Sports Round Up of the Week

Hockey

U11s IAPS Hockey Tournament

King’s Hawford U11 girls were excited to meet in the early hours of the morning to travel to Millfield for the 2025 IAPS Hockey tournament.

The pool stage was a competitive string of matches against some tough opposition. The opening game against Hazelgrove School was a hard-fought draw with Annie making a number of incredible saves and the girls finding a good rhythm which set the tone for the rest of the tournament. The result proved a favourable one as Hazelgrove went on to the Semi-final of the Cup competition.

Sherborne came out firing putting our defence to the test, the girls dug deep to keep them out of the area with some great tackles from Florrie and strong clearances. The team worked tirelessly to keep Sherborne out and despite going a goal down they kept their heads up high and showed true Hawford resilience.

The next pool game against All Hallows was another hard-fought game. The team made tremendous passes and won several opportunities in the area. From a short corner Jasmine delivered a clinical strike from the top of the area that struck the backboard to level the score.

King’s Hawford progressed on to the Plate Quarter Finals with a spring in their step. Once again Jasmine had a clean strike from a short corner with Charlotte getting on the end of it at the left post for a spectacular deflection into the top of the goal. Mount Kelly replied with a last-minute goal finishing with a draw which meant a nail biting 5 minutes of Golden Goal. Maysie managed to slot the ball over the line in a scramble in front of the keeper to secure the win and progress on to the Semi’s.

King’s Hawford met Chafyn Grove in the semi final. The girls had the majority of the play testing the defence at every opportunity, but the breakthrough came from a tremendous attacking run and strike from Adelyn, a cracking goal to secure the win and the route to the Plate Final.

The girls met a competitive Blundells school in the final. Both teams mounted several attacks with Jasmine cracking the ball in to only hit the post and be denied a goal. Both Vivienne and Bella had opportunities on goal but again couldn’t fine the goal. In the second half the King’s Hawford girls bounded on to the pitch with determination. Annie made another clearing save which Charlotte launched down the line to Adelyn. Adelyn crossed the ball into Jasmine who showed the opposition her skill and slotted the ball into the back of the net right in front of the goalkeeper. The girls secured the win to be crowned winners of the Plate Final.

The girls were backed up throughout the tournament by a tremendous travelling support of parents who kept the energy up with a rising volume with every game played. Overall, it was a fantastic day with much to be proud of both individually and as a team.

Well done to all the girls involved:

Jasmine O, Florrie W, Charlotte F, Annie W, Rosie H, Adelyn K, Bella P, Maysie L, Robin C, Vivienne C.

U8/U9 Hockey Triangular vs. Malvern The Downs and Moor Park

Sixteen U8 and U9 girls enjoyed an exciting triangular fixture against hosts Malvern The Downs and Moor Park, each playing two competitive and evenly matched games.

On Miss Lake’s pitch, the U9 girls showed good teamwork and determination. Martha was superb in defence, as was Rosie when she swapped positions, both of whom used their strength to send the ball out of our D. Rosie also used her developing control to move play into the attacking D where Bella and Alice were always ready. Isla and Georgina demonstrated fantastic energy throughout.

A highlight came in the closing minutes of the game against Moor Park, when a brilliant set play saw Rosie feed the ball into the D, Bella control it beautifully, and Alice bravely tap it into score (literally putting her body on the line)! Alice’s commitment and all-round performance earned her player of the match in both games.

On Miss Cook’s pitch, the U8 girls played two hard-fought matches, showing huge improvement since the start of term.

Fifi scored confidently in the first game, while Poppy impressed with her developing control and skill. The whole team’s resilience and teamwork shone through in every play.

Olivia L and Olivia P were named players of the match for their brilliant contributions.

A fantastic afternoon of hockey – well done, girls!

U8/U9 v The Elms School

Mrs Butt’s team were very excited to take to the pitch at The Elms School on Tuesday. There was lots of very positive attacking play with the girls linking up nicely, and all the girls showed how much they have improved since the start of the year.

Syrenna and Aoife worked hard to clear the ball from defence with some nice strong passing, whilst Sadie impressed with some very well-timed tackles and clearances too. Lily and Emily held their positions well on the wings offering their team options of passes and Tanith worked hard in the centre mid position to support her team and initiate some really good attacks on goal. Jessica and Bonnie found themselves with some good opportunities up front and the team managed to get several shots on goal with Emily scoring with a clean dribble into the area and a well-timed shot.

Player of the match was awarded by the opposition to Tanith for her all-round contribution to the team. Overall, it was an excellent team performance enjoyed by all.

Mrs Halpin’s team showed grit and determination against a strong opposition. They adjusted well to playing on a bigger pitch and enjoyed having more space to play with.

Maha, Florence and Nancy made some nice strong passes to each other. Minnow and Elise worked well together in defence to tackle and clear the ball for their team. Iona and Mia made some nice attacking runs with Mia being named player of the match by the opposition for her overall contribution to the team.

Overall it was a great performance from the U8 side – well done.

U11 & U10s v The Richard Pate School

The U11 & U10 teams travelled to Cheltenham on Wednesday for a new fixture against The Richard Pate School. The Hawford girls were aware of their recent success at one of the IAPS tournaments, so went out hard looking for the win.

King’s Hawford had the majority of the play and won several short corners but struggled to convert despite some good chances on goal. A goal finally came from a very clean strike from Jasmine from the top of the D which put King’s Hawford ahead and gave the team a spring in their step.

There was some phenomenal tackling from both Charlotte and Florrie who initiated a number of attacks. Jasmine worked her sock as off in the midfield, threading through some excellent balls to Maysie and Bella in attack. Ariana and Adelyn both had excellent spells in infield and attack, finding space and adding pressure to the opposition.

After a very competitive and hard-fought game, the King’s Hawford girls came away with a win and a huge confidence boost for their IAPS tournament the next day.

Player of the match was awarded to Jasmine by the opposition, Mrs Butt would also like to mention Annie for some tremendous saves and clearance in goal.

The 2nd team for the U11’s had similar success. Izzy W made some excellent, strong tackles and cleared the ball from defence with authority. India and Daisy were on top form making some lovely passes to link with their teammates, while Abi and Valerie made some great interceptions on the wings. Georgia B was unstoppable up front causing the Richard Pate defense all sorts of trouble with her tenacious press. Zara O impressed in centre mid taking on a new position on the pitch and distributing the ball excellently.

Again, the team had all the possession and several chances on goal, but the break through finally came from a superb dribble into the area and a strong strike from Adelyn. The Richard Pate school came back to score an equaliser, but overall, it was fantastic performance form the King’s Hawford girls.

Georgia B was deservedly names player of the match by the opposition and Mrs Butt would like to give a special mention to Izzy W for a fantastic performance.

In the U10s game, the team started strong with some good hard passing and meaningful tackles. They held the opposition at a draw for most of the first half but as time went on the girls were met with increasingly harder tackles and let the pace slip a little.

Fliss made a huge impact holding the team together with structure and energy. Robyn put up a good fight in goal saving several tricky shots and communicated well to her defensive team.  Fearne, Sylvie and Ellie came out fighting showing great dedication and some very good skills on the ball.

The team have made such great progress and are on the right track developing their competitive game play.

The opposition nominated Alana as player of the match and Mrs Halpin would like to highlight Ellie M for her impressive contribution.

Rugby

U9 Boys Rugby Festival at Winterfold School.

The U9 boys travelled to Winterfold School for their final rugby festival before the half term break. It was a fantastic afternoon during which the Hawford boys displayed the superb progress that they have made over recent weeks.

Mr Hodgkins’ team worked hard to develop their press defence and were able to force, and capitalise on, mistakes made by their opponents.

Rupert T was excellent in defence all afternoon and really set the tone with his energy and tackling abilities. Meanwhile, Felix R and Alfie P demonstrated strength, speed and desire in attack with both boys securing several tries. Noah and Yaseen helped to gel the team together with their impressive game awareness and decision making when in possession of the ball.