Sport

Change. Adaptability. Resilience.

The wonderful thing about sport is that it can teach us about life. The idea that things always run smoothly and go to plan is our dream… and when it happens it is so satisfying. However, there may be times when the dream is changed by events, and it is then that we need to be at our very best. Plug in Covid, lockdown, social distancing and the wettest May on record and this year has possibly provided the best opportunities for demonstrating our adaptability and resilience, and I would like to thank everyone, pupils, staff and parents, for their patience and endeavour. It is this that has, despite everything, enabled a remarkable amount of sporting participation.

We started the year with severe restrictions in place; we could only train in segregated year groups and we couldn’t play fixtures. Most pupils hadn’t played organised sport for over six months and were at different stages of fitness. There was a need to reconnect socially and reintegrate pupils back into the sporting programme carefully to avoid the risk of injury.

We therefore set in motion a progressive athletic development programme, combined with a Summer Term sport for six weeks interspersed with some skill content and match play for our major Autumn sports. The blended programme was well received and offered the opportunity to play mixed sport which was much enjoyed by all. We had hoped to see some competitive interschool fixtures at some point in the Autumn Term but little did we realise that we would still have major restrictions across the educational landscape leading right up to December and beyond.

Not returning to school in the Spring Term meant we had to create a platform to connect with each other. The constant flux forced all of us to look outside the box, to re-evaluate how we exercise, how we stay connected and how to stay as active as possible. Having learned some valuable lessons from the first lockdown, we created an interactive online programme devoted to health and fitness. The Teams Sports Channel was born and the pupils tuned in. Live, interactive sessions included hand eye coordination and movement challenges, high intensity interval training, yoga and mobility classes, live circuit sessions, dance fitness, live sports video analysis, athletic development resources, pre-recorded workouts of the week and links to the College sports stream channel where all pre-recorded coaching sessions and home-based workouts recorded by College coaches could be accessed.

In place of our regular fixtures, we competed with equivalent schools in virtual races which involved recording distances and times and calculating mean times for certain categories and age groups. The participation grew, with staff and parents also occasionally taking part.

At last, as schools reopened in May there was more opportunity for sporting fulfilment, only to be impacted by the wettest May on record. C’est la vie! The second half of the Summer Term finally provided the much-needed conditions to train and play some external fixtures. Parents were able to spectate on site and for the first time in more than a year, our longawaited picture was complete again.

At College we provide our pupils with the opportunity to participate in 22 different sports and the learning curve has applied to all. It has promoted effort, imagination and so many initiatives and, despite the setbacks, the ability to change, adapt and display resilience have held us together. I’d like to end with a big thank you to all the coaches, both sports professionals and from Common Room, who have facilitated great sport for our pupils through such a challenging time. Let’s look together to a new enjoyable year and reflect on what we’ve achieved and learned.

Mr Ben Marsden, Director of Sport

Talented Athlete Programme

Mr Nick Runciman

After a year of disruption on the sporting front, and with many of our Talented Athlete Programme (TAP) members affected by the postponements of key events and fixtures, it was to be a test of our athletes’ resilience and their inventiveness as to how they approached their ongoing development with the restrictions in place. The fire was burning strong, with each member displaying a positive outlook, not dwelling on the disappointment, and driving their own personal standards to enhance their attributes further.

The core values that each TAP member strives to uphold were more evident than ever during this difficult time. Without any competitive fixtures to get their teeth into, the Autumn Term was unlike any other. Yet, leadership was displayed in abundance; many of the TAP athletes took responsibility for running specific sport initiatives and helped to create a professional and enjoyable provision for all. For example, some of our Upper Sixth members helped to coach the Lower College pupils in their spare time.

The commitment and humility continued into the Spring Term

during the period of remote learning, where many of the group regularly joined the ‘live sessions’ leading by example when it came to fitness sessions and passing on valuable insight in the analysis workshops.

Some notable achievements this academic year have included an ongoing selection for Flora Fletcher representing England Hockey U18s and Tilly Wood on her selection for Hockey Wales U18s Girls squad. Additionally, Will Gilderson and Tom Riman were selected for Gloucester U18s and Eddie Buttress for the Gloucester U17s. Excitingly, Will Gilderson has also been selected into the England U18 development squad.

A special mention goes to the Upper Sixth members to whom, with a heavy heart, we say farewell. Their contributions to College sport and in particular the Talented Athlete Programme during their time have been exceptional and worthy of praise. We wish them all the very best for their future endeavours and hope they will continue to inspire the next generation of Cheltonians.

Please see the OC Sport page for exciting news about the elite sporting successes of our OCs.

Sports Leaders

Mrs Kate Hornsby

After the success of the eight pupils from last year who were awarded their Sports Leaders level 2 Award, we had our largest Sports Leaders group with more than 30 pupils opting to do the course. Eventually 24 were registered with Sports Leaders and began their This qualification is designed to use sport and physical activity to help young people develop and hone their leadership skills as well as to help themselves and others to stay active and fit. Through Sports Leaders the pupils learn and demonstrate important life skills such as effective communication, planning and organisation whilst learning to lead basic physical activities for younger pupils. We have maintained the link with St John’s Church of England Primary School in Cheltenham and have established a new link with Naunton Park Primary School. This has meant that we can have more pupils doing the course. The pupils go into the schools and work with the pupils in Years 2 and 6 at Naunton Park and Year 5 at St John’s. This allows our Cheltonians to work with younger pupils in a realistic situation as opposed to leading their peers. At both of the schools they taught PE lessons to classes of between 26 and 30 pupils in a Covid safe environment. They started by teaching football and then moved onto Kwik cricket. They taught the skills and completed their experience with a class tournament which they planned and ran. This wealth of practical experience allowed the pupils to develop their leaderships skills and gave them the challenges sports leadership presents in a far more realistic environment. They all worked hard, made a difference to the lessons, and the pupils at St John’s and Naunton Park loved the lessons.

Staff at both of the schools were very impressed with how organised and knowledgeable the leaders were and they all proved to be great role models for the younger pupils.

This year has been challenging in many ways but we have been extremely lucky to be able to continue with St John’s and make a new link with Naunton Park which Pupils who took part were Ross Broughton-Johnson, Eddie Buttress, Daniel McLaughlin, Rory Jenkins, Tom Peck, Joshua Poulain, Annabel Cane, Alice Vyvyan-Robinson, Will Gilderson, Tom Riman, Honor Huggett, Sasha Kemp, Tinky Nelson, Gabriella Bifulco, Beatrice Leslie, Cece Vass, Tom Wackett, Jackson Joly, Theo Nicholson, Temwani Banda, Joseph Maguire, Gracie Emery, Tilly Wood and Leo Jamous.

Badminton

Mr Sol Griffiths and Dr Luke Davidson

This has been a challenging year for badminton, as it has for many sports during the pandemic. Everything has been a little bit different. The doors of the gym have been flung open for ventilation even during very cold days, which has added a new dimension to

play, as badminton players got a taste of what outdoor sports experience all the time! Years have been separated into their bubbles, preventing the usual mixing; the poles holding up the nets have had to be wiped down assiduously, and shuttles squirted with anti-viral cleanser endlessly.

Sadly, this year we have been unable to fulfil any fixtures, which denied some of our Upper Sixth experience of competitive play, but the whole squad has been working hard ready for the coming year. The prospects look very good, with captain Travis Ip and Isaac Wong working particularly hard on their games over the course of the year and making great strides. We will sadly be bidding farewell to our club captain Charles Hellens, and our girls’ 1st team captain, Stephanie Lau, not to mention stalwarts such as Alfie Watkins, Will Dangerfield, Chloe Manggunio, and Julia Gellere, who have been part of the furniture at badminton over the recent years and have kept us smiling. Full Colours: Charles Hellens and Stephanie Lau Half Colours: Will Dangerfield, Alfie Watkins, Travis Ip, Isaac Wong and Bobby Hui

Mr Michael Higgins

Despite the absence of fixtures, basketball at College continues to go from strength to strength. For College’s inaugural team, in their final year at College as the 1st team, the disappointment of not being able to test their mettle in matches against other schools was an especially bitter-pill but they continued in their dedication to the sport by training hard to improve as individuals and as a team. Special mention should go to: Alex Chan, who’s been a star on and off the court as captain; Marco Colombo for his consistent commitment to improving as a player; Max Davies, who despite his laid back approach has great skills; and to Felix Taylor-Kimmins, Jack Szeto and John Chan, who has been a dedicated member of the squad since Fourth Form.

Players from Fifth Form and Lower Sixth trained well through Autumn and Summer Terms and many stayed dedicated to their development through the period of school closure in the Spring Term. With great potential, we are really excited to see what they can do this coming year with the resumption of competitive fixtures. Special mention should go to Sean Kim, (acting captain) and William Wong, who have improved brilliantly as players and encourage their team mates to be the best they can be.

Seemingly out of nowhere, we were delighted to have a full team of Fifth Form players including, Freddie O’Neill, Jamie Edmonston and Charlie Chu. Again, we look forward to those who remain at College joining the first team in this coming academic year.

Demonstrating the real passion that we need, several Fourth Form players, Sebastian Balletta, Leo and Ambrose Chan, initiated training by hanging around and begging for a court after their main sport session had finished!

With committed players rising through Fourth, Fifth Form and Lower Sixth and hopes to expand inclusion of girls in the squad, the future for College basketball is bright.

Mr Nick Runciman

Circuit training for all abilities was accessible twice a week during the six weeks of school closure, with numerous pupils, staff and even family members joining in remotely to complete the workouts. The sessions were designed to improve the participants’ movement competency and increase their muscular capacity and cardiovascular fitness, underpinned by the six primary foundation strength exercises, and interspersed with functional movements.

A core group of around 15, touted as the ‘regulars’ were present at the majority of the sessions and reaped the benefits of the provision, all boasting of extremely noticeable and rewarding physical improvements. The social element to the provision was equally as beneficial as the physical with everyone interacting with each other and inputting to the session content with enthusiasm, still managing to connect with the College community even when they were unable to in person.

Cricket

Mr Matt Coley, Master in Charge of Cricket

After missing the entire season in 2020 the Cricket club were extremely fortunate to have almost a full term of relative normality with our boys’ and girls’ teams enjoying an extensive programme of both training and competitive fixtures. After such a disrupted year it was been wonderful to see our Upper Sixth cricketers getting the opportunity to step out onto our amazing grounds and finish their College sporting careers playing some competitive sport. Our 4th XI of all Upper Sixth players enjoyed the chance to play some T20 games prior to half term; it was great to see them playing in coloured clothing and enjoying the game as a group of mates having fun on the sports field.

The 1st XI enjoyed notable wins against Radley College, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the Free Foresters Cricket Club with William Taylor being the pick of our batsmen; his century against the MCC has earned him a trip to Lords during a Test match this coming year. The side contained a number of Upper Sixth players and they stayed loyal and engaged throughout the term. Whilst the results did not always go our way this season they stuck together and were a great group to work with. We hope they will continue to enjoy their cricket and return as OCs to play at College in the future.

We continued to host a number of T20 fixtures during weekday evenings, welcoming local clubs and schools to play against our top two sides. The Hundred Ball Festival also continued to be a great success for the Yearlings’ A squad, once again playing host to Radley and Rugby School. Our Colts’ side enjoyed an extended period of time after their GCSE assessments to play as a squad, notching up victories against Marlborough College, Haberdashers’ Monmouth School and Bradfield College and narrowly losing to Clifton College in the semi finals of the English Schools Cricket Association regional cup.

The Lower College sides produced some excellent performance over the term. Junior Colts’ players Gus Carini-Roberts, Freddie Moore and Tom Unsworth all gained some valuable experience playing up for the XI. Gus scored a fine century against Clifton College Junior Colts’ side. The Yearlings’ age group sides also showed great promise and the Yearlings’ C team won five of their six fixtures.

The girls’ cricket programme continued to grow with pupils from the Third, Fourth and Fifth Form playing a number of soft ball fixtures. The girls are now able to choose cricket as their main games option for the term and we hope that the numbers will continue to grow next season as we look to introduce some hard ball fixtures to our programme.

Equestrian

Mrs Jenny O’Bryan

We have been most fortunate in the equestrian world as we have manged to adapt and get back to competing with special measures quicker than many other sports. The College competitors were ready and raring to go.

First up was online dressage which was a test performed at home, recorded and submitted for judging. Ellen Bankes secured an early win and several good placings were recorded by Sebastian Thompson and Ellie Savage on both of her horses. The qualifiers for National Schools Equestrian Association Championships (NSEA) saw great results for Sofia Games who is a cracking dressage pony rider. I have had great pleasure watching her progress through British Dressage Youth with her taking a very close second place in the most technical test. This bodes incredibly well for the future and Sofia is vying for great British Pony Team honours.

In British Eventing Ibble Watson and Mahony Knight have been flying. In fact, at a recent Open Novice U18 competition between these two, College secured first, third and fourth plus a tenth from OC Poppy Pitt (W, 2020) out of the whole country. Ellie Savage meanwhile won Broadway Schools Equestrian Games Event on her mare Cleo. This shows the depth of eventing prowess here at College.

For the first time College ran a show jumping event at Rectory Farm which was one of the first to run following lock-down easing in March. Sascha Mattlé from The Prep scored two impressive second places in hugely competitive classes qualifying her for the National Championships in October. Abigail Frankham did well in the largest class of the day. We had a successful time

with the teams too, featuring Katie Baker, Ellie Savage, George Duff, Maddie Shepherd, Claudia Norbury, Daphne Garbutt and Sascha Mattlé, earning third place. We were enthusiastically supported by the Head, Mrs Nichola Huggett who herself has competed at 3* eventing.

An amazing day was had at Windsor Inter Schools Show Jumping. We were one of only 20 schools in the country that qualified. Abigail Frankham was the first of the College riders and posted a swift and beautiful clear round, next came Katie Baker, Daphne Garbutt and finally Sascha Mattlé (The Prep) who recorded a scorching clear round in a super-fast time. We were not placed this year but want to ride in front of Windsor Castle again, so the qualification campaign begins.

We are delighted that some of our riders are benefitting from the College-wide Talented Athlete Programme (TAP) which gives them all-round body-conditioning work when away from the saddle, the benefits of which are well known.

Newsflash

Three out of the eight strong Regional British Eventing team are from College: Mahony Knight, Ibble Watson and OC Poppy Pitt (W, 2020). We wish them good luck and safe travelling to the new championship location of Bishop Burton in Yorkshire.

Brilliantly, in the summer holidays, Ibble Watson came 2nd on Aristoteles at the GB Junior Championships at Belsay and 1st on Canditoto and 7th on Aristoteles at Hartpury International Horse Trials.

Also, Mahony Knight came 3rd and 5th on her homebred horses at the British Eventing National Youth Championships - an amazing achievement to have bred and trained horses up to that level!

Football

Mr Lucas Slowik

It’s been another successful year for the club despite all the drama going on in the world. We have had the pleasure of more

than 250 pupils playing football across all year groups which has been a huge plus and great to see. Football has become a wellestablished sport amongst Upper College students and is growing in numbers each year.

The club looks forward to the coming year with the hope that both the boys and girls will return to competitive fixtures. We have a refreshed fixture list with new fixtures against Bristol Grammar School, Dauntsey’s and The Royal Grammar School Worcester.

I would like to also thank Mr Ben Page and Mr James Stubbert for their years of commitment to the club. We have been very grateful for your services and wish you all the best at your new schools.

Girls Fitness

Mr Christian Francis

This year Fitness was again a popular games option and all sessions were led by Christian Francis (Level 3 Personal Trainer). Each of the weekly sessions had a different emphasis, providing variety as well as teaching the girls about the different components of fitness. Sessions in the Performance Gym focused on the introduction of weight-based exercises, working on technique and offering advice to help achieve individual goals. Saturday sessions were more cardio based such as circuits and proved popular with the girls.

Golf

Mr Jonathan Mace

It has been a year like no other but with golf being a relatively Covid-safe sport we were able to run an Autumn and Summer Term programme, alas though with no fixtures. The Upper Sixth have remained good humoured and enthusiastic despite a plethora of events being cancelled, including the West of England Public Schools’ Competition at Burnham and Berrow Golf Club.

It has been pleasing to see a good crop of golfers emerge in younger year groups and we look forward to the return to competitive fixtures this coming year, including in the HMC foursomes and ISGA Matchplay competitions. Our golf continued to be played at Cotswold Hills Golf Club this year and thanks must go to the club for their flexibility and accommodating nature. With Cleeve Hill Golf Club recently saved from closure by OCs Nick Hovey (H, 1995) and Edward Mason (L, 2010) we will be looking to host a number of events there this coming year and building the relationship further with College golf. Thanks must go to Dr Brendan Enright for all of his support on the golfing front this year and Mr Simon Conner who has always been willing to step in to help! We look forward to the new season ahead and a return to some form of golfing ‘normality’.

Hockey

Mr Gwyn Williams, Director of Hockey

Girls

Despite the pandemic forcing the cancellation of a lot of hockey activity, College still has players involved at a representative level. Flora Fletcher remains with England U18s along with Tilly Wood who is with Wales U18s. Flora managed to also play for Clifton Robinsons in the Women’s National Cup Final. Meanwhile Ed Carter and Mickey Stranack have been selected into England Hockey’s Performance Pathway.

This term had a slightly different make up with no fixtures and the programme saw the introduction of athletic development sessions during the week and for Saturdays. College also saw the creation of franchise hockey and the introduction of the Cotswold Hockey League. The girls remained in their year groups but were aligned to a franchise: Bath Road Bears, Battledown Boars, Pittville Panthers and Thirlestaine Thundercats. They then played each other in a league format culminating in a finals day with the top two franchises of the Bears and Boars sharing the spoils as the top franchise overall. To give the players some diversity, a theme was placed on sessions, like pitch size, or manipulation of the rules to dictate behaviours. The final weeks of the Autumn term saw a more festive format and competition element allowing the girls to still have that sense of representing their House. Each House was converted to one of Santa’s reindeers for a round robin league: Ashmead Dashers, Chandos Comets, College Lawn Vixens, Queen’s Dancers and Westal Blitzens . Results: Westal Blitzens won the Yearlings’ and Colts’ pots, whilst Ashmead won the Junior Colts’ pot. For the Seniors, due to numbers, teams were combined. Lower Sixth WestDos beat QueensMead Lawn and then Upper Sixth Queen’s lost to WestDosMead.

Full Colours: Georgia-Lily Robertson (Re-award) Half Colours: Freya Coull, Izzy England, Annaliese Goff, Rose Dillon and Gabriella Bifulco

With the escalation of the pandemic and a return to online learning, hockey activity was restricted to online skills sessions. A new addition for this term was a weekly analysis session where topics on attacking and defending principles as well as goalscoring and pressing were discussed using footage from previous 1st XI games as well as current international matches. These interactive sessions were initially led by Mr Gwyn Williams and then the format changed to allow for pupils to lead the discussion and learning. In addition to the online analysis sessions, Mr Williams conducted some online interviews, chatting to Flora Fletcher about her sporting experiences growing up, at College and being an elite hockey player with England. The second interview was with Lily Owsley MBE, current Great Britain hockey player and Gold medallist at Rio Olympics. This was again an exploration of her experiences growing up in sport, her life as an elite athlete and an insight to her sporting mindset. Both interviews gave our pupils a valuable opportunity to delve into the experiences of these two athletes and learn from the experiences and challenges they have faced at school, club and country in their careers.

For the final three weeks of term and the arrival of pupils back here to College hockey was able to once again adapt its programme to suit the needs of the pupils and their sporting requirements. The sessions were split with Tuesday, Friday and Saturday allocated to the boys’ programme, then mixed hockey on a Thursday. The sessions had a focus on game play and allowing the pupils to take ownership of their learning through the various challenges and rule amendments given to them by the coaches to aid this provision. For the final two Saturdays, whilst the Senior and Colts’ squads continued to develop their technical aspects and play internal games, the Cotswold Hockey League returned for the Junior teams. Over the two weekends the franchises were split into a Premier League and a Championship at Yearling and Junior Colt level. The Thirlestaine Thundercats took three of the four titles with the Bath Road Bears winning the Junior Colt Championship. Full Colours: Charlie Anton-Smith and Oliver Walker Half Colours: William Taylor, Seb Kimber, Simon Oates, Monty Graveney

Miss Samantha Cook, Director of Netball

Sadly, the majority of the netball season was disrupted with school closure. However once pupils were back with us, we were excited to get back on court and enjoy some team sport and some competitive internal fixtures. Social distancing and bubbling unfortunately prevented girls from playing in squads but instead we developed an excellent carousel of drills and tactical and technical work which allowed pupils to develop their individual skills and work together as a team.

The weekends saw a thrilling World Cup tournament where year groups played competitive matches every week, an aspect of sport they missed most during lockdowns. Every girl thrived in this friendly but competitive environment with some excellent individual performances. Carys Bradford was awarded Player of the Match by her peers on a number of occasions for her excellent rebounding and

high shooting percentages. Min Fletcher dominated the midcourt position alongside teammates Katie Baker and Georgia Scott. Donna French was the life and soul of the Fifth Form tournament, enjoying all aspects of netball with the upmost enthusiasm. A chatty Lower Sixth demonstrated cohesion and enjoyment with standout performances from Gabriella Bifulco and Honor Huggett.

The Upper Sixth team was a formidable group made up of netball gurus such as Scarlett Jinks and Rose Dillon, fitness fanatic Georgia-Lili Robertson, and we welcomed back to the court Izzy Reid and Frankie Pinchard after having spent a few years away from the netball courts. The girls’ enthusiasm along with their face paint and national colours demonstrated true Cheltonian spirit once again and we look forward to getting them back on the courts properly this coming year.

World Cup winners

Third Form: England Fourth Form: New Zealand Fifth Form: New Zealand Upper College: England Full Colours: Freya Coull, Honor Hugget and Fenella Clayton Half Colours: Georgia-Lili Robertson and Olivia Jones

Karting

Joshua and Evie Poulain have been continuing to achieve great things on the karting track since restrictions lifted earlier in the year and we look forward to reporting of further successes from a fuller season this coming year!

Mr Robin Eddie

Despite the pandemic, the club has continued to train for parts of this year at Longdole Polo Club. We have welcomed new players from the Third Form including George Copcutt, Rex Knight, George Lawson and Oscar Fuery. Some of these boys have never played polo before and show great potential for the coming years.

For our first fixture against Radley College, we had a strong team consisting of Geroge Copcutt, Ben Pattrick, Holly Bullock and Robbie Slatter. They all played exceptionally well. Starting two goals down, to even handicaps by the end of the 3rd chukka, College and Radley were drawn 3-3. In the final chukka, College turned it up a notch, finishing the game with an impressive 7-3 victory.

Well done to all players who took part and we look forward to many more fixtures this coming year.

Rackets

Mr Mark Briers, Rackets Professional

After an exceptionally challenging year I am pleased to report that the club has continued to thrive under the outstanding coaching team of Mr Mark Briers and Mr Robert Horn. Complying with the everchanging Covid regulations we had 98 College pupils on court over the course of the year, 46 girls and 52 boys, figures that far exceed almost all other rackets-playing schools.

Despite the lack of competitive fixtures, the pupils have been fully committed to working hard on developing their skills in both the singles and doubles forms of the game. More recently, we have also been able to gradually welcome back some OCs to use the court and we are hoping normal service will be resumed soon. A full programme of fixtures has been planned for the coming year, culminating in the normal tournaments at Queen’s Club. We look forward to

the inaugural OC mixed doubles competition and the return of the Cheltenham Gold Racket. A huge thank you to William Hechle and Fionnuala Dowling-Membrado for their excellent work as rackets captains over the course of this year. We would also like to wish all the best to William Hechle, Gus Edwards and Emilia Davis as they embark on rackets scholarships at the prestigious clubs in Chicago, Montreal and Philadelphia. Serve up!

Rowing

Mr Nicholas Moffatt, Director of Rowing

Rowing has had a successful season despite the challenges and knockon effects of to Covid. Making the most of typically stunning weather in September many more pupils than usual had the opportunity to try their hand at rowing throughout the Autumn Term.

During the lockdown of Spring Term, Dr Tom Jenkins (erstwhile British Rowing doctor) gave our squad an online talk. This included biomechanical explanations as well as basic principles and salient tips as to what we can do when not in the boat to help develop all aspects of our rowing. Rowers kept progressing by utilising a variety of live sessions thanks to the online sports team. When we returned, pupils across all ages impressed and maximised their time on the water with the experienced coaching team.

In the windiest and wettest May on record, the whole squad seized the positive out of the negative and pressed on with some quality land training on the ergos and in the gym with PBs flying in everywhere. Sadly, we had to cancel a friendly training fixture visit from City of Bristol juniors.

A lot of skill development has taken place and enjoyably so, in small boats and in fours. As Covid restrictions eased, Senior boys (Upper College and Fifth Form) enjoyed being coached for some sessions in an eight. There is a lot of potential for the coming year!

Along with Matthew Albutt in a single, the Senior girls’ double scull of Annabel Cane and Alice Vyvyan-Robinson, and two single sculls of Maria Cowing and Victoria Brain competed admirably in the U18s events at a smaller and even more elite version of the National Schools’ Regatta. Third Formers had their first experience of racing at Eton Dorney, the 2012 Olympic venue, at a special Marlow Regatta Sunday and the A Eight made the B Final. Fourth Formers and above raced at Saltford, Bristol, hosted by Monkton Combe School. They had some fun racing across various boat classes while our top performers gleaned more race savviness.

The girls’ squad performed extremely well at the Henley Women’s Regatta in July. The Senior girls’ double scull of Annabel Cane (Head of Boats) and Alice Vyvyan-Robinson beat 10 rivals in the U18s to qualify into the main draw. This was a brilliant achievement as they had increased their speed significantly in the two months since the National School’s Regatta at the end of May. They went on to fight admirably against a National Schools’ A-finalist double from Newark. While a gap opened up by mid-race between these two fierce small boats, Newark was never allowed to let up even a fraction as they beat our girls. It made a great race to watch on the river bank and to listen to on the livestream.

Maria Cowing and Victoria Brain also competed against the best U18s in

the UK, so while they weren’t able to beat enough challengers to qualify, huge credit goes to them for taking this on and finding more speed since National School’s Regatta. All four girls also dealt very well with the typically tricky water state and fluky headwind on the prestigious course at Henley. They also all navigated the start and the booms successfully. These challenges combined often cause havoc to many an experienced crew! Brave and tough stuff, the future is bright for these girls with their rowing.

The whole College squad enjoyed a BBQ at the Boat House at the end of the year with awards and the opportunity to thank the coaching team. All the teachers and coaches remarked just how brilliant it has been to see the development of all rowers during this second impacted year. Everyone is looking forward to getting back to a normal calendar of racing this coming season. It is an exciting prospect.

Our thanks go to the coaching team of Mr John Jones, Miss Natalie McDaid, Miss Beatrice Langford Powell, Miss Jo Doidge-Harrison, Dr Simon Markham, Mr Graham Cutts, Mr Nicholas Moffatt, Mr Jed Greenhouse, Mr Joe Murphy, Ms Indiajane Jeffery, Ms Eve Wright and Ms Bryony Lawrence

Rugby

Mr Olly Morgan, Director of Rugby

Whilst the sporting landscape has presented many challenges this year, it was still very exciting to welcome pupils back in the Autumn Term. Naturally, following School Closure I, it was imperative that the programme offered to the pupils was varied, engaging and competitive. Pupils took part in our athletic development sessions to ease them safely back into sport and had lots of choice throughout the week.

There were significant changes to the game to adhere to due to government guidelines: no external matches and no contact. The format we therefore followed was very much geared towards skill development throughout the week and touch games at the weekend to bring that competitive element upon which we know pupils thrive. The touch tournament was done in year groups and was formed around a Six Nations theme that would run until the November Exeat. The pupils really engaged with the tournament and we saw some fantastic rugby displayed across every year group. The eventual winners were: U14-Scotland U15- England U16- France U17- Wales U18- France The second half of term followed a similar format although, in addition, we included the infamous House 7s rugby competition that really brought back some form of ‘normality’. It was an amazing spectacle reaching its zenith on finals day; the picture of a full College Field, really highlighted the

Yearlings

Newick House v Leconfield 15-10 (Newick winners)

Junior Colts

Southwood v Newick House 10-5 (Southwood winners)

Colts

Southwood v Newick House 10-5 (Southwood winners)

Lower Sixth

Southwood v Hazelwell 15-10 (Southwood winners in final play)

Upper Sixth

Newick House v Hazelwell 20-15 (Newick winners in extra time with golden score) There was also some individual success with Austin Thrussell, Frankie Walker and Charlie Payne selected

into the Gloucester U16 squad. This was followed up in the Seniors with Ross Broughton-Johnson and Eddie Buttress progressing with the U17s and Will Gilderson and Tom Riman with the U18s. Excitingly, Will Gilderson has also been selected into the England U18 development squad.

In summary, it was a very enjoyable term that presented many challenges which we overcame together. It was a shame the Third Form weren’t able to represent College for the first time however I’m sure they will be excited for the coming season. To the Upper Sixth, led so brilliantly by Zach French, thank you for all you have given to College and rugby. You have been a joy to coach and see develop through the years and I wish you all the best in your next chapter wherever that will be.

Huge thanks go to the staff for their motivation and creativity but most of all to the pupils who bought into the programme and improved throughout.

Shooting

Mr Chris Reid

Unfortunately, there has not been much competitive shooting this academic year as our traditional fixtures were not able to run through the first two terms. However, we were able for the first half of term to continue our sessions at Ian Coley Sporting under the watchful eye of our coach Mr Matt Venner.

However, with the resumption of fixtures in the Summer Term, we did get one match in against Millfield School and it was an historic one; it saw the First V led by Rebecca Cook who, as club captain, has led by example all year. Despite the fact that College were runners up in the match, it did not dampen spirits; it was just great to be out in the sun shooting competitively for the first time since March 2020.

Squash

Mr Jamie Diamond

We had a challenging year due to restrictions on indoor use as well as being down to four courts because of social distancing. Putting this aside and as restrictions opened up, participation was very high, with more pupils playing than in recent years.

All pupils were ecstatic to get back; enthusiasm and effort levels were fantastic despite not being able to play fixtures against other schools. During games Mr Robert Shepherd produced some excellent tactics and technical sessions to push all pupils’ abilities for their development. Due to the restrictions on indoor fixtures with other schools, we focused on internal matches and tournaments. These were played on a regular basis and brought out the quality of squash the pupils had to offer, which was superb. Special mentions go to the captains El Charles-Jones and Tom Morris as they continued to show commitment; coming to every session throughout the period of their academic assessments. I cannot single out a single year group for a special mention as all years trained well and showed great commitment considering the restrictions. It was a great year of squash from a development point of view, and we are all very excited for fixtures in the coming year.

Strava Saturday

Mr Gwyn Williams

Throughout school closure during the Spring Term, to ensure we remained connected as a community, we launched a variety of challenges using the Strava platform with which pupils, parents and staff could engage.

The new year brought with it the launch of #StravaSaturday. With

no pupils returning to College, we challenged all the Houses to get out as many pupils, staff and parents as possible with #GetGoing to do some form of physical activity to blow away those post Christmas blues and cobwebs. Each House then nominated their own House Hero. The House which ‘got going’ with most participants was Hazelwell.

Other challenges that were #BetheBestucanBe, a 1.5km run that you would re-run 10 weeks later in the #RaisetheRoof challenge to see if you could better that time. Finally, and the most challenging, was #BeCreative, where we challenged participants to create a piece of Strava art with their activity. In addition to the challenges, we also had Strava fixtures against Clifton College, Malvern College and Bradfield College competing in a timed 3km run.

Swimming

Mrs Zoe La Valette-Cooper

Girls vice captain Dina competed in the Serbian National Championships, swimming 50m freestyle, 50m breaststroke and 100m breaststroke, coming ninth in the 50m breaststroke. Dina is also taking part in leading the UK campaign for nationwide sport equality legislation.

Izzy Greenwood, Max Pinkham, Richard Fung, Alexander Knott, Bluebell Clayton, Lara Scudamore, Sophie Fowler, Rory Maddinson, Sophia Tweedie, Bella Cross and OC Amelia Kitson (A, 2020) all passed their Level 1 assistant teachers’ qualification. Amelia has gone on to gain her Level 2. These are ASA governing body official qualifications recognised worldwide and which will enable them all to gain work within private swim schools or local authorities’ ‘Learn to swim programmes’.

We were delighted to have 12 College records broken throughout the year. And when we couldn’t swim, we held a virtual gala! In a bid to have some competition, we took on Cheltenham Ladies’ College and Dean Close School. We won both the boys’ and the girls’ competitions. Thanks go to our captains Richard Fung and Max Pinkham, to our vice captains Bluebell Clayton and Dina. Finally, huge thanks to coach Mr Andy Osborne; we couldn’t do it without you!

Tennis

Mr Tim Lang

Boys

Having many of our fixtures cancelled due to Covid, the club had a much reduced and frustrating season. It has been a long time since the courts witnessed any competition so despite the ups and downs, and ‘is the match still on or off, sir?’ type conversations, I hope the boys finally enjoyed swinging a racket under sunny Cheltenham skies. We had a very young group of pupils representing the 1st and 2nd VI which bodes very well for the coming year, and whilst they will be disappointed with the results, it needs to be put in context.

The teams comprised of mainly Lower Sixth players along with the added involvement of Third Form Spencer Moore playing in the 1st VI. The valuable experience gained will no doubt put them in great stead for years to come, and we are all looking forward to seeing the boys embrace the winter programme before locking horns once more this coming summer.

It is always important to recognise staff involvement amongst the ranks in the club, and special thanks are extended to Mr Ben Page who, to College’s loss, is sadly moving on to Repton School at the end of the year. Mr Page has been a committed and enthusiastic member of the team, and I’m sure everyone in the club will join me in wishing him all the very best in the next part of his adventure.

The girls’ club continues to thrive with 15 teams participating in matches from Third Form right to the top at Upper Sixth. It was so important for the club to get training and matches back into the timetable after such a long, anxious, and disappointing time away. It was really pleasing to see many of our girls attend the Winter Tennis programme where possible which really gave them valuable court time to prepare for the Summer Term. There was a slight air of the unknown about how our Third and Fourth Form would perform as naturally both year groups hadn’t the opportunity to play last year. In many respects we were absolutely delighted to see the strength in depth we now have coming through the levels in Lower College. Both year groups displayed some fantastic tennis on their way to having a particularly impressive season and have very much laid down a marker to the schools on our fixture list that they mean business.

In Upper College, having players commit to matches was so exciting considering their assessment

programme and revision timetable. Each and every one of them who freed up time to train and to play can be super proud of their commitment to the cause. In similar fashion to the boys, we were hit with cancellations due to Covid and inclement weather played its part too. The girls didn’t let this spoil their fun and they consistently rocked up with a ‘neversay-die’ attitude hoping for matches to still be on. It was a fitting end to our Upper Sixth girls’ tennis careers for them to beat Cheltenham Ladies’ College in the last match of the season to end on a real high.

Special mention must go to captain Emilia Davis who has shown incredible drive and determination to bring tennis forward since joining College in Lower Sixth, along with other notable contributors to the club over their time here at College; in particular Fionnuala DowlingMembrado, Izzy England and Izzy Reid all of whom have given their all for the club. We wish them all the very best as they depart College.

Lastly, it is important to recognise the contribution of Mr Chris Warner who has battled the winter rain and got the pupils out on court when most would have simply said ‘no’. In the Summer Term, his competitive nature is exposed, and you can see the pride he takes when the pupils perform well. His passion for tennis at College is unrivalled and we are extremely lucky to have him available to support our players. Thank you, Chris. Full Colours: Emilia Davis, Fionnuala Dowling-Membrado Half Colours: Izzy England, Izzy Reid

Yoga

Mr Olly Morgan

The online yoga content provided to pupils during our remote learning period was an opportunity for pupils to tune in and improve on their flexibility, core-stability and physical and mental well-being. With a busy academic programme it was the perfect way for pupils to switch off and refresh.

The sessions were progressive and focused on the whole body which allowed pupils to strengthen areas that might have previously been ignored. We had on average eight to 10 pupils (girls and boys) each week who really bought into the exercises and who improved significantly throughout.