Years 7 & 8 Sports Day

The Key Stage 3 sports days spanned 3 days with 1500 metres on Wednesday, Field events Thursday and culminating in the track events on the Friday. Thankfully the weather held out and all of the athletes had ample opportunity to participate and showcase the hard work they have invested into their athletics lessons.

It was pleasing to see so many boys and girls out for the 1500m. Henry had a very strong run in the year 8 competition with a time of 5.25. Oscar also ran well in the year 7 race, emerging as the winner of a competitive group featuring powerful showings from Alex, Tom, Luc, Joel and Ben. For the year 7 girls Evie took 1st place, followed by Marrella, Rosa and Phillipa.

In the field events it was another day to remember for Daisy, who broke a long standing record in the long jump with a distance 4.37m, on the way to securing 1st place for her house. In the boys event, Billy did well for the year 7 boys, getting 1st place for the Normans, followed by George (Saxons) and Jacob (Celts). For the year 8 boys there were some strong performances in the javelin, George winning with a distance of 24.50, followed by James and George. Aisling was the outright winner for the girls with an impressive 22.35, just 4cm short of the record. Lowenna was crowned champion in the shot put for the year 7 girls with Mary winning high jump. Luc was the eventual winner in the year7 boys high jump with Aidan winning the event in the year 8 boys competition. The Downie brothers had an impressive showing in the field events with Jenson present in a number of events and Kylie and Tyler getting 1st in Welly wang and shot put respectively.

When the sun rose on Friday morning to mark the start of the final day Vikings were currently in 1st place but with all still to play for. The track events provide an opportunity for our athletes to perform in front of a crowd, and neither the support nor the races disappointed. The first race was the exciting 100m sprint ; Amar led a powerful group in year 8 with a time of 14.17, beating strong opposition from Jake, Henry and Jacob. With the track lanes increasing this year it meant that an extra runner from each house could be entered and it was great to see so many eager and talented runners on the track.

The year 8 girls race was equally entertaining with Aisling picking up her second 1st place finish and getting very close to a school record.

Joel just piped first place (13.39) in the year 7 event with Kenny also running strongly (13.90). An acrobatic finish from Lowenna meant she finished in 1st place (14.23) putting the gloss on an impressive individual showing. Daisy ran very well in the girls year 7 200m with a swift time of 31.23 putting real distance between her and second place. Will Creaser was also impressive in the boys events, meaning two first place finishes for the Vikings. Aisling was again victorious for the Celts, with Megan, Jessie, Masie, Amy and Grace all running well. Sam was a deserved winner for the boys with Stan, complaining of fatigue earlier in the day, claiming second. The girls year 7 400m was an excellent race with Polly pushing Evie all the way. In the end Evie just sneaked it and she was only half a second away from breaking a record with a time of 73.76. Tom and Luc had a similar show down for the boys, with Tom on a time of 77 and Luc on 78. It was the same for the year 8s as Chloe was cheered home with a time of 76, closely followed by Maddy and Hannah. Henry got another 1st place finish in the year 8 400m to add to his triumph in the long jump. The final individual event was the 800m and for me this was the most entertaining event of the 3 days. Hannah and Henry both pushed for long standing and prestigious records. They immediately removed themselves from the pack and chased down the record of Fox and Ashurst. In the end it wasn't to be, but they should be thrilled with their times. Hannah getting 2.59 and Henry 2.37. In the year 7 events Oscar did very well to hold off a ferocious run from Will, and Jemima raced around to get a deserved and needed 8 points for the Saxons. The final events were the relays and it was great to see 16 runners in total for each House in each year group.

In the end the Vikings emerged victorious but the day's were really about the combined effort of all the athletes. Every student participated in some capacity and for me that is part of what sports day is all about. Congratulations to those who won events and set new personal bests, and extended thanks to parents, guardians and staff who helped contribute to a splendid 3 days.