Things are hotting up on the Chess board!

Last term, the pupils at King’s St Alban’s were delighted by the arrival of a giant outdoor chess set and their enthusiasm for the game has been growing exponentially ever since. The equipment was donated to King’s St Alban’s by an Old Vigornian (alumni of King’s Worcester) and it is clear that the pupils have already made the most of this exciting addition to our outdoor quad.

The huge chess set has also served to reinvigorate the annual King’s St Alban’s chess competition. The enthusiasm this year for the inter-house competition has been nothing short of superb; children who have never played before have jumped at the opportunity to take part in this year’s event. Pupils from a range of different year groups from Year 3 through to Year 6 have gained experience of playing together and there is often quite a queue to play chess – it is certainly very popular. One Year 4 pupil, who had never played chess before, commented, “I absolutely love playing chess with my friends at break-time. I never knew it could be such fun!”

With heats happening in most classrooms this week, the competition is nearing completion. Year 3 have finished their chess games and we have a winner! The final of the Year 5 competition was played in the open air between Barnaby J and Mortimer D and you could almost feel the intensity of the contest as silence fell and the final move was made! The whole of Year 5 held their breath before Mortimer was crowned the Year 5 winner!

But which house, I hear you say! I am afraid you will have to wait a little longer as the remaining year groups to finish their games. The competition is certainly hotting up…please keep you eye out for further chess news on our social media channels, twitter, Facebook and Instagram over the coming week. We will try not to keep you in suspense for too long!