October half-term sports review
After a well-deserved summer break, we are looking forward to getting back into an exciting new year of sport at St Mary’s. We are delighted to welcome back Miss Cooil from her maternity leave, and very pleased to welcome our new Sports Graduate, Miss Hilton-Taylor, to the department. During the Autumn term we play a lot of hockey fixtures and begin to prepare for the County Netball tournament after half term. We have also started a new interhouse competition and are continuing to celebrate all of the sporting success that the girls achieve.
Sports Scholars and Extra-Curricular Clubs
Our sports scholars in the Upper School have been encouraged to help with a Lower School extra-curricular club. We have been very impressed with the commitment and dedication that the scholars (and other girls) are showing, with many of them already fulfilling their role helping with lower school and junior school clubs. The department would like to thank the following girls for their help and support with lower school and Junior School clubs so far this year:
Sophie H. (Yr 10)
Georgia G. (Yr 10)
Emily H. (Yr 10)
Imogen H.-H. (Yr 10)
Rosie C. (Yr 10)
Amy H. (Yr 11)
Emma W. (U6)
Olivia R. (U6)
It is fantastic to see the girls developing their leadership skills and sharing their knowledge with other girls lower down in the school. The department would also like to thank all the girls for their hard work on Open Morning where we had a lot of participation from prospective students, with help and encouragement from the scholars.
The Yr 8 and Yr 9 girls have also had the opportunity to play some more netball, with interhouse competitions taking place afterschool on the school courts. We look forward to implementing this more throughout the year with Yr 7 interhouse Hockey on Monday 28 October after half term.
Tournaments
U16 District Hockey Tournament - The U16 Hockey team also competed in the U16A District Hockey Prelims on Monday 30 September at Wilberforce Road. The team needed to win their group consisting of Soham, Bassingbourn and Chesterton in order to progress to the finals. The team started off strongly winning against both Bassingbourn and Chesterton, 5-0 and 4-0 respectively. The girls displayed moments of fantastic hockey and were able to capitalise on short corners, converting them into goals. The final game saw a tough battle commence between St Mary’s and Soham. There were some excellent passages of play using the width of the pitch and the girls really came together to work as a team. Their hard work was rewarded with a well-deserved 1-0 win, meaning progression to the finals on Monday 7 October.
The U15 Hockey team competed in the U16B District Prelims on Wednesday 2 October at Wilberforce Road. The day consisted of three 20-minute games against St Bede's, Soham and Impington. The first match was against Impington, and the girls got off to an impressive start. Excellent hockey was displayed as they worked together as a team to achieve their first win of the day of 4-0. The girls then faced St Bedes, who they knew would be tough opponents. The girls worked relentlessly against fierce competition and were rewarded for their efforts through a successful short corner, finishing the game 1-0. The final match of the day was against Soham. The team knew that they needed to win in order to progress to the finals alongside the U16 team. The girls fought hard and displayed some of their best hockey of the day, finishing with a well-deserved 3-0 win. The team went away feeling very positive about the day, ready to tackle the challenge of extremely tough competition in the finals the following week.
U16 District Hockey Finals - On Monday 7 October, the U15 and U16 hockey teams took part in the district hockey finals tournament, after both winning their qualifying rounds in the U16A and B preliminaries respectively. The U16s got off to a shaky start but soon settled into their stride and bagged themselves a 2-1 win in their first match against Sawston. The U15s did not fare quite so well in their first match, losing 1-0 to a strong St Bedes side. However, they did not give up and kept fighting till the end. The second match saw the U15s and U16s face each other. Some great teamwork from the U16 team lead to some excellent passages of play and moments of brilliance as balls were deflected into the goal. The U15s worked tirelessly and did not let their heads drop, continuing to pressure the U16 team. The game ended 2-0 to the U16s. The final match for the U15s was against Sawston. After a great team discussion, the team took everything on board and played their best hockey of the day, dominating the game. Excellent balls to players on the posts and quick passes in the D lead to goal after goal. They finished the day with a well-deserved 3-0 win. The U15s played better and better as the day went on and were able to learn lots from the valuable experience of playing at a high standard. The final match for the U16s against St Bede's would decide the winners of the tournament. The game was extremely intense, but the girls fought hard until the final whistle. The game ended with a 2-2 draw and since the teams' goal differences were the same, it was decided that they would be crowned joint district champions! Huge congratulations to both teams for putting in such a great effort and to the U16s for becoming joint district champions.
Independent Schools Netball Tournament - The U14 and U16 Netball teams have both qualified for the County Netball Tournament which is going to be held at Perse Upper on Saturday 9 November. The team have already played in a qualifying tournament where they were able to develop their teamwork and tactics before the tournament in November.
Individual Sporting Success
As a school we love to hear about the girls' individual sporting success in activities outside of school. Please continue to encourage your daughters to share their achievements with the PE department. Some outstanding individual achievements this half term include:
Georgia M. (Yr 10) – Georgia competed at the British Summer Swimming Championships in Glasgow over the summer. She went through to the 50M breaststroke final in third place with a personal best time but was unfortunately pipped at the post in the final into 4th place by 100th of a second. At the end of the championships she was ranked 3rd in her age group in GB. Georgia has been awarded a Sir Arthur Marshall Future Champions Grant - this is in addition to securing a training award through the GLL Sport Foundation.
Imogen H. (Yr 10) – Imogen travelled to Belgium to compete in six flat-water kayaking events. She competed in the U14 age group in K1 and K2 200m and 2000m events, finishing an impressive 1st in the K1 and 2nd in the K2. Imogen also competed in the senior women’s 500m K1 and K2 events. Recently Imogen also competed in the National flat-water Kayaking competition, where she finished 6th in her age group in K1 500m and 2nd in K4 500m.
Uma C. (Yr 8) – Uma has continued to play football for Norwich City Girls elite this year. She recently played at a Tottenham Hotspur Girls Premier day, where she won a signed football for the best player on that day.
Ella B. (Yr 9) – Ella has been selected for the U15 Herts County Hockey Squad for the 2019/20 season. She represented the Cambridge City squad at the U14 T2 England Hockey Junior Championships Regional Finals in May, where her team won the finals and were crowned Area Champions (East Region). After a successful season her team was promoted, and she is now playing in Division 4 of the East Region Hockey League.
Emma A. (Yr 9) was also in the Cambridge City U14 team that won the England Hockey Junior Championships Regional Finals. Emma is also a member of Cambridge and Coleridge Athletics club with a focus on middle distance and long-distance running. She recently ran in the Southern road relays and put in the fastest leg of her relay team. She’s playing for the U14s Cambridge City Junior Hockey Club. Last season she was part of the U14 team that won the T2 Area Finals (together with Ella. B (Yr 9) and received her medal at the 2018/2019 prize-giving at the beginning of this season, alongside her sister Jessica A. (Yr 8).
Extra-Curricular Clubs: October Half Term - Christmas
Monday
Yr 7 Hockey Club 12:40-1:45pm (Leys Astro)
Tuesday
U14 ESNA 12:40-1:15pm (School Courts)
All Years Badminton Club 12:40-1:15pm (Gym)
All Years Running Club 12:40-1:45pm (Leys Astro)
All Years Gymnastics Club 4:00-5:30pm (Gym)
Wednesday
Yr10 Hockey Club 12:40-1:45pm (Leys Astro)
All Years Gymnastics Vaulting Club 12:40-1:45pm (Gym)
All Years Gymnastics Club 4:00-5:30pm (Gym)
Thursday
Yr8 Hockey Club 12:40-1:45pm (Leys Astro)
Yr7 Netball Club 12:40-1:15pm (School Courts)
Friday
Yr9 Hockey Club 12:40-1:45pm (Leys Astro)
U16 ESNA 12:40-1:15pm (School Courts)
Yr7 and Yr8 Activity - Benchball 12:40-1:15pm (Gym)
Please remember that if you would like to attend a club that lasts the whole of lunch time then you need to get a grab’n’go lunch at break time from the dining room.
Tournament Dates
Monday 28 October – Yr7 Interhouse Hockey 4:00-5:15pm (Wilberforce Road)
Tuesday 29 October – Yr8 District Hockey Tournament 1:30-4:30pm (Bottisham Village College)
Thursday 7 November – Yr7 District Hockey Tournament 1:30-4:30pm (Bottisham Village College)
Saturday 9 November – U14 and U16 County Netball Tournament 9:30-4:00pm (Perse Upper)
Monday 11 November – U13 County Hockey Tournament TBC
Tuesday 3 December – District Cross County TBC
Please note that fixtures and tournaments are subject to change. Students need to check the PE notice board in school for fixtures and tick the sheet if they can attend. The school fixture list can be found in the learning area on St Mary’s Cloudbase.
Future Dates
Tuesday 11 February – Gymnastics Display
Thursday 23 April – Sports Awards
Friday 19 June – Senior School Sports Day