October Half Term Sports Review

As the first half term draws to a close it gives us time to reflect on another succesful half term of sport at St Mary's.

As always hockey term in upon us and the girls have been having fixtures each week against local schools. Along with our Hockey events, we have also started our extra-curricular clubs during lunch times which have included hockey, dance, badminton, netball and fitness.

The development at Wilberforce Road has now been completed, meaning we are able to use the fantastic new facilities for games lessons and afterschool hockey fixtures. The girls are enjoying using the superb astro-turfs to develop their hockey skills and look forward to spending more time using them throughout the year for other activities, alongside the track for athletics in the summer term.

We have also welcomed 2 new members to the PE and Games department - Brigid Rhynehart and Jodie Mack. Brigid has joined us from Australia as both our new PE and Games teacher and a Year 9 form tutor. She has had experience teaching a wide range of activities in schools and has made a great start at St Mary’s. Jodie is supporting the PE and Games department whilst also assisting in the boarding house. We are delighted to have both Brigid and Jodie join our team and they are both fantastic assets to St Mary’s PE and Games department.

Hockey

On Tuesday 25 September the Under 16 hockey team travelled to Kimbolton to play in the Under 16 county hockey tournament. Four schools took part: Kimbolton, JFA Newport, Saffron Walden and St Mary’s. The girls loved playing in the tournament and performed well. The team lost to Kimbolton and Saffron Walden but fought back to get a well-deserved win against JFA Newport 2-0, with a couple of great goals from Francesca K. and Iona B.

The Under 16 girls had a further opportunity to demonstrate their talent in the Under 16 district hockey prelims which were on Monday 1 October at Wilberforce Road. The team played against 2 other schools, who were all playing for a spot in the final, which took place on Monday 8 October. The girls played exceptionally well throughout the tournament and won all their games, which enabled them to qualify for the district final. In the district final the team played against all the other qualifying schools. They got off to a slow start in their first match. However, after a team discussion they won the next 2 games with determination and won the tournament. The Under 16 team won 2-1 in their game against St Bede’s, 2-0 against Comberton 2-0 and 1-0 against Impington Village College. By winning all 3 of their games the girls won the district tournament, making St Mary’s the Under 16 district hockey champions 2018.

On Wednesday 3 October the Under 15 hockey team took part in the Under 16 district B team tournament. The girls played 3 games against Impington Village College, Bottisham and Linton. There was some great hockey played; the girls beat Impington Village College 3-0, and Linton 1-0, and drew against Bottisham 1-1. As a result they are now the joint B Under 16 district tournament winners.

The Under 13 hockey team represented the school in the Under 13 county hockey tournament on Wednesday 11 October. There were some close games; we lost against King's Peterborough 0-1 and St Johns 0-2. We drew 0-0 against JFA Newport. Despite this, the team remained positive and learnt from each match.

The Under 14 hockey team took part in the district prelims on Monday 15 October. The girls played 4 games in total. After a slow start and a great team discussion the girls played exceptionally well. Overall the girls came third in their pool.

Netball

The Under 16 ESNA team competed in the Independent Schools Tournament on Thursday 11 October. They played against Stephen Perse, King's Ely and The Perse. After some closely fought matches the girls came out on top and are now the Under 16 Cambridge Independent Schools Netball Champions. From this tournament the team will go on to play in the Cambridgeshire Schools County Netball Tournament on Saturday 10 November, which is going to be held at The Perse.

The Under 14 ESNA team also had their Independent Schools Tournament on Tuesday 16 October at The Perse. After a shaky start the team pulled together winning 2 out of their 3 games. They have also qualified for the Cambridgeshire Schools County Netball Tournament and will join the Under 16 team at The Perse on Saturday 10 November.

Individual sporting successes

Individually the girls have also had an excellent start to the academic year with lots of sporting success. Over the summer holidays several girls achieved high levels of performance in their sports.

Tamzin D.-R. was working hard during the athletics season to improve her javelin throwing distance. All her training and hard work has paid off, as she now broken her club record and the school record for javelin, throwing an impressive 23.46m.

Imogen H. has been busy on the water, taking part in the National Sprint Championships for canoe racing at the National Water Sports Centre. She and her K4 paddlers were delighted to take bronze in the Under 14 girls K4 500m race.

Congratulations also goes to Ella B. who successfully trialled and was selected for the Herts Academy Centre for Hockey. This is part of the England Hockey Player Pathway. We wish Ella all the best with her training and commitment to developing her hockey.

Sarah R. has been selected for the England Under 15 Korfball Squad, a fantastic achievement, and is now regularly attending training camps and weekends.

Holly T. has also continued with her fencing success and has been selected to represent Great Britain in two upcoming Under 17 competitions. We wish her and all of the girls pursuing their own sporting activities the best of luck in upcoming events.

Coming up

The PE department are looking forward to taking 28 Year 9 and 10 girls, with 5 members of staff, on the Holland Hockey Tour to Valkenburg during the October half term (Monday 22 – Friday 26 October). On the trip the girls will experience advanced coaching sessions, matches against local Dutch teams, and a tournament to finish the week. The purpose of the trip is to give the girls exposure to high standards of playing, to motivate them and give them the chance to improve their skills. It is also an opportunity to use the fantastic state of the art facilities on offer in Maastricht.

Sports clubs continue after half term, with a range of activities and sports on offer to the girls each week. Please encourage your daughter to check the sport clubs and activities timetable at school to see what is available for them after half term. Hockey fixtures also continue after half term.

Your daughter has access to the fixture list through the learning area on Cloudbase. They are also up on the notice boards around school. If your daughter is selected for a team then her name will appear on the notice board at school. It is her responsibility to check if she can play and then tick or cross next to her name depending on her availability. Sign up sheets for extra-curricular clubs are also on the notice boards at school. Please encourage your daughter to sign up and get involved an extra-curricular activity.

As a department we look forward to celebrating more sporting success in the next half term and hope the girls who are attending the Holland Hockey Tour have an enjoyable week away.

Extra-Curricular Clubs: October Half-Term to Christmas Holidays

Year 7

Monday lunch time 12.40-1.40pm – Running Club

Tuesday lunch time 12.40-1.40pm – Hockey Club