It has been another successful term of sport at Westbourne House. We are very proud of our children, who in their teams have seen their team work and enthusiasm in training paying off. We are also very pleased that that several pupils from Year 8 have been awarded sports scholarships to their next schools.
We continue to flourish in such a competitive area and here's our special recipe:
We start by instilling SELF-CONFIDENCE, giving the children support to have a go, try something new, without the fear of failure.
We encourage our pupils to be MOTIVATED and have a DESIRE TO SUCCEED.
They learn SELF-DISCIPLINE and a sense of belonging in a team.
They must ACCEPT FEEDBACK and always have a POSITIVE MINDSET.
We teach them about the importance of showing RESILIENCE and learning from their setbacks.
Many become NATURAL LEADERS, encouraging team mates, being good role models for others.
This is linked with HUMILITY, letting their sport do the talking for them. None of this would matter without good old-fashioned HARD GRAFT,FOCUS, and a good dose of OPTIMISM.
Well done to all our team members and special congratulations to our new sports scholars.
Swimming
It has been a very exciting term for swimming at Westbourne house.
With the IAPS qualifiers, Highfield gala and the inter-patrol galas a lot has happened in the pool this half term.
At the Highfield gala, we saw an impressive 34 personal bests (PBs) from our pupils which just goes to show the determination and resilience of our swimmers. With the success of the gala behind them, the swimmers went to the IAPS qualifiers at Cranleigh and, while we have to wait for all qualifiers to be completed before we find out if any of our pupils got through to the finals, we are still proud of our swimmers for what they have achieved.
Arguably the most exciting swimming events of the term were our inter-patrol swimming galas. The sun was shining, lots of parents were there supporting and both were so close in scores. The senior inter-patrol gala saw a lot of pupils beating their times. After the last race, and with only a one point difference, Panthers just secured the win. Even more exciting, the junior inter-patrol gala was our first ever draw! We couldn’t end it there and a mixed Year 3 and 4 relay was the only way to determine the winning patrol, much to the disappointment of the parents who called for a staff race! With the top two pupils from each patrol in Year 3 and the top two from each patrol in Year 4 our replays were ready to go! Everone tried so hard on that surprise last race and a special mention to all 16 children who happily stepped into an unknown event at the end. It was an exciting race and Panthers secured the win, putting them at the top of the table in the junior gala. We cannot end without giving a shout out to Emily S and Rohan D for earning their swimming colours this year – well done!
View photos of the inter-patrol galas
Girls' Sport
Inter-Patrol Cross Country
This brief but busy half term has been an exciting one for girls’ sport at Westbourne House. The first big competition came in the form of the girls’ inter-patrol cross country, where we were fortunate enough to also race against Portsmouth High School. The afternoon was sunny, spirits were up and the girls worked hard for their patrols. A new route around the lake and our fields made it an interesting and picturesque run for everyone. All the girls taking part did so well and should be proud of completing this course. A special mention to Fleur B who not only ran an impressive time, but she was also a considerable distance in front of the second place runner and looked like she could have done it all over again.
Netball
Next up was our U13 girls, who went to the IAPS National Finals in Ipswich. They played in a very tough pool, worked so hard and fought to the last second in every game. They won the first game in the knock out stages and went on the just miss out on third place in the third/fourth place play offs. A special mention to Josie B who played exceptionally throughout the tournament and to Emily S who, despite going down with an injury, had demonstrated some impressive defensive netball throughout the pool competition and then supported her team from the sideline in the knockout stage.
Just two days later, the U12s played in their National Finals in Rugby where they came second in their pool, getting some very impressive scores along the way. They too played to an exceptional level and were unfortunate to face a very tough team in the knockouts and lost just 1-3. We are very excited to see how this team progresses next year. A special mention to Zara C, who played so well that coaches from various schools were commenting on her impressive performance.
Football
With netball fixtures and tournaments solidly out of the way, our focus turned to the girls’ first ever block fixture in football. With excitement all around, the girls headed out in the penultimate week to face Highfield in what would be an action-packed and very wet Wednesday afternoon.
All the girls had smiles on their faces and enjoyed playing in the pouring rain for what will, I’m sure, be an unforgettable first football fixture for them all. Special mention to Willow L for scoring a hat trick and to the U10 team who won 11-0 and found the fun and humour in falling over in the mud. With an unfortunate need to cancel yet another block of fixtures in our last Saturday, and the clear joy that the football brought to Westbourne House, we made the decision to turn this road block into an opportunity and scheduled the first girls’ football inter-patrol competition.
For such a short half term the girls have all achieved so much and their hard work in games and PE has really shone through. With the sun finally beginning to shine, it is now time to hang up the netball shoes and hockey sticks (for now) and welcome what I am sure will be a very exciting cricket season.
Boys' Sport
Hockey
The 1st VII team season started with the tough ask of the IAPS regional tournament. Three training sessions and no matches meant we were a little rusty! We were unsurprisingly a little inconsistent but everyone showed some flair that had us excited for the season ahead. It actually turned out that the team, who very narrowly knocked us out of the IAPS tournament, came second in the national finals!
The season itself on the whole was a positive one, playing seven matches, winning five, losing one and drawing one. The squad had great depth and also a pleasing flexibility in terms of positions. Colours went to Lachlan F, Fergus O’C and the captain and top scorer Alex L.
The 2nd VII team completed an unbeaten season, notably showing great resilience (hardworking) in coming back from being two goals down on two separate occasions. The team all played well, but special mention must go to Tommy O for his dominance in central midfield and Harry B for making some key saves in goal.
Every boy who represented the 3rd VII team impressed with their attitude and resilience. Even when they found themselves behind in a game they kept pushing forward and giving their all. It was a very enjoyable season and it was great to see all the boys enjoying their hockey.
The 4th team had a shared belief that no game was over until the final whistle had gone. They managed to secure draws in a number of matches with a last minute equaliser.
The U11A team had some excellent matches, many being very even and exciting contests. Generally we just came out on top, with Logan L excelling in defence and Oliver A commanding in midfield.
For the U10s, we looked at trying to embed the basics of the game into the children. All the boys worked hard and although the results weren't always what we wanted, we felt that the boys moved forward as year group. The stand out players of the season were Rocco M and Freddie T both showed good stick skills and an excellent understanding of the game.
Rugby
Our U13 teams
Having won all our group matches at the Aldro Sevens, we went straight through to the final. There was no let up from the weather making fast, flowing rugby very difficult. The final was a close contest and a real test of the boys' resilience. We just came out on top against a strong team from Cranmore, who had won the event on the last three occasions.
In contrast to Aldro, the Rosslyn Park National School Sevens pitches were bathed in sunshine and the boys all shone on the pitch. Dazzling footwork under a dazzling sun. Happy days.
Five matches were played and five matches were won. All the squad were excellent and really clicked into sevens mode.
A tremendous season for our Year 8s, playing 18 matches and winning them all.
Our U9s
We have a very adept group of boys in this age group. In March, we were able to fit in two extra tournaments and in both we won all our matches, demonstrating some impressive skills along the way. Alistair K, Rory O’C, Freddie F, Freddie T, Rupert G, Loftus S, Ben C and Henry H show much promise for the future.
