Girls’ Football Festival & SE Hants Athletics Competition

By Helen Retter, Teacher of Sport and Spencer Leach, Head of Sport

The girls’ football festival was a success last week, all arrived in their coloured tops depicting their various team colours and were keen and enthusiastic to start the tournament with a great attitude.

Throughout the tournament the girls played with a great team spirit; player of the tournament was awarded to Illy Verdon-Roe and the winning team was Yellow – captained by Jaz Grant. Head of Sport, Spencer Leach presented the winning medals and shield to the jubilant team.

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A busy sporting term continued on 25 May when Block 3 and 4s competed in the SE Hants Athletics Competition at the Mountbatten centre in Portsmouth. Our athletes showed fantastic enthusiasm and motivation and performed exceptionally. Out of the many of the successes, perhaps the highlight was watching both the girls and then the boys romp home as winners in the 4×100 metres. It was truly a team performance, and both the girls (1^st place) and boys (3^rd place) can be rightly proud of their fantastic performances.

SE Hants Athletics 25 May 2016 results:

100m	3rd	Hermione Whitwam	14.47		1st	Carter Clothier	11.7
	4th	Freya Leonard	14.72
200m	2nd	Freya Leonard	29.69		1st	Carter Clothier	24.33
800m	8th	Carrie Kemper	2.59
1500m	5th	Thomasina Rowntree	6.08		3rd	Kyle Mckilop Hall	5.05
					5th	Marcus Bugge	5.06
Shot	8th	Olivia Steel	6.48		6th	Max Lobbenberg	8.51
Discuss	4th	Amber Pearson	16.32		4th	Oscar Goldblatt	21.21
	8th	Mimi Lomax	14.11
Javelin	3rd	Olivia Steel	17.30		7th	Gus Golding	23.07
	8th	Mimi Lomax	15.91
Triple Jump					4th	Alfie Harlan	10.16
TJ Inter	4th	Tiger Clothier	8.12		4th	Harry Huang	9.57
Long Jump	5th	Thea Levine	3.74		8th	Hamish Garrard	4.29
	8th	Maddie Jeffries	3.54
LJ Inter	5th	Tiger Clothier	3.73		3rd	Max Okoro-Hopkins	5.09
High Jump	3rd	Hannah Mazas	1.30		3rd	Lachie Tamvakis	1.57
	4th	Maddie Jeffries	1.30		4th	Lev Borovets	1.55
HJ Inter					1st	Max Simmons	1.64
						Max Okoro-Hopkins	1.50 (*pb 1.66)
4x100m	1st	Maddie, Hermione, Carrie, Freya	58.07		1st	Alfie, Hamish, Lachie, Carter	52.05

*achieved under competitive conditions after event

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

Getting to grips with rock climbing

Every Thursday for the past two-and-a-half terms, Bedales has offered a rock-climbing activity session at High Sports in Alton, where students learn the basics of rock-climbing at a purpose-built indoor centre. Greg Clarke, Teacher of Maths, runs this activity, and over the year a dozen students have learnt to climb. I have attended all of these sessions and have learnt rock-climbing skills including top-roping, belaying and bouldering. I have also passed my safety certificate which allows me to climb with or without expert guidance, and I have visited other rock-climbing centres to practise and improve further.

Top roping and belaying

A top rope is a pre-fixed rope threaded through a strong anchor point at the top of the climb, with both ends on the ground. The climber is attached to one end of the rope, while the other end is threaded through a belay device and continually adjusted in order to remain reasonably taut as the climber makes progress. Having reached the anchor point the climber is lowered back to the ground by the belayer.

Belaying allows you to hold your partner’s weight or even arrest a fall. Sufficient friction is applied to the loaded rope to allow you to stop a falling climber with your hands. Belaying is a fundamental skill in climbing, and it is essential you first fit the harness correctly around your legs and waist.

Bouldering

Bouldering is a distillation of climbing movement; cutting out the rope-work and paraphernalia to tackle ‘problems’ no more than a few metres above the ground. Indoors, this involves steep walls, slabs, roofs, caves, arches, all preferably with some good padding underneath. Cunning wall designers then create fiendishly tricky manoeuvres for you to use to solve the ‘problem’.  Some dismiss bouldering as not ‘real’ climbing, but at every stage in your climbing development you’ll benefit from it. Your body learns a broadening repertoire of muscular adjustments, fingers strengthen, relevant muscle groups tone up, and the mind adjusts to noticing opportunities for movement and recovery – eventually subconsciously.

By Harry Snell, Block 4

OBs’ tennis triumph

Winning team (l-r): Olivier Wilkinson, Hennie Peel, Ben Graham, James Bevan, George Vaughan Barratt, Rhianna Shaw and Jack Deane.

Sports reports by Emma Duncan (6.2) Girls Tennis Captain and Maud Bonham Carter (Block 5)

Emma said:

Good weather and fine playing conditions, together with an excellent turnout from current Bedalians and OBs produced an enjoyable afternoon of competitive tennis last weekend.

A range of matches were played, including singles, doubles and mixed doubles, which allowed everyone to compete against a variety of players. There were some extremely close fought matches, with many sets going to tie breaks. However, after several hours of fluctuating scores, the OBs came out on top, winning the new competition trophy by 9 matches to 7.

Match tea was served on the new dining hall veranda, providing an excellent viewing point for players and supporters. Many thanks to Graeme Coulter, Head of Tennis, for organising both teams and reviving a tournament which will hopefully become an annual fixture in the school calendar.

Maud said:

Last Saturday current Bedales students played their first OB v Student tennis match. Throughout the afternoon we played singles, doubles and mixed doubles. The score was very even throughout so both the OBs and Bedales players were under pressure to achieve a good result for their teams. Although Bedales played well, the OBs managed to secure a win with a score of 9-7. Overall the afternoon was very enjoyable.

Hopefully next year Bedales will come back fighting to beat the OBs!

View the full album of photos here.

Staff v Students and girls’ netball achievements

The much anticipated Staff v Student hockey match (below) saw chances at both ends, but the Staff were eventually foiled by the goalkeeping of Ned Jones and the defensive marshalling of Archie Graves. At the other end, 6.2’s Jack Voorhees was clinical in his play – bagging himself a hat-trick. The 1st boys’ hockey team lost to a very strong Churchers’ side on Wednesday, but another great goal by Jack Voorhees puts him alongside Patrick Newlands for what has been an exceptional season up front. The U14 boys’ hockey team beat LWC B team 6-0 in a strong demonstration of skill.

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In girls’ netball, the U14As lost 14-11 in a tight fixture featuring only 7 players, against LWC, while the U14B team drew against the LWC B team. A strong performance by the U15As put them 16-5 up against Kings, Winchester.

Ten Bedales girls played in the Perins ‘super15’ tournament (the squad consisted of 7 U14s and 3 U15s). The girls played well in their group stages losing narrowly to Perins U15A and then went on to beat Robert Mayes School. The final game of the group stages saw the girls come up against KES – currently the group leaders. A strong defensive performance saw the girls keep KES to only 8 goals (their lowest scoring match) and securing 2 points for getting half their score.

The girls progressed through to the plate competition and started strongly with another win against Robert Mayes (5-0). A stunning performance in the second game against Churchers’ (eventual winners) saw them lose by only one goal (8-7). Despite being disappointed, the team pulled together and ended the tournament strongly with a 11-2 win against Perins B, resulting in the girls being runners up in the plate competition.

This was a great achievement for a young squad, 7 of whom were playing up an age group. Notable performances from Isabelle Kennedy (Block 3), Olivia Steel (Block 3) and Cheska Moufarrige (Block 4), all displaying determination, outstanding court-craft and team work. A big welcome back to Hannah Mazas (Block 3) who took to the court for the first time since injuring her wrist in February half term.

Bedales sport: 6.1 vs 6.2 match draws crowds

The eagerly anticipated 6.1 VS 6.2 football match took place on Wednesday and attracted large crowds from across the school. The 6.2 side started well, fending off the 6.1 team but after 20 minutes, 6.1 scored against the run of play, with a fine finish by Jack Graham at the back post. The team went on to score two more in the first half, to take a 3-0 lead going into half time. As the second half kicked off, the 6.2s defended well again from the start. Ten minutes into the second half, Tom Reynolds broke through on the edge of the area, before going down under a Jack Driscoll tackle. The 6.1s went on to score the penalty and as the match progressed the 6.2s started to tire. 6.1 came out on top, all in all, a good way to end the season. In girls’ hockey, Bedales played PGS in a well contested fixture. Despite the team’s best efforts PGS came out on top, winning 4-2.

By James Geaves, 6.2

Bedales Tennis smash Ditcham!

In football, the 1st XI had a competitive fixture against Box Hill, finishing 2-2. The team will be hoping to finish the season with a win at Lancing College on Saturday. The 2nd XI was unlucky to lose 5-0 also against Box Hill. Despite a decent performance, chances did not fall in Bedales favour.

Last Friday, the tennis mixed doubles team played Ditcham Park in a friendly fixture, winning the match 6-0 with a convincing display. In hockey the girls 1st XI lost 7-0 against a strong Peter Symonds team; Jemima Goodfellow and Ellie Wraight put in particularly good second half performances.

By James Geaves, 6.2

Double victory for boys over St Edmund’s

This week, in hockey the 1^st girls’ XI drew 2-2 with Christ’s Hospital in a competitive fixture. The 2^nd girls’ XI were unlucky to lose 4-0 to Lord Wandsworth College; however, there were some from notable performances from Catherine Hardy, Freya Leonard and Olivia Steel who were called up from the U14 team. In football, the boys’ U15 team beat St Edmund’s 5-1 with an outstanding performance. The U14s also enjoyed success against St Edmund’s, winning 5-2 at the final whistle. Overall, a good display from the two teams.

Winter league tennis success

It’s a tennis focus this week: the senior boys started their Aegon Winter League season emphatically with a 12-0 victory against Queen Mary’s Sixth Form College in the indoor courts at Totally Tennis, Basingstoke. The team of 6.1s, comprising Tom Reynolds (captain), George Robson, Jack Graham and Orlando Goffin (fresh from his US exchange) didn’t lose a set.

Boys dominate Frensham footballers

The boys’ football 1^st XI continued their winning streak of four games with an epic 5-1 victory against Frensham Heights; the team was captained by Archie Graves, and included goals from 6.1’s Jack Graham and Luke Arrowsmith. The 2^nd team also played Frensham; despite being 2-0 down, the team showed great character to come back and win the game 3-2. Bedales put together some great attacking moves, creating countless chances – two of the three goals came from Henry Soper (Block 5) with two quality finishes to beat the Frensham goalkeeper.

In girls’ hockey, the 1^st XI played an U18 tournament in Southampton. Despite the cold conditions the team played solidly throughout, recording a good win against Lord Wandsworth College as well as playing a highly competitive game against PGS, which finished in a draw. The 2^nd XI unfortunately lost 1-0 to HCS; the team put in a good performance with outstanding displays from 6.2 players’ Amy Lock and Emma Duncan.

By James Geaves, 6.2