General News
End of Term Sports Report
Netball
The term began with the Under 14, Under 16, and Under 19 teams qualifying for the prestigious Regional Finals. The Under 14s finished a credible third place and the Under 19s, undefeated in the pool, lost out by one goal in the semi-final. The First team also reached the fourth round of the National Cup and the Under 14s are at the National Bowl Finals in Loughborough. They won Bronze in the National Bowl Finals at Loughborough, defeating Newcastle Girls High School in the play-offs. Captain, Bitsie was also named Under 14 Player of The Tournament.
Individually, Ella, Lulu, Harriet, and Isla continue to shine for their franchises in the National Performance League and many junior girls are in regional and county academies.
Finally, Full Colours are awarded to Sasha for her seven years contribution to Wrekin netball. She has represented both Wasps and Severn Stars at Academy level, been part of the squads who have won at Regional Schools, and was a member of the 1st team who finished sixth at National Finals last year. In House Netball, Clarkson won for Performance, and Roslyn won for Participation; in the Lancaster matches Clun were victorious.
Hockey
The Lancasters have seen success in the county tournaments with the Girls Under 13s, Boys Under 12s and Under 13s all crowned Shropshire champions. The Girls Under 12s were runners-up. The boys went on to finish second at Midlands finals in a competition that isn’t tiered, a first for Wrekin Hockey. The Boys Under 14s won the Shropshire round, before finishing second place at the Midlands finals, another first for Wrekin. The Boys Under 18s finished runners-up in the Shropshire round and gave a good account of themselves at Midlands Finals. More impressively, they have finished mid-table in the England Hockey League and still have one game remaining this Saturday.
A special mention must go to Herbie who earned his first England caps this term, and is going to Valencia to represent England over Easter. The boys Under 16s became the first Wrekin Boys team to become Midlands Champions and in doing so, progressed to the National finals (Tier 3). The boys
finished runners-up, ranking them second in the country in this Tier. Colours jumpers are awarded to Rocco, Toby, Dan and Harry for their contributions to Hockey, and colours jacket is awarded to Captain Johnnie for his outstanding commitment both on and off the pitch. In other news, House Hockey was won by York!
Rugby
Rugby this term has focused on SEVENS festivals and County competitions. While the Senior 7 have performed well at the Wirral, Ellesmere and Wrekin festivals, they had a tough experience at Rosslyn Park. The Under 16s have reached the county cup final this Friday, after a long week balancing National Hockey and Rugby commitments. At Under 15 level, they have played with a similar pace across the rugby codes, undefeated at the Shrewsbury 7s festival and winning the Adams Grammar 7s. The U14s are markedly the most improved side this year. Their progression to the County semi-final was faultless – but lost out this week. At the Adams 7s, they rightly came away with silverware, earning the Under 14s plate after a fine performance.
At Junior level, the Year 8s are awaiting a County Cup final date, having played some fine rugby. Playing at the Maidwell 7s and the Sibford 7s, they have grown as a team, retaining a fabulous squad. The Year 7s shone at the County Cup festival earlier this month – remaining undefeated and going on to win the plate at County level. With the support of Mr Gwynne, Girls’ Rugby is almost ready! There is a fixture in the wings – watch this space. A special mention goes to Esmee and Stafford RUFC ladies for reaching the last eight of the National Cup, with Ella being selected for the Midlands Rugby Development Group – and to the Newport Under 18 boys who are in the National Cup semi-final at Chester on Easter Sunday.
Cross Country
The Cross Country Season kicked off after Christmas with the Shropshire Schools Competition. This saw two athletes qualify for the prestigious English Schools’ Champs, where the top eight athletes from every county in England compete. Chloe and Amelia qualified by right. Jake was named reserve after he missed the race for the MUN competition in Manchester. Chloe has had a cracking season, finishing in third place in the Midland Championships, and then going on to finish 11th at the English Schools. Chloe has been named as first reserve for the England team for the home international race this weekend. Although the Wrekin Cross-Country team is small they have shown how strong they are locally, being beaten only by Shrewsbury School in the Newport Cross Country fixture and finishing fourth at the Attingham relays behind strong competition from the whole Midlands region. A big well done to all those who competed, and to Jake and Amelia for turning up week on week to train, come rain or shine.
Badminton
This term the team have seen some mixed results, losing twice to Shrewsbury, winning at home to Ellesmere then losing away, and winning at home to Oswestry. The proportion of games won against Shrewsbury has risen in each of our three encounters with them this year, which reflects the growing
skill and confidence of the team under the auspices of coach Pauline Lauder. Thanks as always to Pauline, and to all the players who have represented Wrekin – both those who were keen to play and those who stepped in at the last minute.
Swimming
The swimmers have been busy, as most of them are training hard for the West Midlands Championships that takes place end of April. However, we have had some record breakers within the House swimming galas with Beth breaking the intermediate girls House 50m FC record, and Charlie breaking the Lancaster House 100m Individual Medley and 25m Fly records.
Fencing
Congratulations to all the fencers who competed in the Public Schools’ Fencing Championships in London last week. George fought valiantly before being eliminated in the third round by a GB fencer. In Sabre, Takunda had a sterling set of victories before being eliminated from the Championships in a tense 3-5 match by Samuel who is a GB fencer and won the day as Senior Boys’ Epee Gold Medallist. Lottie brought home an impressive series of victories, which resulted in her being ranked 15th nationally for Senior Girls’ Epee. We thank and bid farewell to Hugh who has captained the squad these last two years and will be handing over to our new captain in the Summer Term.
