News from PE …
Handball
Year 8
Well done to these Year 8’s who played in a Handball tournament last week at Cambridge University! They played some tough opposition from Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, winning 2 games, drawing 2 games and losing 1. Unfortunately they just missed out on a 3rd place at the regional finals, coming joint 3rd on points but 4th overall! You all played brilliantly and improved so much each game!
U15s
The U15 handball team are through to regionals!
On Monday they competed brilliantly against some tough opposition to finish 3rd in a tournament of 12 schools to secure a place in the regional finals in May! Congratulations girls! It was tough to pick a player of the tournament as they were all fab but shout out to Cara Conway-Baker who made some awesome saves as GK!
Netball
Year 8 District Netball Champions!
A massive well done to the Year 8 A and B teams who both won their district netball tournaments on Monday 21st March!
Star players were Ellie Sopala for 8A and Ava Lancaster for 8B.
They all played some amazing netball and didn’t lose a single game between them!
Many of these girls had been involved in a cricket tournament on the Friday, PGL netball tournament all weekend, a handball tournament during the day and then the netball tournament in the evening so winning this tournament at the end of a VERY busy few days is extra impressive!
We are now officially District Netball Champions for Year 7, Year 8, Year 9 AND Year 10!!
Congratulations girls! We are SO proud of you all!
Cricket
U13s
Well done to our U13 Cricket team who on Friday 18th March came 3rd in the Cricket Festival star player was Anya Petitt.
U15s
Well done to the U15 Cricket team who came 4th in the Cricket County Finals last week!
The girls were unlucky not to place higher as they suffered some narrow defeats in tight games losing by a couple of runs! There were strong wicket taking performances from Georgiana, Amelie & Eva who all bowled really well alongside excellent teamwork from all of the girls!
Sports Hall Athletics
Well done to our U12 Sports Hall Athletics team who became County Champions last week!!
Swimming
Girls LVSSA Swimming Gala Champions!
Well done to all of the girls who competed in the LVSSA Swimming Gala Finals this week! The girls all swam amazingly against some tough competition!
Special shout out to the winners of their events …
Catherine Ryan – Senior 50m Free
Teah Gregory – Y9/10 50m Free
Abi Cannell – Senior 50m Fly
Autumn Shine – Y9/10 50m Fly
Senior girls freestyle & medley relay team
Please see full results on our PE Facebook page.
Football
U16 County Cup Runner’s Up!
A valiant effort by Presdales U16 football team on Wednesday night which ended in a 3-1 defeat in the County Cup Football Final against Ashlyns School. In front of a big crowd and passionate support, the girls put in 100% effort throughout. Despite the girls playing brilliantly, Ashlyns were a strong opposition! Congratulations to Rimini Lowe who scored the penalty (see our PE Facebook page for the video)! Regardless of the result, the girls should feel very proud of themselves finishing runners up in the County and should cherish the experience. Reaching a County Final is a big achievement and hopefully the girls will look back on it with pride. We as a school are extremely proud of their achievements and efforts throughout the whole competition. Well done girls!
Student News
Indoor Athletics
Congratulations to Beth Botheras in Year 9 who recently competed at the Hertfordshire Indoor Athletics County Championships. She came 2nd in the U15 Girls 300m and set a
new PB! Well done Beth!
Congratulations to Alice Lynn in Year 9 who also competed at the Hertfordshire Indoor Athletics County Championships. She came 2nd in the U15 Girls 200m and set a new PB! Well done Alice!
Well done to Ellie Bostock in Year 10 who won the Herts County Champs shot with a throw of 13.88m and an amazing new PB! She also broke the championship record!! This should put her about 5th in the UK! Congratulations Ellie!
Netball
This weekend two Presdales students played in their 1st Netball County tournament at Queenswood School representing Hertfordshire. There were 8 teams in total from across Beds, Herts, Essex, Cambs, Suffolk and Norfolk.
Poppy Ward in Year 7 played for the Herts 2nd team who finished as runners up and only lost one game to the Herts 1st team! Rosie Bentley in Year 8 played for the Herts 1st team who won the whole tournament!
Congratulations to both girls – what a fantastic start to your Herts County team, very impressive well done!!
Equestrian Vaulting
Congratulations to Summer Hobbs in Year 10 who last weekend competed in an equestrian vaulting competition in the junior 1 star class. She came in first place which means she has now qualified to compete as an international competitor representing GB this June! Well done Summer. Her routine is available on our Presdales PE Facebook page.
Year 7 and 8 Netball Tournament at PGL
We have had a brilliant sunny weekend at PGL with the Year 7 and 8 netball teams! The girls have played some excellent netball and competed against 12 schools in each year group. The girls came in the following positions;
Year 7A – Champions
Year 7B – 3rd place
Year 7C – 10th place
Year 8A – runners up
Year 8B – 3rd place
We have selected players of the tournament for each team over the weekend:
Year 7A – Lyra Reason
Year 7B – Kennedy Scott
Year 7C – Alice Redhead
Year 8A – Anya Pettit
Year 8B – Evelyn Pearce
Well done everyone!
The girls have been doing lots of activities when not playing netball, including, zip wire, giant swing, abseiling and climbing!
They have also met Sophie Drakeford-Lewis who plays for Team Bath and England Roses.
PE Stars of the Month – March
Congratulations to the following students who are our PE Stars of the Month!
Medical Mavericks
Medical Mavericks visited Presdales on Tuesday 1st March. All Year 9 students participated in a workshop which gave them a chance to explore opportunities in the NHS and STEM careers.
Massive thank you to Edufund who made these sessions possible.
Spring Concert
Presdales Music Department is delighted to invite you to our Spring Concert on Thursday March 31st at 7.30pm.
There will be performances from:
Junior Choir, Senior Choir, Bella Voce, Orchestra, String Group, Cello Group, Wind Group, Recorder Group, Soul Band and some smaller ensembles and solos too!
It will be a fantastic evening so do get your tickets on Wisepay now for £6. Seating will be allocated and your tickets will be on the door in the evening.
DofE Bronze Practice Expedition
DofE Bronze Practice Expedition 18th – 19th March
Waking up in the early morning sunshine
Phew!! What a weekend! This was is the largest cohort of Bronze participants we have ever had take part in the Bronze DofE programme at Presdales with just over 130 students turning up to the start location. It was quite an operation to coordinate but thanks to the positive attitude and determination of the girls as well as the beautiful springtime sunshine, it was a massive success.
The weekend started off with excitement with all participants turning up at Cole Green in their shiny, new expedition kit not knowing what to expect. They met their instructors for the weekend and set off on their routes. Despite the blazing sunshine, the paths were extremely muddy and very soon, their new boots were all the same colour, soggy and brown, and the challenges began! The girls worked excellently with one another and their instructors to learn how to navigate using compasses and maps. Their first day hike to the campsite was approximately 18 kilometres. Considering that the girls were carrying heavy backpacks weighing in at around 1/3 of their body weight on their backs, this was no walk in the park! With just a few short stops for snacks and lunch, the girls were journeying for over 6 hours and there was relief once they arrived at the forest camp but the day’s challenges were far from over!
Upon arrival at Danemead Scout Campsite, the expedition groups had to choose a sensible spot to pitch their tents for the night and then work together to cook their supper in mess tins on stoves. For some, this was their first time cooking outdoors or putting up tents and after a long day on their feet, they were pretty exhausted by the end of it! As the temperature dropped and the sun set, the head-torches, jackets and hats went on and the forest camp was soon lit up by the glowing light of campfires. It was fantastic to see the girls cuddled up together, laughing and sharing their stories from the day’s adventures whilst toasting marshmallows in the flames.
After a VERY chilly night in the tents, the girls were up and working together again at 07:00 to cook their breakfasts and clear the camp in the crisp, early morning light. Despite the aching bodies and lack of a good night’s sleep, participants were still smiling and eager to get on with their second day of hiking.
The finish location was Presdales which required another long route of approximately 16km, this time under remote supervision meaning that instructors were challenging the groups to navigate the distance on their own. Groups had to put the skills they had learnt the previous day to the test and many made it to the finish in record time!
It was an absolute pleasure to take these girls out on expedition thanks to the positive attitude they showed towards each challenge they faced and to one another. They were polite towards the staff and showed maturity throughout and were a credit to the school. A Huge thank you must also go to Mr Bedwell and Miss Sippi who came along to support us all at camp and with managing the equipment.
The participants must now apply themselves to finishing off their Volunteering, Physical and Skill section activities and get their assessors to write up their final reports before the Qualifying Expedition goes ahead on the 20th – 21st May. Good luck girls and I look forward to seeing you smash the Qualifier!
Miss Haywood