Sportsmanship is the name of the game for King’s Hawford

U8 Netball v Bluecoat

On Tuesday, we welcomed Blue Coat to King’s Hawford for a netball match with our Year 3 girls. The girls were excited to play against different opposition. The fixture started with three endball games which is the version of netball that England Netball suggests the youngest players should start with. The players showed determination and it was clear that skills practiced in Games lessons were being transferred into match play. Valerie impressed Mrs Horrocks and Mrs Knight by her willingness to take on coaching feedback and Charlotte F impressed Miss Lake by her spatial awareness. The second half of the fixture saw the Blue Coat and King’s Hawford girls split into two teams to compete in a full court, no positions game. Adelyn showed good movement across court, passing and receiving the ball with confidence and Jasmine made some lovely interceptions of the ball.  The fixture was enjoyed by all and has given the staff some things to work on with the children after half-term.

U9 Netball v Bluecoat

The sun was shining as the girls travelled from King’s Hawford to Bluecoat to play Bee-ball netball.

The tall height of the defensive opposition players meant our girls were fighting for the ball from the first centre pass and they found it difficult to get the ball into our attacking D. There was lots of dodging and movement from the shooters, coupled with a couple of accurate shots from Millie B and Thea. A strong centre court meant that the ball flowed quickly and we were able to impress with some super interceptions. On court we were able to demonstrate skill and teamwork and the girls impressive attitude towards the game was great to see.

Player of the Match was awarded to Millie B and Lily SH. Both showed great movement and awareness around the court. Coach Player went to Thea and Mary, who showed off some incredible defensive play against a tough opposition.

U9 Boys Football

On Tuesday afternoon the Year 4 boys travelled to Winterfold House School for an afternoon of football. They continued their impressive start to the term with another display of excellent possession-based football. It was a pleasure to see the boys developing the concepts that they have been working on in games sessions and continue to demonstrate outstanding decision-making skills, both in and out of possession. We were especially impressed by the performances of Thomas C and Oliver G as well as the excellent distribution out of defence by Arthur A.

U11 Boys Football

On Wednesday afternoon Hawford played host to both Blue Coat School and Monmouth School in what has become a regular annual triangular football event. The U11 boys were depleted this week, missing two key players, but nevertheless they worked extremely hard and produced two strong performances. First up came a challenging match against a capable Blue Coat side, who moved the ball well. Hawford produced a strong defensive display and came close to taking the lead when Jack M latched on to a pass from Sartaaj G and his shot struck the post before rolling along the goal line. Blue Coat redoubled their efforts and produced some excellent passing moves, peppering the Hawford goal, but struggled to break the deadlock thanks to some excellent saves from stand-in goalkeeper Hudson M and strong defensive blocks from Johnnie T, Barnaby B and Max M. Eventually the pressure paid off and Blue Coat secured a couple of well-taken goals in quick succession before wrapping up the scoring with a fantastic volley that cannoned down off the crossbar before finding the back of the net.

In the second match of the afternoon, the Hawford boys dominated possession and put the Monmouth defence under constant pressure throughout the first half. Freddie M and Freddie P worked hard in midfield and provided some defence-splitting passes that led to chances for Jack M. The pressure eventually paid off in the second half, when Hudson M made an impressive run down the right hand side followed by a pinpoint cross which was calmly finished by Jack M for his fourth goal in his last three games. The Hawford boys continued to work hard but were unable to score the second goal that would have put the game to bed and Monmouth were able to grab a late equaliser in what was a well matched and tightly fought contest.

IAPS Swimming Gala

On Friday, twenty Year 5 and 6 swimmers travelled to The Dragon School, Oxford, to compete at the IAPs swimming gala. It was a long and hot three hours spent on poolside but the swimmers remained positive and focussed on their races, supporting each other and behaving impeccably. All of the swimmers swam incredibly well against a tough field, with plenty of first, second and third places taken from the King’s Hawford team. Special mention must go to the U11 Boys Medley Team (Hudson M, Barnaby B, Freddie P and Max M), U10 Boys Freestyle Team (George O, Teddy C, Sammy M and Harry C), Harriet B (U10 25m Butterfly), Freddie P (U11 50m Butterfly) and Erin L (U11 50m Breaststroke) all of whom finished 1^st in their respective races. The swimmers will have to wait to hear if they made the times to progress to the national competition which will take place in May. We have fingers tightly crossed for them.