Girls' sport with Mrs Cook
Hockey
All our Years 5-8 teams have given their all in the season so far. The 1st team have had a stellar run, winning two separate tournaments and narrowly missing out on a place at the IAPS national final, after a nail-biting qualifier against Seaford. It was a hard-fought match where victory was tantalisingly close. Of course, behind all the silverware and top finishes is a whole contingent of girls working tirelessly week in, week out. Every single pupil who stepped onto a has made fantastic progress and been determined, with true Westbourne House heart.
We were delighted to host the U11C hockey tournament. It delivered everything that hockey is all about: learning and developing skills, perseverance, big smiles, fabulous sportsmanship and non-stop energy. The Westbourne girls finished in 6th place.
I cannot wait to see that same spirit continue as Years 5-8 wrap up their hockey season and transition into netball.
Netball
Our juniors have been hard at work on the netball courts and have made unbelievable progress across the board in both skill and confidence.
Opposition schools have repeatedly commented on the exceptional quality of play from all our U9 girls, but even more impressive than their skill level and hard work is how they conduct themselves. They truly embody everything it means to be a Westbourne House sportswoman - gracious in victory and defeat and unfailingly kind to each other and their opponents. Long may that wonderful spirit continue!
A special mention must go to Margot D for her phenomenal netball shooting in fixtures.
Cross Country
Cross country is a total team effort and every single runner helped secure these fantastic results.
Clare Cook, Head of Girls' Sport
The girls kicked off the academic year in style by absolutely smashing the Seaford Cross Country. Our U8 girls took first place overall for the second year running, with every single runner placing in the top 20. It was a remarkable feat of consistency and grit.
The U9 girls matched that team victory by securing first place, with Margot L putting in an outstanding performance to cross the finish line first overall. Not to be outdone, our U11 girls delivered a brilliantly competitive performance to finish a strong second, while our U13 girls (Years 7 & 8) claimed first place overall, supported by two fantastic individual finishes in 9th and 10th place.
Our boys' U13 and U12 teams showed excellent resilience with squad numbers affected by illness meaning people had to fill in and adapt at short notice.
"Despite the results not going their way, they showed excellent effort and commitment throughout from everybody involved. This is exactly the attitude we want to see, the whole squad showed real grit over the 3km course."
Miss Laing, Residential Graduate Sports
Well done to everyone involved.
Swimming
One of our scheduled swimming galas was unfortunately cancelled and one was postponed. Certainly, we are looking forward to diving back into the pool with our rescheduled gala against Highfield on the very first Monday back. They will be hungry for the win after last year’s Westbourne victory - the first team to beat Highfield in eight years!
Boys' sport with Mr Hanley
Football
This seven weeks of term has flown by! It only seems like yesterday that cricket bags were rattling around the grounds. With the weather we’ve had, we could have probably still been playing cricket! The sun has shone and boosted the already lovely atmosphere around the school, making it even more welcoming for our opposition and all the supporters.
We have played well over 100 football matches, including those in tournaments. With a few matches still to go, including our Year 3 and 4 matches against Edgeborough and Windlesham, we have won 62% of our fixtures to date. Yes, it’s lovely to win but unseen within those statistics are some really great performances and lots of hard work.
Congratulations to Mr Cousens who is currently the MVP in terms of staff coaches with an unbeaten second team so far. Knowing Mr Cousens, he will be keen to protect this record and we wish him and his team the best of luck with a handful of games to go.
As mentioned, there have been lots of positives this term so far but here are a few high points.
Congratulations to
- Jack P for winning his event at the Seaford Cross Country, beating almost 80 children in his U10 race.
- The U13B boys, who won the Plate competition in the Highfield football tournament.
- The U11A boys, who narrowly lost in the plate final of the IAPS Regional tournament.
- The U13A boys, who won the Bowl on penalties in their IAPS Regional tournament.
- To Ivo G (Y3), Arlo R (Y5), Hugo O (Y5), Lucian D(Y5), William P(Y6) and Idris K (Y8), Cyrus D(Y8) and Seb B(Y8) for scoring hat tricks this term.
- Hector W (Y6) for four goals in one match!
- Football colours were awarded to our captain and vice captain of football, Michael S and Toba A.
A special moment to celebrate
Sport brings plenty of moments to celebrate, but some of the most memorable happen away from the scoreline.
During an IAPS tournament, one of our pupils was involved in a challenge that left an opposing player unable to continue. After the match, without being asked, this boy left his teammates following the team talk and went to find the injured player so that he could see how he was and apologise for the accidental part he played.
A parent from another school, who witnessed this thoughtful gesture, came over afterwards to tell us how much they admired this boy’s actions. It was a lovely reminder that, while sporting success is always worth celebrating, the way that we treat others matters above all else.
Perhaps the loveliest part? Toba had no idea anyone had noticed. Well done, Toba, for setting such a thoughtful example. We are delighted you have been awarded your football colours.
We wish all our pupils and families a wonderful, well-deserved half-term break.
