Sport in the Spring Term

Junior School Sport – Spring Term

It has been lovely to see the pupils immersing themselves so enthusiastically in P.E. lessons and electing to join a variety of co–curricular sports clubs during the term. Many thanks to parents who have tirelessly delivered their children to early morning clubs, accommodated various pick-up times after practices and matches, and been there to encourage them, whatever the activity or result. Your support is much appreciated.

Below are some of the highlights from another exciting term.

Swimming

Year 3 – Year 6 pupils completed a hat trick of wins in friendly galas against Bromley High, Sydenham High, and St. Christopher’s.

This excellent form was carried into the Croydon Schools’ Preliminary Swimming Gala as well! At the gala, Years 4, 5, and 6 pupils excelled and were presented with the trophy for the top team, with an impressive 17 pupils and both of our relay teams gaining qualifying times for the finals, due to take place towards the end of term. This is an outstanding achievement, given that over a thousand children competed in multiple preliminary galas, with only the six fastest swimmers for each event across all these galas being invited to swim at the finals.

Hockey

Both Year 5 & Year 6 pupils have been in action this term, with the Year 5 A team performing particularly strongly to win a Year 5 tournament that we hosted just before half term. Shortly afterwards, a mixed Year 5 / Year 6 team combined well together to compete against other GDST schools in a tournament held at Croydon High. Amidst sun, hail, driving rain, and strong winds, they finished in 4th position.

Biathlon

After competing in the regional championships, we were delighted to receive the fantastic news that Leonie P, Aida P-D, Josie L, Hanna M, Amaya J-P, Ava H-K, Delina S, and Isabel P had all qualified to compete in the National Biathlon Finals, to take place in Bath during the last weekend of March. While the finals have now been cancelled, these Year 5 and Year 6 pupils should feel justly proud to have been invited to perform at such a prestigious event.

Netball

Our Year 5 & Year 6 netballers have had another busy term, showing great camaraderie, determination, and enthusiasm, as well as making excellent progress in the sport. We were delighted to finish as champions at the U11 A, B, C, and D Team Tournament for Trust Schools, recording a resounding win when all four teams’ points were added together. It was lovely to see so many pupils representing Croydon High and to recognize the crucial role played by everyone to achieve this wonderful result.

A highlight of the netball season for sixteen Year 6 pupils is likely to have been the recent GDST weekend at Condover Hall in Shropshire. Both our A and B teams played beautiful netball on the Saturday and as a result qualified for the cup competition the following day. The A team topped their group with six wins and a draw, while the B team’s achievements were particularly impressive, given that they had to play five A teams and two B teams.

Special congratulations should go to the A team, who progressed to the semi-finals on the Sunday. They lost a highly competitive match 3 – 5 to Putney High, who went on comfortably to win the final. In between times, the pupils had an enormous amount of fun, undertaking a variety of other activities, several of which were very challenging and gave the girls a huge sense of achievement once they had successfully completed them. These activities included rock-climbing, abseiling, zip wire, the gladiator wall, trapeze, aerial trek, silent disco, laser conquest, and tunnelling.

During the following week, the A team had a very busy schedule, winning the U11 Croydon Schools’ Bee Tournament on Monday and, as a result, being selected to represent Croydon at the London Youth Games.  On Wednesday, they played some excellent netball to progress to the quarter-finals of the Surrey Tournament, narrowly beaten at this stage by a very strong team from Hoe Bridge School. Friday saw the finals of the Croydon Schools’ Tournament when both our A and B teams were in action. It was an outstanding achievement once again for the B team to qualify for this tournament, having beaten five A teams to secure their place. The A team reached the final, after which they were presented with silver medals, having been pipped 5 – 6, with the winning goal being scored five seconds from the end of the match. Such occasions are what makes sport so exciting!

Over 70 pupils elected to participate in this term’s lunchtime Netball League, which gave everyone in Year 5 and Year 6 (and a handful of Year 4 pupils) the opportunity to play weekly competitive netball. Year 6 were given the responsibility of captaining and organising their teams, while the younger pupils played alongside, enabling them to develop their skills and tactical understanding further. Each team was made up of pupils of varying ages and different levels of experience, with individual medals awarded to members of the top three teams, namely the Courageous Carrots (3rd), Fabulous Footworkers (2nd), and Extraordinary Eggs (1st).

Every pupil from Year 3 – Year 6 played in the inter-house netball tournaments. While the results varied between the different year groups, the same spirit and enthusiasm was evident throughout!

Senior School Sport – Spring Term

Hockey

There was only one tournament this term, which saw the U13 Thunder team head down to Charterhouse School for their Surrey In2Hockey County Tournament. The standard of competition was very high, with over 20 teams in attendance. The team performed very well, finishing 4th in their group and only losing one game. If the team had managed to get one extra win instead of one of the draws, they would have finished second and moved forwards to the quarter finals. The player of the tournament was awarded to Year 7 Sereana, who was playing up one age group and in goal for the day … Well done to Sereana and everyone involved!

Although there were no other tournaments, there were many fixtures taking place. For some year 7 and Year 8 pupils, it was their first opportunity to represent the school in hockey. It’s always great to see more pupils taking part. Special mention must go to the U15 team who, apart from their opening game of the season and a cup final, continued their unbeaten run since the beginning of January! The Year 7 Thunder and Lightning teams both recorded impressive team performances and wins in their finals matches of the year.

The hockey season has now come to a close and what a year it has been. The U16s making it through to South Finals, the U15s getting to the final of the GDST Trust Rally, but more importantly seeing constant commitment every week to training sessions (even on the freezing cold winter mornings) and watching every single pupil increase their skills and confidence… that has been the biggest highlight of the term and year. Well done to all!!

Netball

We have had a really successful netball season with all teams from U12 to U16 reaching the Surrey County finals. Luckily these finals were scheduled before we finished school and each team held their own in some very tough and competitive matches. Their spirit, as ever, shone through and they gave their absolute all. The U16 team must be congratulated on narrowly missing out on a semi-final place and the U14 team lost by 2 goals in the semi-final, making them joint 3rd in Surrey. The two U14 teams who finished above us actually came 2nd and 4th at the National finals – we were oh so near. Bring on next season!

The U12 team won the Croydon Championships and were set to travel to Redbridge to take part in the London Youth Games finals in the last week of term, however… it was not to be! There will be plenty more opportunities for this talented group to compete at a high level in the future.

We were very proud of our netball captain Vanessa for being selected for the GDST select netball team. She spent time at Loughborough University in training and also played two highly competitive matches against Loughborough Lightning teams, winning them both.

Congratulations to all pupils from all age groups and all A-D squads who represented Croydon High with passion and pride this season. Very well done to you all!

Biathlon

A number of our senior pupils also qualified for the National Biathlon Championships after some top performances at the regional competition in January. Huge congratulations must go to Isabelle T, Robyn C, Nell B, Sam M, Olivia M, Bethan W, Juliana G, Lillian C, Francesca M, Beatrice P, Zara G, Amber B, Pippa C, Amelia M, Sophia L, Ciara S, Marion C, Orrin B, Tay B, and Olivia T. We are now hoping that the event will be rearranged for a later date so that our biathletes are still able to compete in this high-level event.

Swimming

Towards the beginning of the spring term, 16 of our pupils (Junior and Senior) competed in the Kent and Surrey County Swimming Championships, representing their respective swimming clubs. We had 68 individual swims and a number of new personal best performances. Seven pupils made it through to finals and 5 individual and 2 relay medals were won. Well done to all those who achieved their county times and performed so well at this high-standard competition.

Josie L

Leonie P

Meenakshi D

Isabelle T

Olivia M

Tay B

Lilian C

Bethan W

Amber B

Francesca M

Beatrice P

Pippa C

Maya M

Amelia M

Marion C

Orrin B

Our Year 7 and Year 8 swimmers also competed at the Croydon Schools’ Swimming Championships and won overall team gold as well as gold medals in the medley and freestyle relays! Congratulations to Lucy M, Amber B, Beatrice P, Francesca M, Isabelle T, Lillian C, Bethan W, and Nell B. A special mention must go to our individual winners: Year 7 Isabelle in backstroke, Year 7 Lillian in butterfly, Year 8 Amber in breaststroke, and Year 8 Beatrice in freestyle.

Sports Scholarship Programme

Earlier in the term we were thrilled to welcome Kate Shilland, Performance Nutritionist MSc and former GDST pupil to speak to sports scholars and some of our high-achieving athletes on the very important subject of nutrition and what our bodies need to consistently perform at a high level. The pupils were totally engrossed and many pertinent questions were asked relating to their own sport. Kate even bought a blender with her and demonstrated how to make a perfect nutritional smoothie!

More recently, we welcomed Naomi Cavaday, British tennis player and former GDST pupil who spoke of her rise from schoolgirl player to top British player and all the highs and lows of juggling training with academic work. She advised us to be organised always and to dream big! It was so inspiring to listen to her particular journey and to leave with more fantastic take-home messages. We loved hearing how close she came to beating Venus Williams and Martina Hingis, and even witnessed those moments on video!

We would love to invite Kate and Naomi back to Croydon High again in the near future.

Outstanding Individual Achievements

Isabelle T in Year 7 – Silver medal at the Kent County Swimming Championships in the 12yrs 800m freestyle and a medallist in the medley relay team.

Francesca M in Year 8 – Bronze medal at the Kent County Swimming Championships in the 13yrs 200m butterfly.

Beatrice P Y8 – Bronze medal at the Kent County Swimming Championships in the 13yrs 800m freestyle and silver in the 13yrs 50m backstroke. Beatrice has now qualified for the Summer National Championships in the 50m backstroke.

Pippa C in Year 9 – Silver medallist at the Kent County Swimming Championships in the 14yrs medley relay.

Marion C in Year 10 – Bronze medal at the Surrey County Swimming Championships in the 15yrs 50m backstroke.

Izzy C and Chloe B in Year 10 – Selected for the Surrey County Netball squad for the season 2019 – 2020

Mya L-P and Eleanor H in Year 12 – Represented U19 ISFA in Edinburgh.

Vanessa B in Year 13 – Represented Croydon High in the GDST select netball team in matches played at Loughborough University.

Zara G in Year 8 – Selected to represent Surrey at the English Schools’ Cross-Country Championships in Liverpool.

Izzy H in Year 8 – Played as part of the Croydon Amphibians U16 team who won the London Regional Water Polo League.

Sam M in Year 7, Francesca M and Zara G in Year 8, Gabriella M in Year 9 and Amelia M in Year 10 – Selected to run at the National Cross-Country Championships in Nottingham.

Amelia F-A in Year 10 – Selected for the U15 Kent Hockey squad

Renae B in Year 11 – Selected for the U18 Surrey Rugby squad

Sam M, Amber B and Zara G – Selected to represent Surrey Cross Country at the inter-counties competition in March.

Facilities

As a department, we were so grateful to receive a gift of sports hall athletics equipment from the PTA. They very kindly purchased specialist indoor competition equipment for the use of all pupils in their P.E. lessons and extra-curricular training sessions. We hope to start entering both local and national events next year. A great addition for curriculum time; pupils with varied levels of ability were able to have fun!

We are also grateful for our new indoor cricket nets in the sports hall. As cricket has become one of our main summer sports, it will be wonderful to have this facility in the future and we cannot wait to start using them regularly.

Ms Libby Head

Director of Sport