A sports round up of all the action that has taken place this half term.
Cross Country
The Telford Schools Cross Country League, which consists of four races, finished with Haberdashers’ Adams on top in two age categories. The Year 9 team and the combined Year 10/11 team both won with a clear margin ahead of 2nd placed Thomas Telford. All runners who competed in three or more of the races, will receive sports colours later this school year.
Both the Junior and Inter teams progressed through to the second round of the English Schools Cross Country Cup competition, which will be held at Bromsgrove School on 5th November. Barring injury, the Inter team (Year 9/10) are expected to progress to the finals in December.
Nine boys have been selected to run for Shropshire in an inter-counties competition in November, on the basis of their performances in the Telford League and English Schools races.
Football
Following on from a successful season last year, winning the league. this season saw a new and youthful side in both the 1st XI and 2nd XI. The 1st team have played 6 games so far winning 2, drawing 1 and losing 3. One loss in the league, one in the county cup first round and one in the national cup second round.
The 2nd team have played 2 matches so far with many more coming up in the coming weeks. Recording a win in the league and a loss in the 2nd round of the national B cup. Both teams are making progress and developing together.
Hockey
The hockey teams have had some great success over the last two weeks at the Shropshire State Schools 7-a-side tournament, with both the U15 and U16 teams winning their age groups. The U14 team narrowly missed out on the top spot due to goal difference after winning two of their matches and losing one. This is impressive given it was only the second time that the Year 9 hockey players have represented the school.
The senior 1st XI and 2nd XI have been working hard, developing connections in their new squads during their Wednesday afternoon fixtures which will continue into next half term, building towards both U16 and U18 county tournaments after Christmas.
Netball
This half term has seen the school's first ever Year 7 fixtures and we have been bowled over by the enthusiasm and passion from the girls. Their ever-present positivity and improvement have been a pleasure to watch. The start of the season saw a number of significant losses against teams with club players and some feeding from prep schools but the teams' progress has been notable with scores becoming closer and closer week on week culminating in their first wins on 24th Oct at the Telford Area tournament. Here they lost two matches, drew one and won three. Their superior goal average saw them placed third overall out of seven teams in the trophy section. A great end to the half term.
Rugby
A fantastic first half term for the rugby squads. Across the board, the boys have been training hard, having fun and making progress.
At the senior level, it has been great to see a strong group of Year 11s really challenging hard on a Wednesday afternoon to get places in the 1st XV. There have been some standout team performances, particularly in comfortable wins against The Grange and Oswestry but also in a hard fought 15-12 loss against Ellesmere.
After a roller coaster 31-31 draw against Abraham Darby at the start of the term, the U15s have had ups and downs but are starting to find their rhythm. The U14s have made huge strides since last year and are growing in confidence every match. Some great wins against Ellesmere and King Edward VI Aston have been the highlights so far.
Fresh off the county cup win last year, the U13s had a fair bit of expectation going into this season and have really delivered. They are coming together as a team rather than individuals and have had some great results, including beating Ellesmere 30-15 and a mixed OSH side 50-5.
The U12s have made great progress this half term, showing enthusiasm for training and developing their skills and teamwork. Whether winning or losing, the team have enjoyed playing and are continuing to improve. They had an excellent first win against The Grange and played even better in a narrow 30-25 loss to Ellesmere. Against Old Swinford Hospital we fielded As, Bs and a Cs and against King Edward VI Fiveways the As and Bs travelled away with the U12 netball teams for the first time in the school’s history.
Haberdashers’ Sports Festival
Thirty boys from Year 8 were invited to the University of Wolverhampton for the Haberdashers’ Sports Festival. They got to experience handball, bootcamp, fitness testing and some 3D jump analysis using the biomechanics lab.
