Ignite

Ignite excels at getting pupils learning from doing, and this year was no exception. For example, Marine Biology pupils were able to complete dissections and visit the University of Portsmouth’s Marine Biology department. The Marine Biology and Sustainability pupils also enjoyed a boat trip at Chichester Harbour to view the seal colonies and learn about conservation. The Climbing pupils tried a variety of venues, including bouldering at the Peter Ashley Activity Centre and Rock Up! In Southampton. Very few Italian sessions were without the opportunity to sample Italian delicacies, understandably making it a very popular course throughout the year!

“During the 5-week course students learnt some useful Italian language and culture. Food and activities were the focus of the lessons with all the students enjoying their Caprese salad: mozzarella, pomodori e basilico”.

This fantastically innovative Sixth Form curriculum continues to be enjoyed by pupils...

Pupils in the picture: Milly Betsworth, Elena Muelas, Annie Jenkins, Edward Bailey

This academic year, sport at PGS has gone from strength to strength. A huge thank you to pupils who have volunteered the following articles for their teams.

Victory at the Hampshire Cup

PGS went into the Hampshire Cup final with a 13 win to 4 loss record beating the likes of Bryanston and Canford. After previously losing in round four of the National Bowl, we wanted redemption. After beating Salesians and Embley by comfortable scores we were through to the Hampshire Cup final. We made our trip up to Alton Rugby Club on the 2nd February in hope of bringing the cup back to PGS. A beautiful sunny day and a great pitch for a great game of rugby which was about to commence.

After a great warm up the PGS team were ready to go. The referee blew his whistle and we were off. After a thorough first 5 mins of attacking from both sides and many penalties, PGS went on a surge and Josh Ellis gave us an early lead. Soon after Josh struck again and Matt Guyver scored a cheeky try off an interception from a lineout but The Mountbatten School didn't give up just yet with a try late into the first half and a yellow card on our behalf, left us wanting more. Into the second half PGS kept a steady lead throughout with our opponents trying to keep up but eventually PGS secured the win at the final whistle by 34-26 and PGS brought home the Hampshire Cup Trophy with the greatest help from Mr Allsopp.

Archie Simmons

Sport Reports Under 16 Rugby

This has been an excellent season for the U16 A team, both in the 15s and 7s season. Throughout the whole season, I was impressed with the commitment of the boys to training and the sense of team spirit that developed as the season progressed. Our performance in the loss to Canford was one of the highlights of the season, the boys displayed superb resilience against a very strong side, they battled to the end and executed well in attack to score three excellent tries. Our victory over City of London Freemen’s was our best all around performance of the season. In that game, our intensity in both attack and defence was the best of the year. It was great to see so many things that were worked on in training, really come to fruition in a game. A final highlight of the season was our game tying try and conversion in the final seconds of the game. What really stood out was the coolness the boy’s demonstrated under pressure and earning just reward for their efforts against our local rivals.

I was very excited for the 7s season after Christmas and I really felt the level of confidence that the boy’s had throughout. Sometimes their confidence turned to complacency early in games and tournaments and I hope this is something they will learn with added experiences and maturity. In every tournament, the boys did exceptionally well and should be very proud of their endeavours. Winning the RGS Guildford Bowl and Hampshire 7s provided the silverware for the year. At Warwick, coming second in our group and progressing to the Cup Quarter Final, beating some big schools and only losing to the eventual winners was a big boost for the team before Rosslyn Park. Unfortunately, one point was the difference between winning our group and coming second. Sadly on this occasion, we were on the wrong side of this and I hope those involved experience a different outcome at the National 7s in the future.

What I was really impressed with all year was the maturity that each member of the team showed at various points and the development that each player made during the season. I would like to extend my thanks to Henry Langford for his excellent captaincy throughout both seasons and I wish the best of luck to all the boys as they continue their rugby careers, either in the PGS senior sides or elsewhere.

Andrew Seddon

Cricket Under 12 Teams

Cricket Under 13 Teams

The U13A team had a good season. This consisted of five wins and six losses. At the beginning it all started off well with the captain Reuben Cooper scoring 56 runs. This set us up nicely for a positive season.

Just like last year we made it to the semifinals of the Hampshire Cup. Firstly we beat Toynbee School (at home), then we sadly lost to King Edward's School (away). Attish Das gave us much hope with an amazing hattrick. Unfortunately, we could not make it to the final. Our season was finished on a high by beating Ryde. We got to see Reuben Teasdale get 4 wickets in 5 balls, including a hattrick. This was the perfect way to finish Year 8 cricket. Many thanks to Mr Seddon, Mr Ayling and Mr Allsopp for the great season of cricket for keeping us motivated and hungry to win more.

We carried on strong throughout the season. We got to see Reuben Teasdale score a lovely innings scoring 76 runs. He didn't stop there; later he also scored a 52 with Kavin Kajendran scoring 51 getting a combined partnership of 103 against Kingston Grammar. Not only was our batting good, our opening bowlers (Ollie Davis and Zac Arens) were lightning quick, scaring many of our opponents opening batsmen. They caused many problems for our opponents.

Reuben Cooper

Under 14 Teams

Cricket Under 15 Teams

Back row (left to right): Frederick Lowe, Charlie Hill, James Carlin, Alfie Harris, Harry Cooper, Piers Webb, Oliver Barden Front row (left to right): Marvin Leung, Roman Robertson-Cross, Rufus Millar, Sulaiman Amin, Charlie Nicholls

Back row (left to right): Isaac Ghassemi-Allgood, Michael Voropanov-Oldman, Nikhil Sen, Archie Simmons, William Chapple, Oliver Aldridge, Toby Cooper, Montgomery Bond Front row (left to right): Max Bushby-Harris, Ryan Nay, Lewis Ndahiro, Oliver Davidson, Sulaiman Amin

Back row (left to right): Eva Durrant, Isabella Cameron, Emily Farrar Front row (left to right): Jessica Richards-Kellett, Evie Howard, Lucy Harris, Amelia Wilson, Masha Hodell

Cricket Under 14B Team

Even though, at the time of writing, the U14Bs have only won one fixture, there has been some good individual performances and some excellent progress throughout the year.

Winchester College was a difficult opening fixture. Batting first, we managed to put on 107. Veer Kachro made a sound 19, Ben Robinson 11, with everyone else chipping in (and 38 in the extras column!). Sadly, this total could not be defended, and Winchester chased down the runs in eighteen overs for one wicket.

On the 7th May, Churcher’s College put on a target of 150. Vivaan Dixit took 2-27, bowling batters 3 and 4 with turning leg breaks. Sadly, we only scored 129 in response. Pick of the batsmen were Veer Kachroo 29 and Ben Robinson 22.

King Edwards visited Hilsea the week after. Sadly we only set a target of 62 (Vivaan Dixit. 14), which was knocked off in 11 overs. Oliver Van der Wee bowled 5 overs 1 for 15.

Saturday May 21st saw a long journey to Canford. Batting first, Canford scored 197 in 25 overs. Pick of the bowlers was Joe Alexander, on debut, who bowled 5 overs 2 for 35. Sadly we could not chase down their target of 197. Our batting highlight was Felix Wright, scoring a beautiful boundary against their opening bowler. He guided a delivery to the third man boundary in true Joe Root fashion.

Seaford came to Hilsea on Saturday 11th June, scoring 141 in 20 overs. Ollie Van Der Wee bowled 4 overs, 2 wickets for 30; Vivaan Dixit 4-1-21. In response we only scored 86, but Veer Kachroo deserves a mention for his 31 runs.

Our first victory of the season came against Kingston Grammar School. Batting first, we bowled them out for 42. Joe Alexander and Ben Robinson took three wickets each. A target which we reached for just the loss of three wickets. Felix Wright, Frank Tolden and Yelisey Hodell scored the runs. In the words of match correspondent Ben Robinson: “Veer Kachroo did some amazing keeping with a top-quality stump out and a good all-round game for him.”

On Saturday 25th June, the U14Bs played Lord Wandsworth College. They set a mighty target of 183 from 25 overs. Veer Kachroo bowled 5 overs 2 for 15; Yelisey Hodell 4-2-22. Even though we managed to stay on top of the run rate until over 13, we were eventually bowled out for 133: Yelisey Hodell 30; Ben Robinson 20.

Hockey Under 13 Boys

Although relatively new to most because of COVID, the Year 8 boys adjusted well to the sport of hockey and learned extremely well, all thanks to Mr. Gammon. Working hard on skills, passing, dribbling and shooting, we worked in harmony as a team to give our opponents a good game. For example, our time at the U13 hockey tournament in Southampton was a mixture of wins and losses, however, with the right mindset, we were able to take home a few more victories - the team were able to give a strong solid defence to the goal, our goalie saving many shots, all the while our midfield passed backwards and forwards, waiting for the perfect moment to pass to our star shooter that finished off every shot will style, control and finesse.

Indie Stone

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my first netball season at PGS. It has been wonderful to see the girls working hard and improving as individuals and teams. The year got under way with a talk and workshop with London Pulse Super League player and OP Ashleigh Dekker, and a trip to the London Copper Box Arena to watch England vs Jamaica. Each year group also had a tournament experience and had fixtures each Saturday in the spring term. I look forward to working with all players again next season and seeing them progress further.

Miss Tourino - Head of Netball

YEAR 7 – Amelia Davies I have really enjoyed netball season as I started off in the B team and all the coaches were so supportive and tried to help everyone improve. During the end of my season I got moved into the A’s which I was so happy about. My team was very supportive of each other and were always trying to help each other. Although we didn’t win many games, the matches were extremely fun and I think we all played well and improved. Training was even more fun because there was always some cool activities to get into. I can’t wait for netball season next year!!

YEAR 8 – Sophie Ball Last season in netball, we found all our matches exciting and enjoyable. We loved playing Ryde because we really grew together as a team and bonded. We also took our loss to St Swithuns as a learning curve and with the help of our teachers we worked to improve our match play. Next year I'm really looking forward to getting really stuck into the netball season again! I am so excited to play more matches because they’re always great fun, especially when we play away matches that are far away, and some tournaments because it is a great bonding experience for the team. I can’t wait for what next year's netball term will bring.

YEAR 9 – Cecelia Cameron This year, in netball, I wouldn’t say we have been the most successful. As in, we didn’t win many matches. However, I think we all bonded well as teams and really improved on several skills, such as ball placement, flow down the court and attacking around the circle. We are also now experts at bow tie, our warm up drill. Even though we didn’t win the most matches this season, we have set a strong foundation for next season when we can hopefully continue working towards our collective goals. As a result of our improvement we were also nominated for team of the year. Our A team GD also gained defender of the year for her excellent defensive work.

YEAR 10 – Milly Lewis I think that every person who played in a netball match this season would agree that we all greatly improved throughout the year, even if our U15 netball teams were not always successful. There were lots of great drills, passing and shooting from everyone - during games, after school training and matches. One of the highlights of the season was getting to wear netball dresses for the first time when we were attending an away tournament and I’m sure everyone is looking forward to wearing them more often as we go into Year 11. There is also the netball tour to South Africa in a years’ time which many people are very excited about. Overall, we had a good season of netball and are hoping to have an even better one next year!

YEAR 11 – Milly Bayles At the start of the season, we found it slightly difficult with combinations as we hadn't played all together as one team for over a year. However, over the past few months we have come together more in our teams and have won most of our matches, with our game against St Georges being particularly successful. We had a very sunny match against Canford on Saturday which was a good win for both teams to end the season. Overall, the season was very successful and enjoyable, and it was so nice to

all play together again especially before a few of us leave the school next year. Thank you so much to all our coaches and we look forward to next season.

SENIORS - Maya Russell The XI team have had an amazing season this year, and it’s been great to play with girls from Years 11 to 13 to allow us to play with different players and work together as one team. We’ve enjoyed playing against a range of teams which have really tested us and helped us improve, whether that be in tournaments, cup fixtures or Saturday matches. Over the season we have improved so much as individuals and as a team which has been reflected in our match results. We have loved spending time together and are all so grateful to Miss Tourino and Mrs Hussey for coaching us this year!