19 December

Congratulations to Harriet Matthews (Year 8) who plays golf at Droitwich.  She has recently been presented with two important awards, winning the girls nine hole competition and the trophy for the most promising young girl player.

U10 NETBALL V SPRINGFIELD
Unfortunately we lost 1 – 9 but as this was the first U10’s match in preparation for next term, there are lots of positive things to work on.  At least we had an indoor space instead of trying to play in all the puddles on the courts!

SATURDAY 8TH DECEMBER

U13A RUGBY V K.E.S STRATFORD
The U13 A (as distinct from the 1st XV) team played their only game of the season on Saturday against K.E.S from Stratford. They found it difficult to play as a team with little preparation time and were playing a very strong side. They eventually lost 36- 0 but played hard right until the end.

U 13 B team also lost but both U 12 teams won to make honours between the schools even.

MONDAY 10TH DECEMBER

SWIMMING V FOREMARKE HALL

1st -     Bromsgrove Girls                      138 points
2nd -    Foremarke Boys                       92 points
3rd -    Foremarke Girls                       84 points
4th -     Bromsgrove Boys                     66 points

Once again our girls were very impressive. Our U12 boys are really developing into a good competitive team as well! Several personal best times were recorded.

U11 A & B HOCKEY V THE ELMS, NOTTINGHAM
We were obviously stronger than the Elms but we demonstrated our versatility by swapping positions around and still winning. The Elms were a very pleasant squad of girls to finish what has been a very hectic season.  Results were 11 - 7 and 6 - 3 respectively.  Well done to the girls who have shown they have plenty of potential alongside a desire to learn more.

U11 A RUGBY V THE ELMS, NOTTINGHAM
The boys played really well from the start, with the opposition eager to impress as they were on a mini tour to the South West with Bath their next stop. Bromsgrove started well but conceded a try against the run of play. The boys were rewarded for their efforts in the second half with Parco Fung scoring Bromsgrove's first try before Justin Clegg and Daniel Holmes added a further two tries with Daniel converting both to make the final score 17-7 to Bromsgrove! Man of the match - Frank Guest for leading the forwards well and tackling with some real determination.

WEDNESDAY 12TH DECEMBER

SENIOR HOUSE SWIMMING GALA
This was an excellent inter house swimming gala held in our school pool. There were numerous personal best performances and I did feel very proud with the level of swimming not only from our elite swimmers but from all our pupils – magnificent.

House & School Record: Bethan Luckman -     Year 7 girls 25m breaststroke  

House records

Final house positions:

The PE/games uniform has changed considerably this year and we thank all families for their support during the changeover period.  The girls look very smart in their new tops and skirts and Mrs Mullan is very happy for them to wear what is regarded as the hockey top for all other sporting activities during the next two terms – i.e. netball and rounders – as they appear so easy to wear and smart to look at!  All girls involved in netball next term will need at least two pairs of short white socks, not trainer socks.  For boys it's the hockey term!

SATURDAY 1ST DECEMBER 2007

ESAA ENGLISH SCHOOL’S CROSS COUNTRY CUP NATIONAL FINAL 2007
On Saturday 1st December six of our leading Year 7 & 8 runners were in action at this year’s national Final of the Sainsbury’s sponsored National XC Cup held at Westminster Lodge Park, St.Albans, Hertfordshire. Our realistic expectation was to finish in the top ten out of the twenty four participating schools. What transpired was beyond our wildest dreams. The team finished in fifth position overall only twelve points beyond third place. More than five hundred schools took part in the first round back in October.

Rebecca Straw was at the front of the race, amazingly coming home in 3rd position overall. Becky was superbly backed up by Tara Thorpe 41st, Pascale Massey 42nd, Lydia Trow 54th, Simone Thompson-Smith 76th and Hannah Trow 111th. This illustrates that we can compete with the very best in the country. We were comfortably the leading Prep School there.

U11 Vll HOCKEY V BLUE COAT SCHOOL
On Saturday, an U11 girls' hockey squad played in an indoor tournament at Blue Coat School. Competition was very close and after a win against Winterfold and draws against Kings Hawford and Hallfield, we had to win our last game, against Blue Coat, by five goals to win the tournament or two goals to come second. Although the girls worked until they dropped, they only managed the latter and therefore finished a very creditable second overall. Whilst they were a little disappointed in this, they were awarded the prize of a box of chocolates for 'most sporting team' in the competition and, to his complete surprise, immediately turned round and presented them to Mr. Pickering.

BROMSGROVE AREA DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007
Eighty- five of our fittest boys and girls from Years 4 all the way through to Year 8 took part in this annual event. Just under eight hundred pupils in total from the local area ran around our grounds – a very impressive turn out! Before the first race got under way we were soaked by a heavy hail storm – luckily most of our runners sheltered under our gazebo! Results as follows:

Year 4 & 5 Girls                                                           Year 4 & 5 Boys
Team position = 2nd                                                  Team position = 1st
1st        A.Henderson    (gold medal)                       1st        C.Kendrick      (gold medal)
5th       S.Ellis                                                               3rd       H.Lloyd-Jones  (bronze medal)
15th     G.Horsley-Gubbins                                         4th       J.Taylor
16th     H.Taylor                                                          5th       J.Weston
20th     S.Johnston                                                        6th       F.Evans
22nd    K.Doyle                                                               13th     S.McCafferty
                                                                                   
Year 6 Girls                                                                  Year 6 Boys
Team position = 1st                                                    Team position = 1st
1st        S.Swatkins       (gold medal)                         2nd      J.Ross  (silver medal)
4th       E.Ball                                                               4th       D.Holmes
5th       L.Thorley                                                         7th       J.Duberley
13th     E.Cardinali                                                       10th     M.Burke
18th     A.Stokes                                                          16th     A.Payne
27th     P.Schofield                                                       26th     H.Hill

Year 7 Girls                                                                  Year 7 Boys
Team position = 1st                                                      Team position = 1st
1st        T.Thorpe          (gold medal)                             3rd       S.Leather         (bronze medal)
2nd      P.Massey         (silver medal)                            7th       F.Bales
3rd       J.Moore           (bronze medal)                         10th     S.Duberley
4th       H.Trow                                                                 17th     J.Jayaratnasingam
5th       S.Swatkins                                                       18th     K.Thornton
9th       L.Evans                                                            20th     J.Cooper

Year 8 Girls                                                      Year 8 Boys
Team position = 1st                                                  Team position = 4th
1st        R.Straw            (gold medal)                        10th     R.Johnston
4th       L.Trow                                                             13th     W.Cutler
8th       S.Thompson-Smith                                       18th     M.Kendrick
12th     E.Lockhart                                                       19th     S.McQuaid
13th     A.Smith                                                             42nd    J.King
15th     C.Barrow                                                         50th     M.McLoughlin

           
This was a resounding success for the Preparatory School. Subject to confirmation from the district secretary, our leading Year 8 runners will now go on and compete at the County Championships on Saturday 2nd February 2008. Our Year 8’s were competing against Year 9 pupils!

County Netball
Congratulations to Claudia Cardinali who has already been selected for the county netball team, even though our netball season does not begin in earnest until next term.

U10 Rugby
Henry Walker is part of the Old Sils U10 team which last Friday evening won through to the semi-final of the national U10 rugby competition in front of a full house at Welford Road, Leicester Tigers ground.

WEDNESDAY 21ST NOVEMBER

RUGBY V WARWICK
U10 A. 
Despite being the better side whilst in possession of the ball, we lost to unbeaten Warwick School 35-10. The team were recognised as the strongest opposition of the season by Warwick’s masters, and rightly so; technically Bromsgrove were superior side but lacked a little pace against two very quick Warwick players.

U10B
There was a sensational effort put in by all of the boys. All of the players showed great determination and strength during the game. With star performances from Jack Weston and Sam Makar, we were unfortunate to leave Warwick a close second, with a score of four tries to our three.

SATURDAY 24TH NOVEMBER

RUGBY V BLUE COAT SCHOOL
U11A
Bromsgrove never tackled well and Blue Coat were more threatening in the backs. Daniel Holmes had some good surging runs forward but we were unable to recycle the ball. Final score 0-28 to Blue Coat.

U11B
In the second half the boys played much better and scored two tries through Nathan Bellamy. Final score 14-50 to Blue Coat.

RUGBY V RGS WORCESTER
1st XV
We knew this match would be a challenge as we were playing RGS Worcester who are very strong at this age group and are having a very good season. Despite all predictions, and against the odds, we turned in what was undoubtedly our best performance of the season. Felix Ng, John Ng and Louis Preira were outstanding and were men of the match. The RGS team played very slick rugby with some excellent moves, the final score was a  17-19 defeat to us.  Even in defeat the team felt pride in their achievement. The tries were scored by Will Cutler, Jake Perryman and James Goodall with Will Hunt adding the conversion.

2ND XV
The 2nd XV played RGS Worcester and were 15-14 winners in a very tense match. We played the best rugby for most of the match but they had some excellent individuals. We also scored three tries to their two. The game was won through a fine team effort and brave defence. Well done to Alex Hillier who scored on his debut.

WEDNESDAY 28TH NOVEMBER

RUGBY V BLUE COAT SCHOOL
U10A
On Saturday, following a slow start, the U10’s soon found top gear against a battling Bluecoat side who tackled well all game. The quality of Bromsgrove shone through despite an early Bluecoat score, and eight Bromsgrove tries then followed – the final score 40-5. This team is really starting to play some excellent rugby.

U10B
We saw yet another victory for the under 10 B team against Blue Coat. Winning by 4 tries to 2 the boys showed great strength and determination throughout the match. Blue Coat held a strong defensive line, though our front row broke it with ease. It was a star performance from Jack Weston but really the game came down to our front row of Sam Makar, Matt Osborne and Mehdi Khajavi. All three showed great muscle in the many scrums..

1ST VII GIRLS HOCKEY TOURNAMENT
The U13 girls went to the annual Denstone 7-a-side Tournament. Competing against 9 other schools Bromsgrove won their group with a draw with St. Anselms’ and beating Lichfield Cathedral School and King’s Macclesfield. In the semi final Bromsgrove had an excellent win against the hosts Denstone, leading to yet another final against Foremarke Hall. This was a very close game and although the rain was now turning to sleet both teams played good hockey. 0-0 at full time meant 4 minutes in which to score the golden goal. A deflected corner gave Foremarke a win, which was disappointing for Bromsgrove but the girls played very well throughout the afternoon and that final goal could have gone either way. Congratulations to Ellen Lockhart, Rachel Clare, Rebecca Straw, Simone Thompson-Smith, Liberty Thornton, Katherine Keats, Madeleine Heggett and Lily Alsop.

RUGBY V CHELTENHAM
U11A
In our final game of the season, the U-11 A team came up against an unbeaten Cheltenham College team which had won all its matches so far this season. To be fair, Cheltenham’s backs were particularly good at running with the ball in hand and were far better at offloading the ball in contact – a lesson there for all of our players. Bromsgrove were also rucked off the ball far too easily at the breakdown. Our strongest play was in the scrum, which gave us an excellent platform to run at the opposition.

U11B
The Under 11 B team should be proud of their performance on Wednesday against a much stronger team. All the boys put in a huge effort .They were unlucky to be 3 tries down at half time.  They rallied in the second half and dominated the majority of the half. A great Nathan Bellamy try put smiles on the boys' faces. The final score was 18 -5. The team was led well by Jack Alsop and they supported him whole heartedly.

3rd/4th
Bromsgrove played a combination of players who had only had a few games against an experienced Cheltenham side. Positive aspects of the game were that we all played, tackled and scrumaged hard but sadly we succumbed to Cheltenham size, losing 20 - 5.
We produced another electrifying performance to beat Cheltenham 40 -5. The team is now very much into it’s stride. The quality of play is as good as I have seen from any pupils at this age. This team has tremendous potential as they mature.

U10B
The Under 10 B team played with grace and pride when they won significantly last Wednesday. This game showed how well the lads could play as one unit. They displayed skills that are not common amongst boys at their age; low tackles, actually passing the ball to the man in the better position. The substantial win of 8 tries to nil made the score 40-0. I decided to have a joint man of the match  and they are: (in no particular order) Sam Gilbert, Mehdi Khajavi, Matt Osborn, Harry Ferguson, Sam McCafferty, Joe Warner, George Dunn, Will Edwards, Will Lockhart, Charlie Kendrick and Dylan Longden. Thank you also to Will Lockhart for captaining.

1st XV
The game against Cheltenham College was disappointing and we never reached the level of performance we showed last week. Cheltenham were extremely good, having beaten The Dragon, Millfield and Monmouth in their results, but we did not do ourselves justice and it is now up to the team to raise their level of play for the final game of the season against Stratford next week. The final score was 0-45.

SATURDAY 17TH NOVEMBER 
NETBALL V BABLAKE SCHOOL
U13 won 16 – 7
U12 won 24-11
U11  lost 4 -15
This is a new fixture for Bablake School which resulted in two good wins for the U12 and U13 girls, accurate and quick passing from the centre to the shooters proved the key ingredient.
The U11s had a very unfortunate start with a nasty fall early on in the game resulting in a player having to go off court, but Bablake were the stronger team.

MONDAY 19TH NOVEMBER 
U8, U9, U10, U11 SWIMMING GALA V OLD HALL
There were some excellent races with the U-11 age group having the closest contested races. Final points total and positions:
1st Bromsgrove Girls                        194 points
2nd Bromsgrove Boys                      180 points
3rd Old Hall Girls                               126 points
4th Old Hall Boys                               96 points
Amazingly for the first time in recent memory, none of our swimmers broke any school records! Well done to all the swimmers and a big thank you to all the parents for supporting such an excellent gala.
The next gala is on Monday 3rd December for our U-12 & U-13 boys & girls versus Foremarke Hall – 4.45 p.m. warm-up.

TUESDAY 20TH NOVEMBER
U13 and U12 HOCKEY V RGSAO
A combined U13 and U12 played RGSAO. The girls played excellent hockey and the new combination communicated well. Two goals in each half ensured an emphatic win with the U12 players looking confident against the older team.

WEDNESDAY 21ST NOVEMBER
PACKWOOD HAUGH U13 HOCKEY TOURNAMENT
Bromsgrove U13 girls – tournament Champions
In the group stages Bromsgrove defeated Moreton Hall, Rydal School and Ellesmere College, scoring 10 goals and conceding none. In the semi-final Bromsgrove played Shrewsbury High School and won a close match 1-0. The final match was against Packwood Haugh. At the end of full time and after five minutes extra time the score was level. The first sudden death penalty flick was put firmly away by Ellen Lockhart and Rachel Clare saved the next from Packwood giving Bromsgrove the trophy,. Congratulations to: Ellen Lockhart, Rebecca Straw, Rachel Clare, Madeleine Heggett, Katherine Keats, Simone Thompson-Smith, Liberty Thornton, Lydia Trow and Lily Alsop.

RUGBY V WINTERFOLD
1ST XV won 33 – 5
The match against Winterfold and turned in one of the better performances of the term. Winterfold scored first, going down the slope, but that acted as the spur we needed to raise our game.
The forwards immediately got their act together and greater strength saw John Ng score twice. More tries followed from Jake Perryman and William Hunt before Louis Preira rounded things off with a try to make the final score. William Hunt converted 4 of the tries.  Callum Phillips was man of the match.

4TH XV wond 32 – 5
The 4th XV had quite a tough game against Winterfold House 2nd XV on Wednesday, this showed in a very tight score line of 7-5 for three quarters of the game, with some heroic tackling from Winterfold. However our team we ran in four late tries to win the match.

U11A RUGBY V WARWICK
Lost 0 - 17
If ever there was a game where I felt proud of the players this season, this was it! Bromsgrove totally dominated the first half. Josh Duberley won everything in the line out leaping like a salmon – well done to Christian Prince for throwing in so well. Justin Clegg cut some great lines in the backs crossing the gain line on numerous occasions. Matthew Harker was at the heart of most things, linking with his fly half Daniel Holmes, or spoiling opposition ball time after time. Indeed, Warwick hardly entered Bromsgrove’s half in the first half. Unfortunately we didn’t score in the first half which was a deciding factor. The game remained scoreless until mid way through the second half when a Warwick prop squeezed in the corner off a line out. Warwick scored a second soon after, before adding a third with only their first proper passage of play at the end of the match. Well done boys on your efforts – we certainly deserved more than a 0-17 defeat against a team which had lost only once in three years.

HOCKEY V KING EDWARDS
Although the matches started later than anticipated we played 3 excellent games versus King Edward’s – U13 B XI a side which we do not normally play proved to be a winner with exceptional goalkeeping from Millie Hayward making her player of the match.
The two U12  V11 a side matches were exciting to watch with skilful play from both teams.   

HOCKEY V BLUE COAT SCHOOL
U11A won 7 – 1
The team did not start too well against Blue Coat and, although in the lead 2 - 1 at half time, they had not shown much application or determination. After the break, however, things magically altered and five more goals were knocked in to secure what was, eventually, an impressive victory.

U11B won 5-2
I n an excellent match the girls played some superb hockey against strong opposition. Positioning and skills were first class with perfect goals scored by India Ball, Kate Duffy and Lucy Thorley.

U10C HOCKEY V RGS THE GRANGE
Won 3 – 0
A very well matched two teams struggled to score in the first half of the match, but with more pitch awareness and confidence the second half of play was much more controlled. Some excellent defending kept the ball out of our goal and at the final whistle the girls were thrilled with their win.

16 November

CHANGES TO FIXTURES
Holy Trinity netball match has been changed from Nov 24th to Saturday 1st Dec – 9.30 am start with a mixed U10/11 team on our courts.

The matches v RGS - The Grange are at home not away on Weds 21st November.

SATURDAY 10TH NOVEMBER

NETBALL V RGSAO
A very busy morning of netball was played on Saturday.  The first games of U11 and U12B’s provided some excellent end to end play with centre passes working well for both teams. The second round of matches once again provided some excellent netball for the spectators.  The first half for the U12A’s was fairly even. However, Bromsgrove raced away with 6 quick goals in succession to take a dominant lead for the second half.
The U13A’s, although producing a convincing win, still have a great deal to work on.  To compete against stronger teams they will need to perform more effectively as a team.  
Results as follows:
U11 – lost 4 – 9
U12B lost 7 – 8
U12A won 19 – 4
U13A won 18 – 12

MIDLAND FINAL NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CUP
The U-13 boys & girls teams took part in the Midland Final of the National Cup at Warrington, Cheshire (12 schools were represented from 8 counties across the Midlands).

Our U-13 girls were convincing winners. Rebecca Straw once more grabbed the race by the scruff of the neck and lead from start to finish, she is undefeated in school cross country matches so far this term. In winning, Rebecca maintained Harriet Jones’ record winning at the same venue last year. The girls will now represent the school at the National Final (top 24 schools in England) at St. Albans, Hertfordshire on Saturday 1st December. This is the third year in a row that the girls have qualified for the National Final.

The boys also ran superbly and agonisingly missed out by the slenderest of margins, 2 points i.e. 2 positions for the entire team when coming home in 4th position overall. Still, 4th in the Midlands is no mean achievement.

Individual positions:

MONDAY 12TH NOVEMBER

SWIMMING V BILTON GRANGE
On Monday 12th November, 40 of our leading swimmers from our U-10, U-11, U-12 & U-13 teams were in action in a home gala versus Bilton Grange. All our swimmers once more swam very well. Lorianna Bland, for the third time this year, broke the U-13 girls school 25 metres breaststroke. There were numerous convincing victories.
Final points:
1st       Bromsgrove Girls            228 points
2nd      Bromsgrove Boys           172 points
3rd      Bilton Grange Boys        114 points
4th       Bilton Grange Girls         106 points

WEDNESDAY 14TH NOVEMBER
RUGBY V ABINGDON  
1st XV
The forwards dominated the game, but did not convert all the scoring chances through some poor decision making early on; the pressure eventually told however, and 3 tries from the forwards and an excellent try at the end from the backs, saw us win by 24-5. Tries were scored by Jake Perryman with two and Tekena Ojimba and Louis Preira with one each; William Hunt converted twice. Louis has now scored in every game apart from one! He shared the man of the match award with Felix Ng.

2nd XV
Well done to the 2nd XV who played Abingdon on Wednesday and won 26-5. It was an excellent performance by everybody with Ben Robinson having his best game of the season and strong second half performances from Charles Hill and Connor McBride.

3rd XV
The 3rd team played and excellent game against Abingdon - unfortunately we lost 15 - 5.  All members contributed to the game and decided too late in the game that we could actually win it. Sam Leather was our man of the match making some tremendous tackles, other notable players were Alex Black, Harland White and Monty Alexander who all made excellent efforts throughout the game.

HOCKEY V FOREMARKE HALL
U11A AND U11B
U11 A and B teams lost 0 -1 and 1 - 3 respectively.  The A team was unlucky to lose as they had excellent positioning and had many attempts at goal.  The score did not reflect the play and the girls should still feel rather proud of themselves.
The second half of the match was far better for the B team again demonstrating many attempts at goal. Passing was extremely accurate at all times. Again the girls are able to hold their heads up high as they played so well.

U12A AND U12B
There were moments of absolute brilliance in both matches which produced an uncanny 3 - 0 win for both teams. Team work was excellent with ball passing that created many chances and commitment and work rate is to be commended. Ella Wilkinson scored 2 out of the 3 goals for the B's and both were cracking goals!  The playing format for the B team worked superbly and there was some slick passing on a new surface - a water based astro. Foremarke Hall staff and parents were extremely complimentary about our girls' manners, behaviour and play along with our high level of fitness. 
Mrs Mullan

U13 GIRLS HOCKEY TOURNAMENT
On Wednesday Bromsgrove hosted 12 teams for the U13 Girls Hockey Tournament. Bromsgrove either drew with or defeated King’s School Worcester, Packwood Haugh, Denstone, Grace Dieu and Abberley School. They qualified for the semi-final against Foremarke Hall. This was a very close game with Bromsgrove having several chances to score but a converted penalty corner after full time was the only goal Bromsgrove conceded all afternoon and put Foremarke through to the final, which they won, again by the odd goal. The girls had played good, attacking hockey throughout the tournament and were rightly disappointed with their third place. Better luck next Wednesday, girls!
Mrs Bourne

THURSDAY 15TH NOVEMBER
YEAR 3 & 4 BOYS HOUSE CROSS COUNTRY EVENT
1st Finlay Evans
2nd Christian Burela
3rd Lawrence Hill

Overall house positions:
1st Boulton 415 points
2nd Telford  446 points
3rd Watt 487 points
4th Darby 493 points

November 7th

RUGBY V DEAN CLOSE

1st XV
It is never easy going straight into a match after a 2 week break and against Dean Close, we lacked cohesion. This was a game we could have won comfortably, but quite simply, Dean Close wanted the win more and we made too many basic errors to put them under enough pressure to turn the game round.
It was always close, but in the end we fell short, losing 15-17. Felix Ng worked tirelessly as ever, with George Stevens playing well at times; the whole team has to put in the effort though, if we are to win the close games.

2nd XV
The 2nd XV played Dean Close on Wednesday and came out 24 - 7 winners in a very competitive game. Their were excellent games from Callum Phillips and Harry Eaves, and Jacob Jayaratnasingam showed real potential in his first game at this level.

3rd XV
The 3rd Team had a difficult game against Dean Close but eventually beat them 19 - 17.  Bromsgrove played with vigour and enthusiasm and it was only in the last moments of the game that our victory was sealed with Dean Close missing a goal kick!  Bromsgrove defended and attacked with zeal which was a pleasure to watch.

U11A
lost 5 – 21
The U-11 A Rugby team had their best chance of the season so far on Wednesday of recording a victory. George Davis scored a try for Bromsgrove soon after
Dean Close had scored. Unfortunately Dean Close scored again before half time, although Daniel Holmes nearly scored a second try for Bromsgrove on the stroke of half time.
The second half was very similar to the first half with the game flowing from one try line to the other with very little to chose between the teams. Justin Clegg had a couple of strong runs deep into the opposition half, but we failed to secure quick second phase possession.  Dean Close unfortunately scored the next score which was decisive. Bromsgrove came close to scoring twice before the end of the match, once when Daniel Holmes was held up over the line. Jamie Ross epitomized the spirit in the team when he chased back the full length of the pitch to put in a try saving tackle right at the end. Well done boys on your efforts!

U11 GIRLS HOCKEY TOURNAMENT
It was a disappointing day, results wise, for our U11 girls' hockey teams playing in our invitational tournaments this week. The 'A' team lost their first two games but came back strongly to win their last in the league matches. In their final consolation game, against Abberley, they managed a creditable 0 - 0 draw. Generally, though, they showed a lot of rustiness following the long half term break. The 'B' team, whilst not achieving any wins, did perform well above expectations and certainly gave each of their opponents a good game in the league matches. In their consolation match, they lost a close contest 1 - 0 to Winterfold House. We can only look forward to better results in our remaining inter-school matches.

13th October
RUGBY V BISHOPS HEREFORD
1st XV
Our game against Bishops Hereford saw us matched against a very big pack and their size made it very difficult to compete in the forwards. We lost 5-27 but played some good rugby nevertheless. Man of the match was Felix Ng.

2ND XV
The 2nd XV played Bishop’s School on Saturday and ended up 29- 10 winners. Well done to Tekena Ojimba who scored twice on his debut and to the whole team who have ended the half- term unbeaten.

3RD XV
The 3rd Team had a difficult game against Bishop 1st team. Bromsgrove eventually lost 56 - 0.

4TH XV
The 4th XV were very unlucky not to get to half term with an unbeaten record, losing this match 12-7

15th October
U8, U9, U10, U11 GIRLS SWIMMING GALA
V ST. MARTINS, HOLY TRINITY & EDGBASTON HIGH SCHOOL
This was an excellent gala with several swimmers achieving personal best times. Talia Mitchell broke the U-8 girls 15 metres backstroke record as did the U-8 girls 4x25 metres medley relay team of Talia, Charlotte Campbell, Niamh Donovan and Eleanor Childs. The girls broke their own school record which they set in the last gala.
 Final points and positions:

17th October
HOCKEY V CHELTENHAM COLLEGE JUNIOR SCHOOL

U13A
This was an exciting match and it soon became obvious that neither team was going to score many goals. The match swung from end to end and we had to settle for a slightly disappointing 0-0 draw.

U12A
Bromsgrove met their toughest competitors yet this term but the U12’s rose to the challenge. The match saw great determination and commitment by both teams and resulted in some great end to end play. Final score 2-1 to  Bromsgrove.

U12B & U13B
U12 B team produced some exciting end to end play with a final score of 4–1.
U13 B won 4–0. Players of the match were Kaya Wilson and Charlotte Barrow.

U11A
This was a very disappointing day for our U11 girls' hockey players. Starting full of confidence in our current undefeated season, we were unluckily beaten by hosts Cheltenham College Junior School 4 - 3.  Congratulations to Jessica Dunkley who won the ‘Goalkeeper of the Tournament’ award and was presented with a new hockey stick.

U11B
Despite working hard throughout the match, Bromsgrove lost quite heavily to very strong opposition. 

U11C
Bromsgrove lost 5-3

U10A & U10B
U10A drew 0-0. The girls played skilfully, but were unable to make the most of their opportunities.
U10B won 4-3. A nail biting, end-to-end game, with each team scoring to equalise throughout the first half.

Young Masters Golf Event
Ben (U13) and Tom (U9) Robinson qualified for the National Final of the Young Masters Golf event, and played last weekend at Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. Tom finished 2nd in his age group and Ben 6th.

October 12th

U13 COUNTY HOCKEY TRIALS – SUNDAY 7TH OCTOBER
Congratulations to the following girls who were successful at the U13 County hockey trials on Sunday October 7th – Ellen Lockhart, Lily Alsop, Becky Straw plus Sarah Ellis, Lydia Evans, Pascale Massey, Tara Thorpe and Chloe Broomfield. 

1st XV RUGBY V OLDSWINFORD 6.10.07
Losing 15-43 to Oldswinford sounds as though it was not a good performance, but this was a very closely fought game;.Louis Preira and Jake Perryman scored our tries and Kit Thornton and James Goodall deserve special mention for their brave tackling.

2nd XV RUGBY V OLDSWINFORD 6.10.07
Well done to the 2nd XV who played Oldswinford hospital and won 36-5 in a great team effort again but special mentions to Westleigh Rush and Callum Phillips

JUNIOR HOUSE RUGBY COMPETITION
81 boys in Years 5 and 6 took part in the Junior House Rugby competition.
In the A competition, Darby were the dominant force and won all their three matches quite convincingly only conceding one try. Other positions were 2nd Telford, 3rd Watt and 4th Boulton.
In the B competition, Telford were clear winners with Watt 2nd, Darby 3rd and Boulton 4th.

U12 NETBALL V KING EDWARDS 6.10.07
Despite playing well our team lost 9-11.

U13 & U12 BOYS & GIRLS SWIMMING GALA V EDGEBASTON HIGH SCHOOL & HOLY TRINITY 8.10.07
The U13 girls won all their races with Lorianna Bland breaking the U13 girls 25 metres
The U13 boys also swam well
Final points total:
1st Bromsgrove girls                128 points
2nd Bromsgrove boys              86 points
3rd Holy Trinity                           82 points
4th Edgbaston High School    64 points

U10A & U10B HOCKEY V DEAN CLOSE 10.10 .07
A team won 2-1
B team won 3-1

U11A HOCKEY V DEAN CLOSE 10.10.07
The U11 girls' hockey A team played exceptionally wellto beat Dean Close 5 - 0.

U11B HOCKEY V DEAN CLOSE 10.10.07
Bromsgrove narrowly lost 3-2 in a very exciting and closely contested match which consisted of some superb attacking moves and some fantastic goalkeeping from Laura Gieron, who deserves a special mention

U12A HOCKEY V DEAN CLOSE 10.10.07
4-0 win to Bromsgrove.

U13A & U13B HOCKEY V DEAN CLOSE 10.10.07
U13A won 1 – 0
Under 13 B won 5-1

October 5th

1st XV RUGBY V THE DRAGON SCHOOL 3.10.07
“The game against The Dragon is always one of the toughest in the season; they have nearly twice the number of boys and they are always very strong!
There were times when we competed well in the forwards but we did not tackle or show any real determination in the backs and the Dragon scored 8 tries in a 52-0 win. Felix Ng never stopped working and set an excellent example - it is up to several of the others to step up to the mark now, if we are to compete against the stronger schools we play.”

3rd XV RUGBY V THE DRAGON SCHOOL 3.10.07
“The Dragon had an inexperienced side and they tried hard although Bromsgrove was too strong and won 47 - 0.  Bromsgrove had a good run and many players gained excellent experience.  Notable tries came from George Westwood, Maxime Cox and Alex Black.”

U11A RUGBY V THE DRAGON SCHOOL 3.10.07
“An improved performance from the U-11 A team. Osan Gurung made an impact in the forwards when he came on. With continued hard work our first win hopefully isn’t too far away.”

U11B RUGBY V DRAGON SCHOOL 3.10.07
“The boys encountered a tough match this Wednesday against the Dragon School. They played well but the Dragon team were more organised and dominated the ruck. The final score was 50-0 and the boys will learn a lot from this experience”

U10 GIRLS HOCKEY V DRAGON SCHOOL 3.10.07
“All three sides played the Dragon at home. U10A was a very closely fought match with an excellent goal scored by Sarah Ellis. U10B lost to a very attacking side, but we were unlucky and need to work on our shooting. U10C was a nil-all thriller!”

U11 GIRLS HOCKEY V FOREMARKE HALL 3.10.07
“The U11 girls’ hockey team played in a mini-hockey tournament at Foremarke Hall on Saturday. The initial league matches saw our U11’s at the top of their league which pitted them against Fairfield School in the semi-final. This was an extremely close game but, unlike last year, we did not win. In the 3rd/4th place play-off, we had a repeat match against Grace Dieu and this time just edged past them, 1-0, to take third place. This was a very satisfying end to our first tournament of the year. Well done to all the players.”

U13 GIRLS HOCKEY V PACKWOOD HAUGH 3.10.07
“The Under 13B and Under 13C hockey teams played at home against Packwood Haugh. Both were exciting end-to-end games. The Under 13B team drew 2-2 with the opposition taking advantage of a last minute loss of concentration by the home team. The Under 13C team were positive and ferocious in attack, winning 4-2. Well played to Millie Haywood and Rochelle Mills for outstanding play.”

NETBALL V EDGEBASTON HIGH 3.10.07
“After a disappointing start the U12’s pulled back the score significantly to 12–24 after the final quarter.  There is much that could be achieved at Saturday morning training sessions. The U13’s produced an excellent performance and it is always pleasing to see new players coming into the squad.  Madeleine Heggett should be commended for her performance as Goal Attack.  They won 24 – 9.”

CROSS COUNTRY V KINGSTONE HIGH SCHOOL 3.10.07
Our U-13 girls won with all six runners finishing in the top 11 positions from the forty two runners. Positions as follows:
1st Rebecca Straw, 5th Hannah Trow, 6th Tara Thorpe, 7th Pascale Massey, 10th LydiaTrow,
11TH Simone Thompson-Smith.
Our U-13 boys came in second place as a team with individual positions as follows:
5th Alex Brantingham, 6th Sam Leather, 19th Ross Johnson, 20th Scott McQuaid, 21st Jacob Jayaratnasingam, 31st Charlie Kendrick.
Both teams have now qualified for the Midland Final on Saturday 10th November. It’s important that everybody trains hard, including over half term, if we are going to have any chance of reaching the National Final.

28th September

1st XV RUGBY v Abberley Hall – Wednesday 26th September
The games against Abberley are always close but this week it looked as though we could be poor losers after a disappointing first 20 minutes where Abberley scored two tries.
The second half saw us turn things round; a try just before half-time gave us hope and the forwards then began to play to their potential, scoring 2 more tries through powerful support play. This put us 17-10 ahead. Abberley fought back though, scoring 5 minutes before the end and despite lots of pressure, we could not get the winning score.
The final result, a 17-17 draw, was probably a fair reflection on the game.

2nd XI RUGBY v Abberley Hall – Wednesday 26th September
The 2nd XI played Abberley on Wednesday and had an excellemt win. All the team played well and we eventually ran out 58-5 winners.

4th XV RUGBY v Abberley Hall – Wednesday 26th September
The 4th Team Rugby was a miss-matched game against Abberley and at half time Bromsgrove was already winning 35-0. Both coaches agreed that neither team were gaining experience so the teams were mixed up and some of Bromsgrove players played for Abberley. The winner of this fixture was excellent Bromsgrove spirit.

U11A RUGBY v Abberley Hall – Wednesday 26th September
After taking an early lead through a Matthew Harker try, we never again competed in the match. It’s a team game which requires all twelve players giving everything in
terms of effort. We lost 47 – 5, a very disappointing afternoon for watching the team in action. All A & B players required for training this Saturday morning 10.45 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.

U11B RUGBY v Abberley Hall – Wednesday 26th September
The under 11 B team won convincingly on Wednesday against Abberley Hall, 70-0. Good game played by all. Zac Gear and Parco Fung both scored three tries.

U10A RUGBY v Abberley Hall – Wednesday 26th September
U10A had an excellent start to their season with a 20-5 victory. James Taylor scored three tries and Harry Lloyd Jones scored one, with strong support in the field from Henry Walker

U13A GIRLS HOCKEY v Dragon School – Wednesday 26th September
This was definitely a game of two halves. At half time the score was 0-0 and although Bromsgrove had attacked well they made silly mistakes in the circle before they could score. After a severe talking to at half time the girls pulled themselves together and produced a much better performance. We scored one well rehearsed goal and fought for two more to win 3-0. Our defence had a superb game. Lily Alsop, Madeleine Heggett and Katherine Keates all deserved a special commendation as they did not allow The Dragon School near enough to even think of scoring

U13B, U12B, U11A, U11B GIRLS HOCKEY v Dragon School
– Wednesday 26th September
We played four away games against the Dragon on Wednesday and managed to clinch 2 wins, 1 draw and a loss. All teams played well and produced some very encouraging play. They dominated the attacking half for most of the game and it was unfortunate that the U11B team did not manage to score despite having the opportunity on too many occasions. This is a good result against a usually strong school across all age groups. However there is still plenty of work to do, particularly on set play and converting the shots into goals. Well done to our goalkeepers, in particular Millie Hayward for the U13B’s and Georgina Flowerdew for her solid performance in mid field for the U12B’s.
U13 B:             7 - 0 (goals scored by Kaya Wilson and Harriet Matthews)
U12 B:             2 - 0
U11 A:             1 – 1
U11 B:             lost

U12A GIRLS HOCKEY v Dragon School – Wednesday 26th September
The U12A played their first 11-a-side match against the Dragon. The girls produced some brilliant hockey resulting in 3 excellent goals in the second half of the match. The whole squad played fantastically and they should be proud of their 3-0 Victory.

SWIMMING
U-8, U-9, U-10 & U-11 Swimming v Warwick Prep
On Monday our leading swimmers from Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 were in action versus Warwick Preparatory School A & B teams. For our Year 3 swimmers it was their first opportunity to represent the school team.
Our U-8 girls 4x25 metres medley relay team could not have got off to a better start by breaking the school record in their first ever race for the school.  Team comprises of Talia Mitchell, Charlotte Campbell, Niamh Donovan and Eleanor Childs. Talia came within two tenths of a second from breaking the individual backstroke record as well.  Clare Hill also set a new school record in the U-10 girls 25 metres butterfly.’

Final points as follows:
1st Bromsgrove Boys               190 points
2nd Bromsgrove Girls               180 points
3rd Warwick Prep A                154 points
4th Warwick Prep B                 74 points

CROSS COUNTRY
Bromsgrove Preparatory School cross-country teams got the district league off to a flying start in windy conditions on Thursday afternoon, when we hosted the first round.  Both our boys and girls dominated all age groups against half a dozen other local schools.  Bromsgrove Prep not only had the first runner home in all categories but thanks to strong competition amongst our own runners, there was close "packing" at the finish, which saw us win all the team events as well.

SPORTS NOTICES
Hockey
Packwood Haugh cannot bring an U12/13 C team for next Wednesday (3rd October), therefore the following fixtures will take place:
U13 B and U13 C teams only, Wednesday 3rd October, 14:30 start on astro.

Netball
After all our efforts we have made a decision to cancel the U11 netball fixture against Edgbaston High School this Saturday 29th September, due to a high number of children being ill. The Year 7 and 8 matches will go ahead away at EHS. Netball activity can now take place on Saturday morning for both the juniors and seniors who are not in the matches.

We have been informed that Solihull School cannot put out U11 teams at Bromsgrove on October 13th so unfortunately these games have been cancelled. U12 matches however will still go ahead.

Cross Country
Wednesday 3rd October, the English Schools National Cross-country cup will be run on a course situated between Hereford and Monmouth. Teams will leave at 10:00 am.
For further information please contact Gareth Jones.

The P.E. department has requested that all wrist-watches be clearly labelled with the pupil’s name as too many watches are becoming increasingly difficult to return them to their rightful owners.

All pupils representing school in sports fixtures must stay with their team until after tea and our visitors have been waved farewell. It is impolite to visiting teams if they see our pupils wanting to rush away from matches without following the school etiquette on match teas etc. It is all part of sportsmanship and learning to be a thoughtful host.

21st September

1st XV RUGBY v Colston’s Collegiate Bristol - Saturday 15th September
‘Our first game of the season was a trial match against Bromsgrove RFC who proved to be far too big and powerful, winning comfortably in the end. Our boys worked hard but the game showed that this season will be a very steep learning curve.

This was emphasised in the first full fixture, against Colstons in Bristol. Their Y8 team were unbeaten in Y7 and were a very well drilled outfit. Our forwards held their own at times and showed that we have potential here, but the backs missed too many tackles and made far too many handling errors. Losing 5-47 was no disgrace, but there is a lot to learn very quickly, if we are to improve.

The game against Winterfold saw a much improved performance. The forwards dominated the opposition and always looked dangerous. We scored 5 tries in a 33-7 win, all of them from the forwards. One pleasing aspect of the game was that we were able to play all 8 substitutes, giving many boys the opportunity to run out for the 1st team and show what they could do.’

2nd XV RUGBY v Colston’s Collegiate Bristol - Saturday 15th September
‘Well done to the 2nd XV who played Colstons on Saturday and won 12- 10. There were tries from Oliver Dunkley and Kit Thornton. The whole team worked hard but Dale Roberts, Kit Thornton and William Bedford–Russell played particularly well.’

3rd XV RUGBY v Colston’s Collegiate Bristol - Saturday 15th September
‘Bromsgrove faced a very strong side and unfortunately lost 36 - 0.  Positive points from the match where very effective tackles from M. Alexander and L. Turner.  A. Black and H. White had some good runs from excellent delivery from S. Duberley. If they play as positively as they ended the game I expect a very good season from the Third Team.’

4th XV RUGBY v Winterfold School - Wednesday 20th September
‘The 4th’s enjoyed a second victory of the season against Winterfold 2nd XV on Wednesday. After much first half pressure Josh Jaya scored a fine try in the corner. In the second half Bromsgrove continued to dominate with tries from Captain Zac Morris and Max McCloughlin. Scott McQuaid added two fine conversions to make the final score 19-0 to Bromsgrove.’

U11A RUGBY v Winterfold School - Wednesday 20th September
Lost 10 – 29
‘Colts A started off their season going down by two tries to five. We played very poorly in the first half not getting to the breakdown quick enough and giving the opposition half backs plenty of possession to run at us at easy. The second half was a much better effort and one which we won by two tries to one. Our two try scorers were Justin Clegg and Jamie Ross. We will need to play well from the start next week.’

U11B RUGBY v Winterfold School - Wednesday 20th September
‘The U11 ‘B’ team won 72-10. Mathew Harker scored 3 tries….the team as a whole played very well together. Well done boys.’

U10A and U10B RUGBY v Winterfold School - Wednesday 20th September
 ‘U10 v Winterfold  -
'A' team won 30-5; 3 tries from James Taylor. Very pleasing performance playing good rugby.
'B' team won 40-20 with an encouraging first performance.’

U13 GIRLS HOCKEY 7-a-side Tournament at Foremarke School – Saturday 15th
The girls were knocked out at the semi-final stage, losing on penalty flicks. However, they won the play-off to claim their bronze medals.

U13 GIRLS HOCKEY v Abberley Hall – Wednesday 20th September
‘U13 Girls played Abberley Hall. This was the first 11-a-side match and the girls played well keeping the Abberley team under great pressure.
Bromsgrove scored from two penalty corners and should have put away more chances. The team continued to attack strongly and were beginning to show good understanding in the second half. A very good start to the season.’

U12B HOCKEY Abberley Hall – Wednesday 20th September
U12 B had an encouraging start to the season with a 2 – 0 win.  However, we have identified plenty of skills to work hard on over the term and we are setting out to play fast, skilful hockey in the matches ahead.  The second goal was a cracker – well done to the whole team for making it exciting to umpire!

U11A, U11B, U10A HOCKEY– Wednesday 20th September
U11A v Abberley Hall
‘For a first game of the season, this was a competitive affair, with both sides giving their all. However, our girls had the edge in work rate and in front of goal and ended up as comfortable, and encouraging, winners 3 – 1.’

U11B v The Grange
‘For saying that this was the first game of hockey in which some players were representing their school, this was an impressive start for our girls. They were very committed and kept up the tempo for the whole game, eventually emerging as deserved 2 – 1 winners.’

U10A v Abberley Hall
‘In an exciting first match of the season the under 10 A team won 4-1 against Abberely Hall. All the girls in the team are to be congratulated on their hard work and commitment This result reflects the strength and skills of the team and we look forward to more wins this season.’

SWIMMING
U-12 & U-13 Boys & Girls Gala versus Newcastle-Under-Lyme

Newcastle as ever made this a very competitive fixture. There were numerous personal best times with two new school records:

U-13 girls 4x25 metres medley relay team of Claudia Cardinali, Pippa Brock, Rebecca Straw and Lorianna Bland.

U-13 girls 50 metres breaststroke--Lorianna Bland

Final points total:
1st Bromsgrove 186 points
2nd Newcastle-under-Lyme  174 points

Well done to all our swimmers on an excellent start to the season. Next week it’s the turn of our U-8, U-9, U-10 & U-11 boys and girls swimmers – no early swimming therefore. Parents are reminded that they should check white calendar to see when galas are on. Could parents also please be aware that parking is not permitted in the Senior School for the swim gala.

CROSS COUNTRY
There is a District Cross Country league match at home next Thursday 27th September (this date is not in white calendar). This is open to all pupils from Years 4,5,6,7 & 8. No Year 3 pupils are eligible to run and should go home as there will be no athletics club due to the race. Everybody from Year 4 upwards who would like to run are welcome to do so. There will be a team-sheet published, but if you don’t feature on it, yet would like to run, then please just turn up. First race is scheduled to get underway at 4.30 p.m. All races will be finished by 5.30 p.m.