Outstanding Results for King’s in the West Midlands ESSA 2025 Team Relay Championships

Forty-seven King’s pupils recently travelled to Malvern College to compete in the Divisional round of the English Schools’ Swimming Association (ESSA) Team Relays Championships – an annual event open to secondary schools nationwide.

King’s fielded an impressive 11 relay teams across three age groups: Junior (Lower 4 and Upper 4), Inter (Lower Remove and Upper Remove) and Senior (Fifth and Sixth Form). Each swimmer took part in either a Freestyle (Front Crawl) or Medley (Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Freestyle) relay, racing against strong competition from local schools including Bristol Grammar and RGS Worcester.

After all divisional gala results from across the country were compiled into one national database, the overall results have now been published and King’s teams have achieved some truly exceptional rankings:

Junior Boys A

• 4 x 50m Freestyle – 1st in West Midlands, 10th nationally
• 4 x 50m Medley – 1st in West Midlands, 9th nationally

Junior Girls A

• 4 x 50m Freestyle – 4th in West Midlands, 16th nationally
• 4 x 50m Medley – 7th in West Midlands, 43rd nationally

Inter Mixed A

• 4 x 50m Freestyle – 1st in West Midlands, 12th nationally
• 4 x 50m Medley – 1st in West Midlands, 10th nationally

Senior Girls A

• 4 x 50m Freestyle – 13th in West Midlands, 101st nationally
• 4 x 50m Medley – 10th in West Midlands, 89th nationally

Senior Boys A

• 4 x 50m Freestyle – 1st in West Midlands, 9th nationally
• 4 x 50m Medley – 1st in West Midlands, 10th nationally

Only the fastest 24 teams in each category qualify for ESSA’s 67th Secondary Schools’ National Team Championships, which are taking place in the Commonwealth Games pool at Sandwell Aquatics Centre, on Saturday 15th November.

This means that this year, an incredible four King’s teams have qualified for the National Championships – the school’s best-ever performance in this event!

• Junior Girls A – 4 x 50m Freestyle relay.
• Inter Mixed A – 4 x 50m Medley relay.
• Junior Boys A – 4 x 50m Freestyle relay and 4 x 50m Medley relay.
• Senior Boys A – 4 x 50m Freestyle relay and 4 x 50m Medley relay.

These results are a testament to the pupils’ hard work, commitment, and teamwork, both in King’s Swimming Academy sessions, as well as through their training outside of school with their respective swimming clubs.

Congratulations to the following 17 pupils who now go on to represent King’s at the National Championships:

Ellie R, Amelia B, Fliss T, Helena C, Jonas H, Matthew P, Sam M, Teddy C, Harry C, Mia G, Lara J, Joe O’L, Isaac P, Aled L, Ben G, Dylan L, and Harry C.

King’s also entered several additional teams that performed strongly, gaining valuable experience at this high level of competition. However, as per ESSA rules, each school is only permitted to send their fastest team in each category to the national finals.

Full results can be viewed at: www.essa-schoolswimming.com/events/secondary-team-championships

Well done to all the pupils who took part in the Divisional round, and congratulations and best of luck to those representing King’s at ESSA’s 67th Secondary Schools’ National Team Championships!