Sports tour marks right of passage for Year 6.

Last weekend marked the annual King’s Hawford Sports Tour for all Year 6 children. This tour is a highly valued tradition and provides our children with an excellent opportunity to test their sporting ability against similar independent schools from another area of the UK. For the sixth year running, we were travelling to the Welsh capital, Cardiff.

We left school early on Friday morning full of enthusiasm and anticipation for the tour ahead; despite the rather gloomy weather conditions, the children’s spirits were high. Our first destination was the beautiful and picturesque Monmouth where, this year, the boys and girls would face off not only against The Grange Monmouth but also KES Bath.

It became immediately apparent that both Monmouth and KES Bath were very well organised and physical rugby outfits and, following a number of big tackles, it was great to see our boys step up in their levels of commitment and determination. The Hawford boys played some really impressive rugby throughout the two matches, which both ended with very close score lines.

Meanwhile, the girls also experienced two highly competitive hockey matches at the Astroturf. They played fantastically in the first match against Monmouth, displaying super defending as a team and stringing together some lovely passing moves in attack. The girls the came up against a strong KES Bath side and battled hard, showing excellent teamwork and determination.

Having enjoyed our opponents’ company and hospitality over the match teas we then headed to the historic Cardiff Castle. When we arrived, we were greeted by our guide Elizabeth, who told us all about the fascinating history of the castle and how its careful design made it impenetrable to potential invaders. The children were even able to try on some medieval armour and weapons!

Soon after this we enjoyed an interesting and insightful tour of castle’s various rooms and features.

The children were impeccably behaved and showed a very impressive level of knowledge and understanding. We headed to our accommodation for the evening full of enthusiasm and a sense of anticipation and excitement at the prospect of the fun-filled evening of Ten Pin bowling ahead of us.

On Saturday morning we woke up bright, early and fully rested after an excellent night’s sleep. Following a hearty breakfast we checked out of our accommodation and travelled to our main tour fixture with Llandaff Cathedral School, where we had staggered kick off times, enabling the boys to support the girls and then the girls to cheer on the boys.

As with previous years, the matches against Llandaff Cathedral School were hotly contested. The girls were honoured to play on the Welsh National pitch and, after a solid warm-up, they were first to attack and the ball was in the opponent’s attacking D within minutes, challenging the goalkeeper. Distributing the ball and sending the free hits into space enabled us to drive forward with pace. Every girl put in 100% effort and it was a joy to see them perform so well.

The boys were simply outstanding in their match. Their decision making in possession and commitment in defence were both highly impressive. The first half performance was the best we have seen from this group of boys all term and we proved too strong for our opponents, who never gave up and showed excellent resolve.

We continued to build some fantastic relationships with our colleagues and peers at Llandaff Cathedral School and exchanged gifts to commemorate the continuation of what has become a valued partnership between the schools.

Our new Headmaster, Mr Tom Butt, joined us for the matches on Saturday and shared his thoughts on the matches he watched:

“I was so pleased to have been in Cardiff on Saturday to see the Year 6s on their Sports Tour. The girls showed great fortitude and endeavour in their match against Llandaff Cathedral and were unlucky not to come away with the win, eventually drawing 1-1 in the superb surroundings of the Sport Wales National Centre. The boys were equally resilient and displayed a fine balance of attacking and defensive play as we comprehensively defeated our hosts. All the pupils were fantastic ambassadors for King’s Hawford and my thanks go to Mr Hodgkins and the rest of the staff who accompanied the trip and made it such a memorable experience. A final thank you to the parents who were present in Cardiff to support the pupils, and I look forward to seeing more of you on the touchline or at pitch side after October half term“.

Next came the activity that many of the children had been eagerly waiting for, the tour of the home of Welsh sport, The Principality Stadium. Here we learnt all about the retractable roof and discovered that, when the roof is closed, the stadium becomes the second largest indoor venue in the world! During the tour we were able to experience what it would be like to be an international sportsperson via the press conference room, the changing rooms, the players’ tunnel and, of course, the roar of the crowd as you arrive at pitch side.

The children learnt all about the various areas of seating in the stadium and even experienced some hospitality in the luxurious private boxes and specifically the royal box. Having been wowed by the majesty of the home of Welsh sport, the children were keen to pick up a small memento of their visit in the gift shop.

The children all had a fantastic time throughout the tour but the staff were particularly impressed by the playing performances of Poppy C and Sartaaj G, who picked up the two Player of the Tour trophies. We were also delighted by the fantastic behaviour, helpfulness and politeness of Jack M who picked up the ‘Best Tourist’ award.

Having had a fantastic tour, it is important to make a special mention and show our gratitude to our host schools in Monmouth and Cardiff as well as to say a huge thank you to Mr Cook, Miss Holtham and Mrs Marshall-Walker for their excellent support, coaching and encouragement throughout the tour.

We all hope that the children had a wonderful time and have created memories that will stay with them for a very long time indeed.