Swimming

Swimming this year has gone from strength to strength not only in how we have performed as squad in galas but also in our commitment to training and passion for the sport. Numbers at training have been higher than ever with on average 30 students at all swim session and over 40 at multi-fit training.

Miss Margaroli’s aim for this year was to push us to the next level and to help achieve this she introduced a new framework for the swim programme. This has given all members within the swim squad more focus and targets to ensure they are making continuous progress. The new framework included receiving new groups which are Penguin, Seal, Sword Fish and Shark. The different groups indicate the different ability of swimming with Shark being the top. This year we have introduced a new category to swim squad, the elite swim squad. The students in the elite swim squad train up to 20 hours a week in swimming, in their out of school clubs and in school training. Miss Margaroli and Mr Coley put every member of the swim squad into a group that they felt best suited them at the time and explained to them what specific targets they had to hit to reach the next level. This new framework made a big difference to the swimming training session and gave us real structure as a squad and chances to progress. We had a wide range of competitive opportunities for members of the swim squad to compete in from internal galas to international events – there was something for everyone this year. Years 7 and 8 swimmers made it through to the final of the London League, stand out performers were Ava Gibbins, William Henderson, Zak Revell, Alyssa Jouy, Ollie Orteu and Rudy Burnell who all won their races and overall came fourth in the London League. We had an annual Christmas Cracker Gala which was full of fun relays, competitive racing and everyone had a great time. The Bath Cup is one of the most prestigious races of the year. This year we had to hold trials as we have such depth as a club and it was great to see everyone giving it their all. The U18 boys team consisted of James Sugrue, Stanley Reader, Josh Igbokwe, Ben Mattinson and Ben Wedenig, and the U18 girls team was Evan Birrane, Raffi Vignoli, Izzy Calogeras, Anyka Lin and Ava Holohan. The team did very well at the Bath Cup with a very young squad, we look forward to seeing how they do next year. We took 23 students from Year 6 to Year 10 to compete in the World Schools Swimming Championships which was held at the London Aquatics Centre which had schools taking part from across the globe. At the championships special mentions must go to Stanley Reader who won a number of medals, the U16 girls relay team which consisted of Evan Birrane, Raffi Vignoli, Anyka Lin and Ava Holohan who were victorious in the medley relay being presented with the winner’s plaque and to James Sugrue for being awarded the most valuable person award for his respective age groups – one of the championships’ most accredited awards. A special mention must also go to Stanley Reader for his outstanding performance at the national biathlon championships which saw him coming sixth in the country. Finally, our annual House Gala saw some fantastic racing and House spirit. Congratulations to Usherwood who were the overall winners!

Buster Francis