SUNNINGDALE

SCHOOL NOTES

COMMENT

LENT 2014

It was such a shame that we missed out on so many rugby matches due to the weather but when we did play we played very well indeed and the boys have so enjoyed their welldeserved success.

What a term! The wettest in living memory but certainly one of the most successful.

"Ye Ha!" was a triumph and it is always so good to see a production which involves the whole school. The choir have also been busy and their concert in Our Lady Immaculate was extremely well received. Finally, let's not forget our five scholarships; an impressive record from a small school and what is so pleasing is that they encompass different areas of school life; academic, art, music and sport.Truly an all round education.

Team from: Thomas, Sikorski, J.Kim, Pangin, James,Titov, de Carlos, Markous, Hanif, Hardaker, MorataReol, Hopton Ma, Clegg, Beckwith Moore,Allen, Loisel, Kim

The season started briskly with a game against a good although injury ravaged Brambletye. It was won by the merest of margins 7 - 0. Then followed the floods and our winter of discontent. At least three of the four cancelled fixtures were eminently winnable and we returned after Long Leave having only trained once on our own pitch and looking like rabbits in headlights. Beatings were taken from the monstrously large sides of Ludgrove and Cothill and even more frustratingly we threw away matches against Horris Hill and Woodcote through a lack of belief, courage and plain old stupidity. Having lost four matches in a row it seemed that the season was a disaster and many might have given up there and then. However, the 1stXV refused to lay down and die and redoubled their efforts in training and suddenly started to learn how the game should be played and crucially how important it is to tackle properly. Next up came Milbourne Lodge, a team that had run Woodcote very close and were on paper the much better side. They were clinically put to the sword and simply starved of the ball through aggressive, mistake free rugby. It was a sight to behold as suddenly things came to together and the whole side clicked and players understood their job.The scoreline of 52 - 0 was nothing less than we deserved. Bishopsgate were similarly put to the sword by 50 points in a faultless display where the opposition were simply throttled by our superiority of play and power.This led to a season finale of epic proportions and how fitting that the weather gods should try to play their final card to ruin our season. St. George's were a good side and fancied that Sunningdale did not have the stomach for a fight. How wrong they were, as the hail fell we put on a gritty display of sheer determination and guts winning the match 19-0.The season had, against all odds been saved. Colours were awarded to Thomas, Sikorski, James, Morata, Hanif, Hardaker, and Titov.

In truth, the season should never have looked like this at all. On paper this was a talented set of boys who had potential.The reality was that the wettest New Year in more than a century conspired to rob us of fixtures and render training almost impossible.Thus, like lambs to the slaughter we took on our strongest opponents just when we were at our weakest and were made to pay severely for our naivety.Those were dark days then, in the midst of the season, having lost four games in a row by large and largely unjustified points margins. In adversity you tend to learn more about the characters around you and the true mettle of those manning the ship with you in a storm. Certainly those were bleak days, where very few believed in the 1st XV. What was to come would prove nothing short of remarkable and show that even when you reach your nadir, your zenith can be just around the corner.

Rugby 1st XV

B.W.R.H

SCHOOL NOTES
FORM PRIZES VIa V Va IV III IVa II VI Pangin Hopton ma, Sikorski, Kim

Reddyhough ma,Titov, Zhao Goschen, Jegede

Delikatnyi, Beckwith-Moore, de Carlos Senior ma,Tirado

Hobbs, Jackson mi

Khan, Kuanyshev ma, Caddy

Zakhir ma, Hopton mi

The national prep school general knowledge quiz was held at Elstree and was a great success. Hopton ma, Russell, Tirado, and Hobbs were the four boys who competed. There were twelve other schools in the competition and we did exceptionally well, coming second with a very high score of 272 points. Going into the semi-final round we had a chance to win but the winning team just pipped us at the post - beating us by five points. Unfortunately that meant that we didn't have an automatic qualifying place in the final but we are hoping to qualify as the highest scoring runners-up. M Russell (Form VA)

The National Prep School General Knowledge Quiz

We arrived, fresh in the morning at Hilden Grange, on the 28th of November, where 8 other schools came to compete at the Quiz Club for the trophy. At the beginning we got off to a fair start, we were fourth, however we were not satisfied.We fought and fought, until we were third.

Science Quiz

J Kim (Music & Academic) - STOWE James (Academic) - CANFORD Hanif (Sport) - DUKE OF KENT

SCHOLARSHIPS awarded to:

Allen (Art Exhibition) - WELLINGTON The SHOW UP prize was won by Delikatnyi The GENERAL KNOWLEDGE was won by Buxton (Senior) & Dixon (Junior)

It was only until we got full marks on a question and moved to second place.Although at first we were ahead by a hundred points, we still competed for the trophy! At the final stages, they did win, beating us by 215 points, which is extremely high! Yet we came second with a phenomenal score of 2235! The week before, a school won with a score of 1800! So to come second with a score higher than 1800 is immense! Team: Malham, Efemuai, Dixon, and Buxton. L Malham (Form Va)

The COMPLIMENTS prize was won by Merrill JUDO BELTS

YELLOW - Zakhir mi,Wallace, Caddy, Preston ma, Mountain,Warde-Norbury

ORANGE - Coen, Gourlay, Lamb, van Heusden BLUE - Lazaro

This year's IAPS ski races were held in Passo Tonale, Italy for the 4th year in a row. The weather was wonderful with blue skies and perfect ski conditions for the duration of the week. Three days good, solid race training yielded a Silver Medal in the Plate Competition, a great result considering the size of some of the opposition teams. Clegg, the team Captain, and Loisel put in excellent times that set us up nicely for our second place in the competition. Team: Desmond, Kuznetsov, Loisel, Clegg (Capt.) B.C

Ski Races

SKIING: CARRELET BELL was won by Clegg The DUNDAS CUP was won by Hopton ma The SENIOR FIVES COMPETITION was won by James & Morata

The JUNIOR FIVES COMPETITION was won by Russell & Hopkins The FIVES CUP was won by James SQUASH: Hopton ma (Senior), Russell (Junior) The MOST IMPROVED RUGBY PLAYER was won by Pangin

The RUGBY 7s CUP was won by Hanif The RUGBY CUP was won by Thomas

Concert - Ye Ha
A Grandmother writes Hi folks, just wanted to tell you about a little play I saw lately at Sunningdale School - Ye Ha - all about the Wild West where a doggone evil sheriff and his posse tryn seize some buried treasure from under the noses of the townsfolk. Luckily a sweet gal (Beckwith Moore) rides into town and turns the tables on the baddies and helps the new greenhorn sheriff (Reddyhough) with a lovely voice and his ma, (Pearson) to win the day. Now the folks in the play were great. There was one, Spooner (Arthur) who was the complete showman. There were some real pretty gals who worked at the local saloon but looked as if they could have scored in that weird English game called rugby if they had had half a mind to and as for the posse - well that one Butch (Titov) - well! Mayor Truman also goes by the name of Delikatnyi - well I could tell he was a slippery one as soon as he came on the stage and when he gets pushed out I was mighty surprised that the town picked a boy who liked cooking to take on the job. Mind you his ma was a rare one who, though she was small, would get her own way for her boy. Now that sweet gal with the horse, (a real strange breed called Thomas & Merrill ) well, she was cleverer than a girl should be and she ended up - and this ain't no lie - giving the credit for her clever scheming to the sheriff boy who liked the cooking but in the end he went back to the kitchen and she became the sheriff herself. There was a lot of real good singing, the Injuns made us laugh and the two guys from the funeral parlour, well they was measuring up every darn person on the stage. It seemed like everyone in the play was having a real good time.There was a great deal of clapping when it ended so I guess others enjoyed it as much as I did. Another triumph for Amy Dawson and Steven Lea.

Music

The choir are on top form. They amaze us each Sunday with some lovely and inspiring singing in Chapel, the dynamic range and sense of phrasing they are producing is getting better all the time and the supportive band of parents who support the Sunday services really enjoy the singing.

A group of seven boys had the fantastic opportunity of going to Stowe School to take part in a piano workshop on March 5th. This day was actually a follow up to a visit to us by the Head of Keyboard from Stowe, Mr Ben Andrew, who visited us for an interesting coaching session on putting together some of his own arrangements for 8 pianists on 4 pianos. When we went to Stowe we had the chance to play on a hall full of Steinways, and also to hear a recital and workshop by Philip Fowke, one of the principal piano teachers from Trinity College of Music, London.

Our visiting musician this term was Dr Karen Aplin from Oxford University who gave an informative talk to the whole school about Music and the Weather, Karen, whose research has been featured on BBC Radio 3, played a number of different examples for us to listen to, and also brought her double bass to demonstrate some low sound waves.

Another busy term has gone by, a lot has been achieved, and standards have been raised. I am always so pleased when a pupil takes an exam or plays in a concert and realises the sense of achievement that giving a good performance can provide, and we have certainly had our fair share of those this term. We had two informal concerts in the Library involving pupils from all years of the school, a lot of them playing or singing in public for the first time.

Next term we will look forward to more school concerts, the Festival of Song and House song competition, and our visiting musician will be Mark James from London who will be giving an organ recital in the chapel on May 11th.

S.L

On Thursday 20th March, the school choir travelled to Tolworth in Surrey to perform a concert in the church of Our Lady Immaculate. The concert was to raise money for the Lenten Project. While it looked like a small audience, the large church was half full, and the retiring collection yielded more than 500! Thank you to all the parents that came and supported us.

Charity Concert

L.F.S

Thomas* - (captain) To start with he found the captaincy of the team a heavy burden to bear and as a quiet man could find no voice to lead. However, he learnt that sometimes leading by example can give you the roar of a lion. He was the most tremendous player, tougher than iron and a scrummager par excellence. His sheer strength and guile won the game against St. George's and few will forget his barnstorming try from the halfway line against Bishopsgate. Sikorski* - (Vice captain) A competitor made of the sternest of stuff. His second year in the 1st XV and undoubtedly he proved himself to be the best hooker Sunningdale has had in many a year. He never, ever took a step backwards and expected nothing less of his team mates. With him the scrum proved undoubtedly the best on the circuit, even against much larger opposition. J.Kim - Through sheer determination he made his way into the team late on and was arguably the find of the season. A wonderful runner, tackler and scrummager. Pangin - Undoubtedly the most improved player of the season, he has a flinty soul and became the engine that the pack was built around. A tackling machine. James* - A small player with an enormous impact. He played with cunning and raw aggression, often bouncing out of the tackle and relishing the pure physicality of the game. A sublime line out thrower who always gave us the edge against opponents in the set piece. Titov* - An excellent flanker whose meat and drink was the breakdown. A terror of all fly halves and not a bad tackler when he got his head around it. de Carlos - One of the most naturally gifted players in the team, he has a willingness to throw himself into the fray above all others. His two tries against Horris Hill very nearly won us the game.A David who slew many Goliaths. Markous - It was a great sadness that illness and injury robbed him of most of the first part of the season as he has enormous potential and can be a ferocious runner. A top quality number eight. Hanif* - His quick feet and pass made him the scourge of many defences. His influence grew from game to game. One to watch for the future. Hardaker*- Another who was barely distinguishable from the player who started the season. He has vision and a turn of speed to change a game on its head. Morata-Reol* - Probably the best place kicker Sunningdale has produced in the last ten years. Astonishing to think this was his first season in the game. His successful kicks from the touchline were a vision to behold and would warm the cockles of Jonny Wilkinson's heart. Hopton ma - A talented and deft player, we have high hopes for him next season. Clegg - The complete winger; fast, strong, and possessing a pair of hands that could scoop the ball up from his shoelaces at full tilt. A player who came on unbelievably over the season. Beckwith-Moore - The fastest and most elusive player in the side. His inside, outside running style made him slippier than an eel for defences. Allen - A doughty and unbreakable player who hit harder than a freight train and was quick on his feet when he had the ball in hand.An excellent fullback. Also played - Loisel, Kim. B.W.R.H

Characters of The 1st XV

World Book Day

Sunningdale celebrated World Book Day by asking all members of staff to write book reviews of their favourite books. Not only did this make for a fun display in the Reading Room but also provided some fascinating insights into the reading habits and clandestine desires of Sunningdale staff.Who would have thought, for instance, Mr Logue secretly yearned for a swash-buckling life as a French peasant roaming the terrains of Dumas', Count of Monte Cristo; or that Mrs Dawson was tucked up every night with The Hunger Games? I might have guessed that Mr Macpherson had ambitions to lead the British Army la Sir Peter de la Billiere's SAS to Gulf Command; but not that deep inside Mr Howroyd was a crazed Saxon withViking sympathies employed in the protection of King Arthur's realm (The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell). Clearly, I spend my daydreams lost on the blasted landscapes of Cormac McCarthy's The Road; but did you know that Madam Gregg wishes she was a mountaineer? (First on the Rope by Roger FrisonRoche.) A.D.V

This has been a fantastic term for the 2nd's rugby team. After a frustrating beginning to the season, with numerous games cancelled due to the wettest winter on record the boys got off to a superb start with an emphatic win against Horris Hill at home.The next game against Ludgrove was made especially difficult as four key players were visiting Stowe. After this loss they played with great gusto against Woodcote House and after a Herculean effort the score was a very close 26-19 to the opponents. Unperturbed by this setback the team was victorious in their next game against Bishopsgate. The team's' greatest strength has been their ability to win the rucks and scrums and their physicality in driving forwards. The focus for the next few training sessions was on basic handling drills and spreading out across the pitch. This hard work paid off and the final game was a superlative victory of 41-0 against St Georges', Windsor. A fantastic way to close the season, especially for the leavers for whom this would be their last game of rugby at Sunningdale.

Rugby 2nd XII

Weather and illness conspired to ensure the 3rds rugby season was restricted to just two matches this term. I was pleased the boys went for it and made the most of the scoring opportunities in the two games they played, scoring plenty of tries and putting in some crunching tackles when needed. Team from: Montiel, Ayzenshtat, Klein, Reddyhough ma, Seal, Zhao,Tear ma, Sasson.

Rugby 3rd XII

B.C

Team from: Neckel (c), Loisel, J. Kim, Malhame, Kuznetsov, Crespi, Merrill, Delikatnyi, Goschen, Cluff, Desmond, Iglesias, (Subs: Sasson, Bekar, Zhao) A.T.M

The boys on the Possibles Trip this term that went to the John Nike Centre were Pangin, Marshall Lee,Tirado, Zakhir ma., Zakhir mi., Jackson mi., Wilson, Buxton, J. Kim, Kuznetsov, Boscowen

On the Sunday before Long Leave, we jumped aboard the Sunningdale to Twickenham train and made our way to the Twickenham Stoop, eager to witness some Aviva Premiership rugby! The day was bitterly cold with flags thrown back and forth in the wind, not an ideal day for entertaining rugby! Buxton and Hinchliffe commandeered the Harlequins mascot into a pre-match photo whilst the rest of us made ourselves comfy in anticipation of the game. The away side, London Wasps dominated in defense, thwarting any meaningful attack from their hosts, Harlequins. Half-time came and went with Wasps leading 10-6. With little action to cheer, we were suddenly awoken in the final two minutes from time by a victory snatching try from the home team! We left the stadium amidst scenes of jubilation as Harlequins came away with a less than deserved victory! It was a great day out and a fantastic opportunity to see the professionals in action after our own rugby exertions in the term so far.The boys were able to see at close quarters how the players prepared for their match during warm-ups, as well as view the tactical decisions and detail in organisation of attack and defense.

Sunday Outing to Harlequins v Wasps Rugby Match

M.P.G

Rugby Trip - London Irish V Lusitanos

Congratulations to Ed Maidment, Alexander Garton and Anthony Minoprio on their engagements, to Harry Chichester and Henry Dixon on the birth of their daughters and to Alex Illingworth, Caspar Gilroy and Matthew Bothwick on the birth of their sons. Harry Bannister is the leading National Hunt Jockey in the 2014 Championship. William Amos is in the City working for the SMBC Bank. Veryan Boscawen was an assistant referee at the Varsity Rugby Match. Aldwyn Boscawen is working in banking. Hugh Boscawen is the Finance Director of the Officers Association Charity. Benjamin Templer has graduated from Kings College and is now a Junior Doctor. Frederick Barratt has become ACA qualified through the Chartered Institute of Accountants. Ollie Plunket travelled the length of the Americas alone by motorbike and raised 100,000 for charity. Jamie Ingham Clark was seen at the Clothworkers Livery Dinner. Simon Miesegaes entertained Tom Hurd, James Greenwood, Richard Chetwode, Mark Hodson, Nick Fellows and Nick and Tim Dawson at Fulhams home game against Liverpool. We regret to announce the death of General David Alexander-Sinclair who was an Eton Scholar in 1940 and Damien IrelandSmith who left in 1995. Mr Don Werner also sadly died, although not an old boy, Mr Werner taught judo here for a long time. He was an internationally recognised judo coach and will be much missed.

Old Boys

A lucky group of Sunningdale boys enjoyed an evening of literary hero worship after they were kindly invited by Eton College to hear Anthony Horowitz talk about his books and life. It was a fabulous night: Horowitz was a very engaging speaker and gleefully recounted vaguely inappropriate tales of his childhood and dispensed pearls of wisdom to budding young writers. A.D.V

Anthony Horowitz Talk at Eton

On Saturday 11th January, the 1st XV and the Under 11s went to the Madejski Stadium, Reading, to watch a rugby match between London Irish and Lusitanos from Portugal. Before the match started, we had our photo taken on the field and then watched the players in their warm-up. The final score was 79-3 to London Irish who completely outclassed their visitors. It was very exciting to see so many points and gave us the opportunity to learn lots of good, new moves as well as study the players technique. Just after half-time, the camera man showed us on the big screen! Many thanks to Mr Howroyd for organising this trip for us. F James (Form VI)

Girdlestone were the winners of the House competition this term. For their supper they chose prawn cocktail followed by duck breast with potato dauphinoise and red cabbage and for pudding chocolate fondant, all beautifully cooked by Darren and his team. A.C.D

House Dinner

Under 11A Rugby

Winning is not everything, but wanting to win is. The Under 11 A rugby team epitomised this phrase. The course of the season witnessed herculean defence, flamboyance in attack, as well as unrivaled sportsmanship on the field of play. A season that promised much, certainly delivered with a record of 7 victories and 2 defeats. Brambletye were first to succumb as Senior ma and Boer led a fightback to run out eventual winners 27-12. Dorset House provided extremely stiff opposition. The boys defence was given the thoroughest of examinations but having seized momentum in the second half, a last gasp try from Boer proved vital. A clinical performance versus Woodcote followed with the highlight being a clean sheet in defence. Horris Hill arrived on the back of an unbeaten season stretching back before Christmas and proved far too strong. Despite sharing possession and having our own opportunities, the physicality of the breakdown area played into the hands of our visitors. This disappointment was quickly followed by another against a decent Ludgrove outfit. Having controlled large periods of the game but failing to capitalise on golden opportunities within the opposition twenty-two, two charged down kicks led to a narrow 14-5 defeat. Woodcote away quickly made up for the hurt of the Ludgrove defeat.The boys played their best rugby of the season en route to a scintillating 28-0 victory. Playing on a large pitch, the ball was swung left and right at tremendous pace. Although only four tries were scored, each boy performed their role to the best of their ability. Buxton controlled proceedings from fly-half, with Senior ma and Reddyhough mi in fine fettle. Russell was at his best, utilising space and bringing other players into the game.This really was a genuine, whole team victory and brought together all of the aims set out at the start of the season. Milbourne Lodge and Bishopsgate were then defeated, amassing 68 points in the process, before St. Georges,Windsor provided the final fixture. A winning margin of 42-0 put the seal on what proved to be a very successful season.The boys are to be applauded for the way in which they played their rugby. A high tempo, skills based approach that relied on each boy setting extremely high standards for handling, tackling and fitness, allowed for an adventurous style of rugby. They are each to be commended for providing some quite fantastic moments throughout the season. The boys and I would like to thank all of the parents who turned out in support. Played 9 Won 7 Lost 2

Under 11B Rugby

After two weeks training at the beginning of term the boys were raring to go and recorded a good victory against Brambletye (21-0), even scoring after only two minutes of play as Zakhir ma raced away down the wing. After a cancellation the boys then played against Woodcote House and in very wet and cold conditions lost by a try in the last couple of minutes of play. Unfortunately this damaged their confidence and a barren run of three losses to Horris Hill (0-19), Ludgrove (0-35) and Woodcote House (0-52) followed. Something had to change and after a hard team building session in Charlie Browns field the results picked up. Played 8 Won 4 Lost 4

The team entered a purple patch and finished the season on a high recording three superb victories against Milbourne Lodge (40-0), Bishopsgate (127) and St Georges Windsor (20-10).The performance against St Georges was particularly pleasing as the boys had to dig deep after going a try down in difficult weather conditions.

Team from: Arthur, Zakhir mi,Warde-Norbury, Preston ma, Treacher, Caddy, T Davies, Senior mi, Zakhir ma, Lazaro, Jegede, Boam, Neuhaus, Marshall-Lee & Kunitsyn. D.P.W

The under 11C team had a frustrating start to the season with several fixtures abandoned due to the weather. Undeterred though, we put our effort into a strict training regime and developed quite a skilled squad. We were outclassed against Ludgrove, but things started to turn our way after that. Bishopsgate narrowly beat us 25 to 20 in a game that we could have won had the luck gone our way. Finally, we entertained St Georges,Windsor and, in a thrilling game of grit and determination, came away with a 35 to 20 win in our last game of the season. Special mention to Jonas who captained with aplomb through thick and thin.

Under 11C Rugby

Team from: Russell, Boer, Ker, Hinchliffe, Efemuai,Arthur,Warde-Norbury, Hopton, Buxton, Senior ma Reddyhough mi, Hagg-Davies, Hopkins, Zakhir ma. M.P.G

Team from: Jonas (Captain), Dixon, Kuanyshev ma, Coen, Grinling, Neuhaus, Marshall Lee, Lamb, Saville Sneath, Davenport Thomas, Gourlay, Van Heusden, Mountain, Tear mi., Pearson, Tirado, Dyachenko D.C.S

Under 9A Rugby

The U9A's have had a fantastic season and have shown real passion and desire all throughout. Their first game against Brambletye set the tone with a nail biting 5-4 try win. Outstanding performances from Jackson ma. and Boscawen. There was a little slip up against Dorset House in the next match but they soon bounced back to win their next three games against Bishopsgate,Woodcote and Elstree.

Sunningdale hosted its inaugural Under 11 7s tournament on the last Saturday of term. Teams from Hall Grove,Woodcote House, Brockhurst, Bishopsgate and St. Georges,Windsor, visited and enjoyed some fast paced action as the sun shone high above. Our Under 11 boys played some rugby that would rival the 7s greats from Fiji and beyond as they swept all before them en route to winning the tournament. Scoring an aggregate of 149 points with no points conceded across all five of their matches, the boys were in dominant form. It was particularly pleasing to see the boys perform with huge amounts of speed and determination, as well as show flare in wanting to entertain. Very well done to the following: Russell, Buxton, Boer, Hinchliffe, Hopton, Senior ma, Ker, Zakhir ma, Hagg-Davies, Efemuai. M.P.G

Sunningdale Rugby Tournament

Scores:

The skill level was improving daily and what was so pleasing to see was their wonderful commitment and team spirit. The afore mentioned boys were getting better and better, however, Field, Hobbs and Jackson mi also 'came to the party' by putting in some crunching tackles and scoring some amazing tries. The next four games were extremely close with two wins and two loses recorded. The final game against Bishopsgate saw the best rugby all season and it was great to see J. Davies, Berridge, Wallace and Crewe-Read mi putting in some immense performances.A superb season boys, very well done indeed!

24-0 v Hall Grove

29-0 v Bishopsgate 28-0 v Brockhurst

33-0 v Woodcote

35-0 v St.Georges,Windsor

Team from: Boscawen (C), Jackson ma., Field, Hobbs, Jackson mi., Horton, Wallace, J. Davies, Crewe-Read mi.

After a biblically wet start to the season, whereby numerous fixtures have been cancelled the Senior and Junior teams of Hopton ma, Morata, Beckwith-Moore, Hanif, Titov, Hinchliffe, Jackson ma, Hopton mi, Hagg-Davies, Senior ma and mi, T. Davies and Hopkins travelled to Ludgrove for their first cross country meet against some extremely fierce competition. After a walk-through of the undulating and wet course the teams set off and all Sunningdale teams finished strongly after some excellent efforts. The final race was at the Oratory School, where enshrouded by a thick cold mist the teams ran hard and performed well. Whilst there were no podium places, there were some outstanding personal results, especially among the junior team who are looking very strong for the future.

Cross Country

Under 9A winning table.

A.J.L

A.T.M

U9B Rugby

After most opposition cried off at the last minute, it was great to play a the three games we did against those who dared! We had a friendly against Bishopsgate A team, a match against Ludgrove and then finally Bishopsgate B team.They really enjoyed their matches and Khan was great at running with the ball. Team from: Khan,Ardern-Norris, Dawson, Preston mi, Ropeid, Kuanyshev mi,Wilson

The first pair in every match we played this term were unbeaten. James and Russell beat Eton twice, triumphed over Harrow, dominated Ludgrove in both fixtures and the U11 first pair (Russell & Hopton ma) beat Highgate. They have had a terrific term. Other team members performed well beating Ludgrove and Harrow.We had a good day at the Prep School Fives, losing only 1 point in the initial round robin round but then came up short against Summer Fields in the quarter-final. In the U12 Championships, Russell and Hopton ma lost to Highgate in the semi-final of the main event.We had a promising start but they were too powerful in the end. Team from: James & Russell, Morata & Hopton ma, Beckwith-Moore & Hopkins, Senior ma & Buxton, Ker & Hinchliffe, Senior mi & Hopton mi G.J.S-B

Fives

G.J.S-B

With the cricket season looming large on the horizon, eight of our boys took time-out from rugby in order to attend a coaching day at Bradfield College. The boys took part in a net session, as well as having the chance to play against Merlin the bowling machine. Merlin became famous as the bowling machine that Englands players practised against in order to try and combat Sri Lankas spin superstar Muttiah Muralitharan. Following this, the boys took part in strength and conditioning activities and also fielding drills.To conclude the day, an indoor cricket tournament was held where, having seen off Thorngrove and St.Georges, Windsor, we lost to Lambrook in the final. The boys enjoyed a wonderful day out, and one that hopefully will whet the appetite for the cricket to come after Easter.

Under 12 Cricket Visit to Bradfield College

On the penultimate Sunday of term, we welcomed Peter and Christopher Pyemont as they gave a riveting talk on everything to do with the game of cricket, and in particular the Ashes contests between England and Australia. No stone was left unturned as we travelled back in time to the 17th Century, right through to the modern day professional era. The boys listened intently to tales from the Bodyline series of 1932, as well as more recent events where Australia have regained possession of the famous little Urn. It was tremendous to be privy to such passion and enthusiasm regarding this topic and we hope that it will inspire our boys when they don their whites during the Summer Term.

Talk: The History of the Ashes

Some of the Evening Activities at Sunningdale..

Fitness Club Air Rifle Club Spanish Club

Reptile Club

Poker Club

Lego Club

Polo Club