, unfortunately losing out on energy in the last 15 minutes. I think that it was a great opportunity for the team, not only to see our mistakes, but to get a taste of playing with extra pressure and higher stakes.

Nikolaj, Fifth Form

The rugby season ended with some challenging block fixtures. The 1^st XV have had a great second half of term, winning the inaugural West Anglia Schools League, with victories against St George’s, Harpenden and Bishops Stortford High School. This was followed by a last gasp win against Mill Hill, who boasted a large number of academy players due to their new partnership with Saracens. They backed this up with a great win against Haileybury too, completing an incredible season.

The U15’s faced Wellington College in the National Cup, having defeated Harrow in the previous round. Despite a strong start in the game, the occasion got the better of them and they lost heavily in a game that could have been much closer. Nonetheless, getting to the last 16 of the National Cup is a tremendous achievement and they could be an exciting group moving forward. Furthermore, we have managed to put out 17 competitive teams this season in nearly 150 fixtures total. We look forward to building on the enthusiasm around rugby and are looking to push our 7’s programme even further next term.

Netball

Starting the season as a newly formed team, a tight community and strong team spirit have been built throughout these few months. The whole team showed great versatility on the court, taking on challenges by trying out new combinations of set-up, which led to many impressive possession turnovers and score flips.

The team showed exceptional skill and teamwork, with a standout moment being competing in the County Cup Tournament. Other memorable highlights include their game against Haileybury, where the team demonstrated incredible resilience and determination, preventing the opposition's centre passes from going straight to the goal, and a match against Samuel Ryder Academy where the team's communication and passing skills were a key component that led to their success in the final score.

Furthermore, close and highly competitive score lines against STAHS and Sandringham’s first teams are achievements this team should be exceptionally proud of, and indicative of the significant progress they have made in such a short time. Off the court, the camaraderie and spirit have been just as impressive, fostering a strong sense of community and improving their communication when on the court. Congratulations to everyone involved for their hard work and dedication.

All our hard work culminated in the game against Sandringham where we started off a bit worse for wear. As play progressed, Sandringham edged ahead in the third quarter to come out on top at 17-19. However, we knew it wasn't over for us. With only a 2 goal difference, we knew we in with a shot at winning. Our incredible defensive pressure created by Annabelle and Toluwanimi caused loose balls that we leapt at the chance to convert off of. Securing the win in dramatic fashion from our 0-4 opening quarter. Another of my favourite moments was our last game when we played against the experienced STAHS 1st Team where we again showed perseverance and through the combination of strategic positional changes, we brought it back to being within 10 goals. A huge success for us that we could have only hoped for at the beginning of term.

Darcey, Upper Sixth Form

Mixed Netball

The boys have been joining the girls in the latter part of their netball training sessions this term, keen to polish up on their skills ahead of their match. Both sides gave it their all during the rugby versus netball Christmas special to end the term in the festive spirit. The girls took the win this year, but credit to the rugby team for narrowing the score line significantly!