The Spring Term was an action-packed, bursting at the seams, kind of term for Fixtures and House competitions taking place with so many great performances and achievements had by our amazingly talented children at The Manor!
IAPS U11 Regional Netball Qualifier
To kick start what is always the busiest half term of the academic year by way of sporting competitions, our U11s represented The Manor at Queen Anne’s, Caversham on 28 February. 35 schools took part and although the team made it through to the Cup competition, they were unfortunately knocked out in the Quarter Finals stage. No qualification to Nationals this year, but they finished within the top 12 which was a great achievement.
U11 In-2-Hockey Regional Finals
Having qualified at the County Round, our U11 team took part in the Regional Finals at Woking Hockey Club on 21 March. They had many close score lines and narrowly missed out to gain a place in the Plate Finals. It was a fantastic achievement for our U11 hockey team to reach the Regional Finals – one of only two schools in Oxfordshire to do so.
U11 National Prep Schools Cross Country Championships
The 5 girls that took part in this competition all performed brilliantly. It was held on 10 March at Malvern over a very challenging and ‘proper’ cross country course. Ceci B was our top finisher ever at The Manor, coming a breath-taking 7th place out of 280 girls. The Manor finished 3rd as a team in the Small Schools section and 13th overall. A big thank you to Mrs Duff for taking them!
U11 National Primary Schools Cross Country Championships
For the second year, we teamed with up other Oxfordshire schools, including Headington Prep and a few Oxford-based local schools to form an ‘Oxfordshire’ team to compete in this competition. It took place at Loughborough on 23 March. Ceci came 30th and Sophia 122nd. As an Oxfordshire team, we came 4th by 2 points (we were 5th last year, so a step in the right direction). Mrs Duff reported that it was an interesting start with 409 Year 6 girls on the start line! Well done to all the runners who represented ‘Oxfordshire’ and a thank you to Mrs Duff for taking them!
ESSA County Qualifier
The U11 swim team that represented The Manor at this competition on 22 March at The Dragon swam brilliantly and I am delighted to report that they have qualified for the Regional Finals which is due to take place in May in Guildford. Good luck to the team consisting of Elsa W, Evelyn H, Kate G and Marnie L (who is still only an U10 swimming up a year group)!
Warwick U9, U10 and U11 Whole Year Group Netball Fixtures
A big thank you to Warwick Prep, who brought their U9, U10 and U11 girls, to play Netball against us. It was wonderful to be able to field 6 teams in each of the age groups, providing every girl (totaling 136) an opportunity to represent the school.
British Biathlon Championships
Having qualified at the Regional Round back in October 2018, 6 Manor girls, from Year 4, 5 and 6, took part in the Nationals at Crystal Palace on 16 March. Unlike last year, when the children could hardly see in front of them when they were running, for snow, this time they had Storm Gareth to deal with! However, in true Manor style, they showed their resilience against any weather conditions and all had great runs, some with Personal Bests which was so impressive, as the wind at some point must have been pulling them back! On the swimming front, the children performed really well in the gigantic 50m pool. Although not in the medals this year, it is an accolade to them all for reaching the finals of this prestigious event.
U8 Football Festivals
The Manor took part in two Football Festivals, represented by two teams at each. Firstly at St Hugh’s on 2 March where the children had a very positive introduction to playing against several other schools. This was followed by The Oratory’s Football Festival on 23 March. Both teams reached the semi-finals of the Plate section where they ended up playing each other!
Year 3 to 6 House Cross Country
Well done to all of the children that took part in House Cross Country. Thankfully there was no treacherous terrain or terrible weather conditions to have to deal with; instead it was some very welcome early Spring sunshine that kept spirits high! Congratulations to the winning House of each year group:
Year 6 – Falcons
Year 5 – Falcons
Year 4 – Falcons
Year 3 – Hawks
Year 1 and 2 House Football
What better way to finish off another successful term of sport, with Year 1 and 2 House Football. In the Year 2 competitions, our Year 2s had an opportunity to show off their very impressive football skills; in the Year 1 competition, this took place in our spectacular new Sports Hall, where the children demonstrated their kicking, dribbling and accuracy skills followed by a finale of mini football matches. Well done to the winning House of each year group:
Year 2 – Falcons
Year 1 – Eagles
Now for a well-earned Easter break before we can all come back to the excitement of our summer sports programme!
Rhonda Forbes
Director of Sport
