Boys’ Hockey

It has been a truly fantastic season for boys’ hockey. Despite the challenges faced before half term, with frozen pitches, snow and postponed tournaments, the boys’ achievements have been outstanding. In the Junior School, more pupils than ever have represented the school in competitive fixtures including over eighty pupils on a Saturday block versus Felsted . With participation numbers increasing, stronger links with local clubs, this in turn has led to strong performances on the pitch. Furthermore, with the Sports Hall close to completion, and additional indoor hockey provision available, the future of boys’ hockey is very bright.

At the youngest age groups, the U10s have commenced competitive fixtures this year, with the aim to apply their core skills under pressure and they have risen to the challenge. The U11s finished runners-up in the Essex Schools Tournament, and competed in the regional finals at Gresham’s School, highlighting the strength and depth at KS2. At the top of the Junior School, not to be outdone by KS2, Third and Fourth Form pupils have been a credit to the school. Over fifty pupils play hockey each Tuesday afternoon, and like in KS2, both the UI2s and U13s qualified for the regional finals where they competed against leading independent schools in the East of England.

In the Senior School, the 1XI finished the season on a high. A victory over Bancroft’s at home was the pupils’ reward for their perseverance and highlighted their potential as a team. The 2XI continue to be one of the most successful teams across all sports and their results this term highlight this will continue to be so moving forward. In the middle school the U15s, have developed technically and have benefited from having a large squad this year.

The stand out performance of the season however, was from the U14 team. Qualifying from the Essex Schools Tournament as County winners, this group then went on to win the Regional Finals held at Ipswich School. This resulted in the squad heading to the National Finals at Nottingham University Sports Centre. The boys won their group, conceding a single goal and went on to play St George’s College in the final. Ultimately this proved to be one step too far losing 4-0 in the final. The boys were a credit to Chigwell both on and off the pitch and they should be extremely proud of their achievements, finishing as National Runners Up.