Spor t -

Is the latest headline from a study by Spor t England, backed up by numerous academic studies. Apar t from improving sleep and moods, helping young people to manage anxiety and reducing the risk of depression, it also has significant cognitive benefits to how we think and work . Which is why we are so pleased when, even at the peak of the external ex aminations, our boys continue to enjoy the oppor tunities for spor t and exercise.

Managing time is a skill to learn but clearly it is impor t ant that some time is generated to be away from the books or computer screen. Whether on Carey’s, in the Spor ts Centre, at the Golf Club, on the water at Sutton Bingham or at any other of the various venues there have been boys enjoying the social, physical and ment al benefits of activity. With enjoyment and choice at the focus of our provision, we continue to strive to provide a rich and varied programme and with the new facilities opening in September we are confident that we are heading in the right direction.

Guy, Director of Spor t

Cricket

The 2023 season saw a total of 100 matches played over 10 weeks by thirteen different Sherborne sides, of which almost two-thirds were won. Amongst the main highlights were an unbeaten season for Mr Crawford’s mighty Mini Colts B xI, as well as runs to the County Cup Final for both the Junior and Mini Colts A teams Although the former lost their Final to Canford, the latter Final is yet to be contested, and will take place in early September.

A young 1st xI side performed well to win six of its matches as well as playing out a really exciting draw in the final match against MCC, and there were centuries for Cameron Golding (U6f) against St. Peter’s Adelaide, and for Barney Talbot-williams (l6a) against MCC - a game in which Cameron also achieved a five-wicket haul to put his name twice on the Honours Board in consecutive days!

Meanwhile, our inaugural Ruth Strauss Foundation Cricket week was a great success, raising somewhere in the region of £3,000, as well as seeing Sherborne play host to Cheltenham, Haileybury, Stowe, and Cerne Valley CC, alongside the aforementioned St Peter’s and MCC The 2024 season cannot come soon enough!

Polo

Sherborne Polo ended on a high this term by winning the Senior Schools’ SUPA (Schools and Universities Polo Association) tournament on Sunday 18 June The team of Mustafa Cheshti (U6g), Ben Spencer (L6g), Cassius Hammick (L6m) and Jake Bamford (4b) played exceptionally well at Kirtlington to defeat Radley and Marlborough and draw nil all against Cheltenham to take the top spot This strengthened their reputation as a force to be reckoned with as they had also won the Arena tournament in March

At the end of May the team travelled to Berkshire to take on Eton and were playing a closely fought game where the score was 3-2 to Eton at the end of the third Chukka Unfortunately, in the final Chukka two players had problems with their ponies and this allowed Eton to widen the gap to win 6-2

We must never forget in polo that the ponies are 80% of the game A busy schedule of fixtures for this term was thwarted due to a lack of ponies available, but this did allow more time to focus on weekly training and the up-and-coming novice players have also improved markedly this year

Athletics

Beyond successful “regular” School athletics events, Sherborne’s athletes have done brilliantly in this year’s national competitions. The Inter-boys team (Third and Fourth Formers) qualified for the regional B final of the English Schools’ Track and Field Cup (a team competition) which they subsequently won, with a super team performance at the Exeter track. Top performers on the day were willoughby Peel (3m) and Theo Knott (4m)

Nearly twenty boys competed at the Dorset Championships, and from there four boys were selected to represent Dorset at the South West Championships a week later. Here Toby Bemand (L6a) and Gabe Muir (3a) came second in the 400m and high jump respectively, while Henry Kingsbury (U6f) came third in the shot put The highlight of the day and the season so far was Theo who won the U17 high jump with a school record 1 91m and has been selected to compete at the prestigious English Schools’ Championships in July

SPoRTS DAy

Sports Day took place on Carey’s at the end of term, despite some less than ideal weather conditions for much of the afternoon, our boys did incredibly well Although we were unable to run the full programme of competitions (due to the rain) it was great to see the boys represent their Houses so well on the track throughout the event

Sailing

The sailing programme, which is carried out in conjunction with Sherborne Girls posted some very positive records, certainly in respect of recent history. There were 35 pupils involved and all but five of them represented the School in matches at some point during the term At one event the programme was represented by four teams across the Under 18 and Under 16 divisions The notable peak in performance was the second place achieved at the Western Regional Championships in the Under 18 division The School being represented by Freddy Molesworth-St Aubyn (U6b), Oliver Thompson (L6f) and Sam Nokes (L6g) and their respective crews Underpinning this activity were additions to the coaching staff, notably Head of Geography, Mr Foyle who used to run the sailing at Wellington College, and five very welcome additions to the fleet of boats used for training at Sutton Bingham.

Futsal

Sherborne School hosted an electrifying U15 Futsal Tournament this term, utilising its new sports hall Teams from Bryanston, Milton Abbey and Canford School, also showcased their talent, making the event a resounding success For Sherborne, the icing on the cake, was that our team was victorious at this inaugural event

The tournament truly showcased the fast-paced action and technical finesse of futsal The newly constructed sports hall provided an excellent venue, with its modern facilities and spacious layout, creating the perfect atmosphere for the teams to shine Sherborne School's U15 team displayed exceptional teamwork, skill, and determination, impressing with their fluid style of play

The standard across all teams was very high which led to highly competitive matches and excellent competition Furthermore, it was wonderful to note that all teams illustrated superb sportsmanship and fair play throughout the afternoon

We hope to repeat this again but, given its success, also offer events for other year groups in the future.

water Polo

A match against the local Yeovil Spartans team was the perfect opportunity for some of our junior players to play in their first full match, and benefit from the mentoring of senior and more experienced players Sherborne enjoyed a 7-2 win, but more importantly, a hugely enjoyable match for both sides, and hopefully the beginning of more frequent water polo opportunities with our local club

Boys of all ages have enjoyed playing water polo this term, with junior and senior sessions weekly as well as the Junior House Tournament Special mention must go to the School Captain, Thomas Lamb (U6e), who has done so much to encourage junior players, including coaching and refereeing, as well as developing his own skills as a water polo player in School and for the local team

Tennis

It has been a busy term for tennis and it has been great to see the sun shining, showing off this summer sport to its best we have had over 160 boys playing and enjoying their tennis each week The teams have had mixed results across the term but some excellent playing development has been evident and it is encouraging to see the sport continue to grow.

The Road to W imbledon competition culminated in a final on the grass courts with Felix Hugh-Jones (3g) emerging victorious after not dropping a

Swimming

game throughout the whole tournament; an impressive feat! Felix now progresses to the County Final and we eagerly await the result We have hosted a number of schools including Millfield, Canford and Marlborough College and the boys have conducted themselves with great sportsmanlike courtesy

We have seen some excellent tennis being played in the Sherborne Championships, Alex W illiamson-Jones (L6d) won a tightly contested seniors final and Pierre Maurer (4f) won the juniors

Road Cycling

Boys have enjoyed the good weather in the Trinity Term with routes going round Hell Cor ner, Batcombe Hill and the neverending Knight Hill! We have a leisurely group which typically cycled routes 15-17k and a group more determined to challenge in terms of pace and distance with various routes approaching 40k

W ill W ilson (5a) has impressed with his fitness and determination - it is quite usual to see him disappear up a hill! W ill currently races at Odd Down in Bath and is hoping to start racing in Bournemouth and Southampton over the summer period

This term the swim team has competed in two galas pairing with Sherborne Girls. The boys continue to improve upon their personal bests in competition, and the Fourth Form have made significant contributions to the U16 squad allowing some Fifth Form boys to swim up and support the senior squad It is great to have a squad which supports its members so well that they can enter competitors for all races Both galas were very competitive and in the final one of the year, the U16 boys worked hard to come first, ahead of Bryanston and Canford A great way to finish the year

Yan Taborov (L6f) has raced mountain bikes for Ukraine and has transferred many of his skills to Road Cycling taking every kilometre Dorset has to offer in his stride W ith Road Cycling becoming a more popular option at Sherborne, I hope the upcoming Turing Ride on Sunday 1 October 2023 will be well attended and raise valuable funds for the chosen charities Alan Turing (h 31) joined Sherborne School in 1926 He travelled from his parents’ home in France to Southampton, only to find that the General Strike had put a stop to all train services He left his trunk at Southampton Station with instructions for it to be forwarded to Sherborne and got on his bike Turing cycled the 65 miles to Sherborne over a two day period, stopping overnight at the Crown Hotel in Blandford Forum On 24 June 2012, (Turing’s 100th birthday), 54 boys and 15 staff cycled from Southampton to Sherborne in honour of Alan Turing The ride now takes place in Dorset with a 60 mile Ultra and a 30 mile Enigma route.