Bedales staff and students 5k events

On Tuesday, Paul Turner and I took a group of students to Stokes Bay in Gosport for the first in a series of five 5k races along the promenade. Staff and students have been enjoying various evening road and cross-country races around Hampshire this term and we competed in a similar race in Cosham a fortnight ago.

The promenade in Gosport was cool after the hot weekend and swirling sea mist crept inland as we set off at a brisk pace, weaving in amongst pedestrians taking their evening stroll and children larking about. Our more mature runners were happy just to get around the flat course – but some of the students had set very definite targets for themselves. Amy Lock and Ashley Viljoen improved by a good 2 minutes on their previous time. Archie Graves and Felix Shaw were engaged in a furious sprint finish against one another to determine superiority, with Archie ahead by a whisker on this occasion. Alex Houghton is a sprinter, not a long-distance runner, and so saved his energy for a blistering final 300 metres.

I can think of no better way to spend a humid early summer evening, and I am pleased to say the students all agree, so we will be back in Cosham in a fortnight for the next race.

By Greg Clarke, Teacher of Maths

Running trophies for Team Bedales

There were medals and trophies for team Bedales at the Butser Hill Challenge fell race last Sunday. This is a demanding fell running race with three steep ascents and descents of Butser Hill, and is a well-known local event with a long history that pre-dates the London Marathon and the Great South Run. The three students who entered all came back with prizes: Ed Adams won the Year 11 category (for our Block 5s) with Hector Chen in 3rd place, and Felix Shaw was second sixth former home. Well done to those boys and if you look carefully at our team photo you will see them clutching their trophies.

We had six staff and Old Bedalians in the senior race, and the team acquitted itself well. Teachers Greg Clarke, Martyn Grubb and Paul Turner joined up with parent Richard Millard, Chris Smart and Nat Steele OB. We ran hard and fast and all finished within a few minutes of one another. With a bit more training we hope next year to take back the school senior prize we last won in 2013.

By Greg Clarke, Teacher of Mathematics