Sports Round Up of the Week

Hockey

U9s

Mrs Beech led two determined and skilful U9 teams into a brilliant set of matches against RGS The Grange this week, and what a performance it was from the King’s girls!

From the first whistle, the pace was fast and fierce, with some outstanding individual skill and excellent teamwork on show.

The girls demonstrated brilliant control and awareness throughout, with lovely turns on the ball and smart decisions under pressure. Passing was sharp and accurate, especially through strong square balls that helped keep the game flowing in Kings’ favour.

In defence, Maddie, Sadie, and Syrenna stood firm, making crucial clearances that kept RGS at bay. Their composure under pressure and powerful hits out of the D were key in maintaining the team’s strong defensive shape. The tackling was relentless from Lily, Emily, Georgina, Bonita-May and Martha, who constantly disrupted the opposition’s play and turned defence into attack.

In midfield, Indie was a standout, showing real maturity in reading the game and creating space with some intelligent passes out wide. Her growing confidence and vision were vital in linking up play between defence and attack.

Up front, the goals flowed freely, with Georgina, Lily, Martha, Emily, Indie and Jessica all finding the net in a superb attacking display.

The King’s girls were simply dominant, keeping RGS on the back foot for much of the matches.

It was a total team effort, but special mentions go to Isla, Indie and Maddie, who were deservedly named Players of the Match for their consistent energy, awareness, and contribution throughout.

Mrs Butt’s Team were bubbling with excitement for their first match of the Hockey season and set off on the front foot right from the first whistle.

Bella’s tenacious game play saw her take every opportunity to attack at goal and come away with a result putting several between the posts. Bella linked nicely with Alice, who has an equal appetite for goal scoring, the two of them executed some well-timed 1v1’s to put RGS The Grange under pressure.

Tanith made some excellent tackles in defence, delivered the ball up the pitch with strength and pace and joined Bella and Alice on the score board. Emily added strength in defence showing an excellent understanding of her role, thwarting any advances from the RGS team with excellent tackling and intercepting.

After half time Bonita-May and Martha both came on to join the team with Martha showing real promise on her debut. Rosie also made her debut for the King’s Hawford U9’s team proving herself a great addition in every area of the pitch. Rosie contributed to several attacks and joined the others on the score board, and was named player of the match by the opposition.

A fantastic set of performances from all involved – well done, girls. The future is bright for King’s Hawford Hockey!

U8s

The U8 girls played brilliantly in their first friendly fixture against RGS The Grange. With lots of coaching throughout, the teams worked hard on spreading out and passing the ball around. At times they linked up nicely, moving the ball up and down the pitch.

Matilda captained Mrs Halpin’s team superbly, working well alongside Poppy.

On Miss Lake’s pitch, Olivia L showed good control of the ball and despite an injury at half-time, Clancy finished the matches with speed and found space brilliantly on the pitch.

Miss Cook’s team worked well together, demonstrating strong teamwork and communication skills.

The U8 girls should be extremely proud of themselves for showing good resilience and humility on the pitch. All of the teachers involved were incredibly proud of them.

U10s

Mrs’s Beech’s team continued their flying start to the season with a fantastic performance against RGS, showing impressive structure, teamwork, and determination throughout.

The midfield partnership of Vivienne, Elise and Aurelia stood out, with well-timed square passes that created excellent attacking opportunities. Ellie H made the most of her space on the wing, making dynamic runs that culminated in a brilliant solo goal – one of the highlights of the match. Viviennne’s goals were won under pressure and she showed true grit when in the D.

In defence, Tilly C was outstanding in goal, reacting quickly and clearing under pressure to keep the RGS attack at bay. The team’s hard work on defensive and attacking short corners paid off, as they demonstrated skill and commitment in the D—resulting in both solid defensive clearances and a well-earned goal.

Eleanor and Amelie provided a strong and reliable defensive line, with Simi adding vital support through some sharp sweeping tackles and clearances. Late in the second half Eleanor made a lovely run on the wing retaining possession throughout and was unlucky not to score with a solid short on goal just sliding past the post.

It was a superb all-round team effort and a well-deserved win—an excellent continuation to the season.

Mrs Beech was delighted to see Vivian awarded Player of the Match, while Tilly and Ellie H also received well-earned recognition from the staff for their performances.

Well done, team!

Mrs Halpin’s team put in a fantastic performance this week, showing great progress with their passing and beginning to use their voices more confidently on the pitch. It was an exciting, end-to-end game with plenty of action.

Ellie M was outstanding in goal, making some brilliant saves and fighting hard to keep her team in the game. She was supported by her defensive team, Ffion and Connie, who worked together superbly when put at the back.

Further up the pitch, Fliss shone with her determination, winning tackles and working tirelessly to win back possession.

Mrs Halpin was particularly impressed with her effort and commitment throughout. Captain Fearne led by example and was deservedly named Player of the Match.

A great team performance with lots to be proud of – well done girls!

U11s

Mrs Butt’s team looked organised and composed in the warm-up setting out good preparation for the match against RGS The Grange. They started strong, showing great positional awareness particularly when defending the hit outs.

Jasmine communicated well in centre mid setting the press with Maysie adding pressure from the front limiting The Grange’s options. Florrie dominated in defense working well with Valerie to keep the ball out the circle. Charlotte and Rosie held their positions wide on the wing giving plenty of opportunity for attack in the first half. Despite a number of opportunities on goal the team were unable to convert them to goals and were unlucky to concede on one quick counterattack.

Adelyn and Bella came on at half time contributing well in their respective positions but The Grange came out firing. Robyn as goalkeeper suddenly had a lot of work to do in the second half, facing a number of shots and making some great saves.

Overall, there was a lot of hockey to be proud of and plenty to build on for the next match against Blue Coat. A very deserved player of the match goes to Jasmine O who was recognised by the opposition, she worked her socks off and took a knock but showed huge resilience and strength.

Miss Lake’s U11 team worked tirelessly on their pitch in a very challenging game against RGS The Grange.

Ariana stepped into the role of goalkeeper brilliantly, making some important saves throughout the match. Abi and Georgia were a force to be reckoned with and their pace around the pitch did not stop. Charlotte P showed some good skill of using the reverse stick to get around opposing players. India has found her position on the pitch of defence, clearing the ball from the D when necessary and taking 16s promptly, giving the opposition little time to mark and defend.

For similar reasons, Zara was named Player of the Match for superb defence. Whilst the match highlighted key areas to work on during upcoming training sessions, the team should be incredibly proud of themselves for yet another fantastic display of resilience and effort.

Further up the pitch, Fliss shone with her determination, winning tackles and working tirelessly to win back possession.

Mrs Halpin was particularly impressed with her effort and commitment throughout. Captain Fearne led by example and was deservedly named Player of the Match.

A great team performance with lots to be proud of – well done girls!

Rugby

U9s

On Tuesday afternoon, the U9 boys enjoyed their first opportunity to represent the school this academic year by travelling to RGS The Grange for a rugby festival.

Mr Hodgkins’s team worked hard throughout their four matches with RGS, Warwick, The Downs and Blue Coat. They listened to advice and embraced the matches as brilliant learning opportunities.

The boys’ confidence grew throughout the afternoon as they developed their game awareness and passing skills. Mr Hodgkins was especially impressed with the strong running of Felix and Alfie, both of whom scored multiple tries, as well as the passing of Noah and Yaseen and committed tackling of Chester.

The boys will be continuing to work on their shape and defensive stability in preparation for their next festival in a fortnight.

U10s

Our Under 10 squad played their second group of games of the season on Wednesday this week.

In their first game, they came up against a Winterfold side that contained some elusive runners, that put our defence to the test in a hard fought and close match.

The boys then showed what they were capable of as an attacking force in the second game against St Alban’s. It was pleasing to see them rucking well, looking to get the ball into space in the wide channels and providing close support for each other as they swept forward.

The last match against RGS the Grange was, once again, a test of the boys resilience; examining both their press defence and tackling skills.

This relatively small squad, with a couple of boys out injured, played every minute of all three matches and showed why the will be a very successful side as they continue to grow individually and collectively.

U11s

On Wednesday afternoon, the U11 boys continued their rugby journey with a stern test in a triangular festival with RGS The Grange and Blue Coat School.

Mr Hodgkins’s team started with a challenging match against a Blue Coat side who possessed several physically strong players who were also able to move the ball through hands with impressive accuracy and timing. The King’s team were forced to spend much on the match in the defence of their try line and demonstrated admirable levels of resilience and commitment.

They made superb progress throughout the match and worked hard to improve their tackling techniques and timing. Mr Hodgkins was especially impressed with the tackling and work rate of Henry L and Luca M.

Despite the challenges of the first match, the team remained positive and took confidence into the second game with RGS The Grange. This was a much more competitive contest in which Austin and Alex did well to score multiple tries. Nicholas and Freddie also carried the ball well whilst Henry D and Jasper demonstrated strong passing and offloading skills.

The team can take lots of positives from the afternoon in which they made excellent progress, they can now look forward to next Wednesday’s festival at Millfield Prep School.