A Message From The Director of Sport

Dear Parents and Guardians,

It has been another hugely demanding, successful and exciting term of sport and physical activity here at Habs. I am once again indebted to the staff, students and parents who have all played significant parts in enabling it all to happen.

Whilst the weather has not always helped we have still seen a huge range of activities and sporting fixtures offered across a range of levels.

Hockey

The hockey sides have tested themselves against some of the strongest opponents available, notably through entry into tier one regional and national cup campaigns and competing at the recent Bath Hockey Festival. The standard of play and commitment shown from our students has been exceptional in what has proven to be another excellent year for our teams.

Rugby 7s

Our most expansive rugby sevens programme to date has seen all age groups playing regularly and competing in some of the most prestigious competitions available for school sides. Our own festival in which we invite sides from across the south of the country at each age group to play on our wonderful pitches, saw some fantastic rugby played and not least by our U13 side who would go on to win the trophy in their competition. Retaining the Fraser Bird Rugby trophy in which all Haberdashers’ Schools come together was something we have not achieved since 2003 and was another very proud moment for all those involved.

Aquatics

Our water polo squads have, and in the case of our U13s continue to do well in both the London League and national formats, with our U15 squad, formed of mainly Year 9 students, doing particularly well to finish 5th nationally. Whilst our swimmers also did extremely well to finish in 3rd place in the Herts League.

Gymnastics

There are few schools that see senior students continue to develop their gymnastics skills in the way our do so I was delighted to see them continuing to enjoy success regionally and then again in taking silver medals in the national finals.

Squash and Orienteering

The breadth of offer here was further highlighted by our U18 squash side competing in the national plate finals after some very impressive individual and team performances throughout the year, and with county success in orienteering which has seen a core group of students battling some horrendous weather in recent weeks but showing that this level of commitment can lead to great things.

Wider Engagement

All of this whilst, as you will see from within this document, we continue to encourage students from all ability levels to remain physically active, to find something they can engage with and to enjoy the social opportunities through school sport more widely. I have no doubt that we will continue to see this next term as we shift to the likes of cricket, tennis, athletics and softball as key areas of focus.

Parent Support

We very much appreciate your ongoing support at school sport fixtures; your presence adds to the atmosphere and a sense of school community. If you are not one of our regular supporters on the touchline, or boundary rope, I would encourage you to join us to see your children in action. A huge amount of effort goes into the preparation for weekly games, and whilst they may suggest otherwise I know that the students appreciate the support provided by families watching them play.

If you have any queries or ongoing concerns regarding either first aid provision or parental support at sports fixtures. please do not hesitate to contact me on the details listed below.

Kind regards,

Ryan McIntosh Director of Sport