Brentwood Prep Incipe 2019

Brentwood School Preparatory 87 Sports Report A healthy number of Year 5 boys stepped up at various times and represented the Under 11 Football Teams, as did Callum of Year 4 - a fantastic achievement. Considering the multiple successes of our Under 11 A Team, that provides promise for the next football season. As things turned out, that particular team were incredibly unlucky to end such a long season empty handed, especially after good performances at the ISFA Football Tournament and the Premier League All Stars Tournament, not to mention making the semi finals of the seven-a-side Jim Smith County Cup and the final of both the Shenfield District Cup and the final of the nine-a-side Parrish County Cup, which was eventually decided via a penalty shoot out. Trinity Term Since its inception last year, girls cricket has come on leaps and bounds and further improvements were certainly in evidence during Trinity Term. An equal number of fixtures were arranged for girls and boys across the term (58 girls and 58 boys) one hundred and sixteen fixtures/ tournaments squeezed into a busy term should have allowed all pupils to play, however the weather wasn’t always kind to us and a number of games fell foul of the conditions. As well as House Cricket and the many fixtures that did go ahead, the U11 girls represented Brentwood School in two cricket tournaments hosted by New Hall School. The first event was an indoor tournament during the Lent term, meaning the girls had no real preparation time, however it was clear that the girls hadn’t forgotten their skills and challenges of the game, leaving the tournament with a silver medal. This achievement was bettered right at the end of the cricket season proper however, when the same U11A Girls Team won the prestigious Under 11 New Hall Girls Cricket Tournament, beating Felsted School in the semi-final and Widford Lodge in the Final - a fantastic achievement. Receiving their medals and lifting the trophy was resounding evidence of what can be achieved with some hard work and dedication, which is exactly what this group of girls has shown throughout the last two Trinity Terms of cricket. They are clearly not the only girls who have applied themselves during lessons, clubs and fixtures during this period, but they do act as a beacon of what can be achieved and should be proud of the standards they’ve set for the younger girls in the Prep. A huge well done to all pupils for a successful cricket term. Whilst our boys’ cricket programme is more established, that doesn’t mean that lots and lots of hard work and dedication is not required, and many boys had been working hard prior to the actual season at our cricket academy sessions. Pleasing attendances at various cricket clubs continued into Trinity Term and this helped ensure that the core skills could be further developed and refined. On a number of occasions our Under 11 teams have included younger boys as well as girls, and the way that all pupils have integrated and supported each other has been most pleasing and testament to the culture of inclusion and enjoyment created under the leadership of Mr Wingrove. Whilst our own Brentwood School U10 Cricket Tournament was a victim of the weather, our Under 11 A Team had a great day at the Bancroft’s Tournament and had some fantastic fixtures against Felsted, New Hall, Bancroft’s, Alleyn Court and Chigwell, with the St Cedd’s matches also cancelled due to rain. Our Year 4 and Year 5 Boys teams showed lots of promise throughout the term and this gives plenty of encouragement for our Under 10 and Under 11 Teams next season, where we will seek again to squeeze as much cricket as we can into a short and busy term. This year’s tennis tournament saw just under 200 pupils sign up to take part. The draw was completed with the tournament beginning in the second week back after the Easter break. It was great to see such busy tennis courts each lunch time which was helped by some beautiful sunny weather during the earlier rounds. The quarter-finals were completed just before May half term, meaning the semi-finals could begin as soon as we returned to school. The semi-finalists also had the opportunity to compete in Brentwood School’s first tennis fixture at New Hall School. A great fixture which saw 64 pupils competing against different opposition and an opportunity for the tennis players to use their final skills in both singles and doubles matches. Due to miserable weather, each year groups’ finals day had to be moved a few times but we managed to squeeze them in just before sports awards assembly. Huge congratulations to our eventual 2019 winners Theo and Chloe in Year 3, Jack and Eva in Year 4, Ben and Edie in Year 5 and Freddie and Brooke in Year 6. All of our House Sport events compliment the fixtures played against other schools as well as allowing for great intra school competition and an opportunity to further encourage our key values such as teamwork, leadership, resilience, discipline and respect, and employ our school motto of ‘virtue, learning and manners’. Well done to all of our House event winners this year, especially Heseltine for winning the Swimming Gala, Bayman for winning the House Cross Country and Quennell for winning Sports Day and being crowned overall House Sport winners for 2018-19. Sports Day was (eventually!) a great success, as were both of our sports tours.