General News
Hockey and Swimming
Hockey
Old Hall girls and boys took part in the Under 11 In2 Hockey Schools County finals with some thrilling results!
Under 11 Girls
The girls team started with one of their best performances of the season when they took on Moreton Hall and won 5-0.
The work rate was high from the very first whistle, Old Hall dominated in attack and were quick to close down and turn over play when not in possession. We scored two early goals with well-worked attacking play and went on to score three more from a short corner set piece we have been working on all season.
Our next match was against Packwood and after our first convincing win we perhaps started the game a little complacently; Packwood were a well-organised team who were out to take their chances. When we settled into the game the opportunities came but Old Hall were struggling to find the back of the net. In the final minutes Packwood managed to score, resulting in a 1-0 defeat. We knew we now had to switch on and work hard to convert our chances in the next two games.
We went on to beat Shrewsbury 3-0 which meant it all came down to the last game against Prestfelde. The first few minutes were end to end; Prestfelde had some skilful players and we knew we had to close down quickly and not allow time on the ball. Within five minutes Prestfelde took an early lead which meant we had to work hard, pull together and go back to basics. With two minutes to go Old Hall were focussed and knew they were still in the game, we got a goal back and the game was tied. One minute on the clock and time for one more chance…with some fantastic work from Emily out of defence the ball was crossed to Erin in the D, some good elimination skills allowed for one shot…the back board was hit and with 10 seconds to go Old Hall took the lead and the ticket to regionals!
The celebrations from individuals and the team were ones I will always remember. To have the composure to come back in tournament hockey from 1-0 down is something to be proud of and shows the teamwork and determination of the team.
Myself and Mrs Garner were so proud of all the players and look forward to the regional rounds at Rugby School later this month.
Under 11 Boys
This was the boys’ first hockey fixture as a team and we were very proud of how they came together and put out such strong performances. They worked hard for each other on and off the ball and in the first two matches were really unlucky not to score. As the tournament continued, so did Old Hall’s confidence and we were able to keep the ball out of the net with some fantastic saves from Dino! Our final game against Packwood was an end-to-end draw and this resulted in us coming third overall.
Very well done to all who competed, we were very proud of your efforts and sportsmanship throughout the tournament.
Swimming
IAPS Swimming Nationals qualifiers
On Thursday we travelled to Shrewsbury School to compete in the National qualifiers for IAPS Swimming. This is an event that is hosted all over the country, swimmers are competing against themselves to gain their quickest times at qualifiers. These times are then entered against all other schools and the top 20 swimmers (or teams for the relays) will be selected for the finals hosted at Olympic Park, London.
Our Year 5 and Year 6 swimmers performed exceptionally well at this event and gained some outstanding times that we believe will be very competitive nationally!
Qualifying results will be listed in April but we are so so proud of all pupils’ performances and they should be too!
Well done everyone!
