Junior Sport

What a fantastic year of sport it has been at the Junior School. Whether it be PE, games lessons, clubs and sports fixtures, House Swimming Galas, Sports Day, U7 Festivals, or U11 National Finals, the children have given their all! With Upper School and Middle School match afternoons in full swing, we could not be prouder of our 100% participation stats in competitive sport from U7 to U11.

Returning to school in September to a brand new MUGA surface on the double courts, provided by the Parents’ Association, was a fantastic way to start the year. Not only has the new area been an excellent surface for all sports on offer, it has also allowed us to continue our drive on hockey with the introduction of full-size hockey goals, and the ability to train and play with goalkeepers.

To further enhance the new match afternoons, this year saw the introduction of the Churcher’s Development Squad (CDS). Not only providing an additional programme of competitive internal matches to boost the inter-school fixtures, but also an opportunity to work on additional areas of sport, such as teamwork and leadership. The CDS has proved hugely successful, although the jury is still out on whether this is because of the activities on offer, or the match tea at the end! In October, the U11A Football Team competed in the Independent Schools Football Association (ISFA) regional qualifiers, in the hope of making it through to the National Finals. For the fourth year in a row, Churcher’s came runners up, but with Hampshire being such a big qualifier the decision was made to put two teams through to the finals - we’d made it! Having to wait until March for the finals, the team kept up their training before heading off to St George’s Park and the home of English football. Although Churcher’s didn’t make it out of the group stages, the whole experience was one the team will never forget.

The Summer Term saw cricket take off in a big way, and having found

their feet over the last few years, the girls really showed what they were capable of this year. We are continually working hard to get away from gender stereotyping in sport, and so to see both boys and girls playing cricket together right through the school, including some hardball cricket in years 5 and 6, was fantastic to see.

Finally, finishing off the year in the usual style and bringing the school community together for a whole day of sport, it was the perfect end to the year to, once again, be back to a full Sports Day programme.

Go Team Churcher’s!