Well done to our fabulous athletes who have made a great start to their County League campaign.
County League Athletics tables :
U16s in the top 10
U14s have taken the lead
U16s
The U16s football team performed brilliantly to end the season as County Runners Up following a 0-4 loss to Ashlyns in the final. The score was 0-2 up until the last 5mins and the final scoreline doesn’t reflect the closeness of the match overall. In the 2nd half especially, Presdales went toe to toe with Ashlyns and were the stronger team for large spells. The girls created some good chances, but unfortunately couldn’t find the back of the net.
We started with only 12 players in the squad due to unavailability, injuries and late withdrawals so it was always going to be a challenge against a strong and athletic Ashlyns team who had a full squad. An injury to Libby A early in the match meant that Presdales had to play almost the entire match with the bare 11 players. The girls gave everything and played their hearts out. Fatigue inevitably set in at times but the girls carried on valiantly showing incredible resilience, battling right to the end.
I’m so incredibly proud of each and every one of you. I’ve enjoyed the journey with you which started at football club in Year 7!
Coaches Player of the Match is the whole team! Well done girls!
U14s
Congratulations to our hugely talented U14s football team who finished the season as Hertfordshire County Champions!!
The girls emerged victorious by a score of 3-2 in a titanic, end to end, match against an extremely strong Croxley Danes team. I cannot praise the girls enough. This was a real battle between two fantastic teams who played wonderful football throughout. It was literally toe to toe for the entire 110 minutes!
Presdales took the lead almost straight from kick off with a well worked goal. A powerful run and cross from Liv W with a great finish from Ella R. A great start! However, Croxley came back strongly, channeling everything through their impressive no8, who scored twice to give Croxley the lead. As half time approached, Presdales pressed hard to find an equaliser. This eventually came through great tenacity from Miley T to level the scores at 2-2.
In the second half, the game ebbed and flowed but then Presdales started to take control. It felt like a ‘next goal wins’ scenario. Luckily, that goal was a Presdales goal! A great run and cross from Aleks I found Liv W who made a late run into the area. Her first time shot was saved brilliantly by the Croxley GK but Liv reacted quickest and turned the rebound into the net giving Presdales a 3-2 lead with less than 5mins remaining!
Tense stuff but Presdales managed to see the game to its conclusion to win 3-2 and become County Champions! It could have gone either way but on the balance of play and chances created, Presdales deserved their win. The girls left everything on the pitch, their effort level was simply incredible. So very proud of all the girls!
Lily Feast was deservedly awarded the Sponsor’s PoM for an outstanding performance. It was difficult to award a Coaches PoM as it was a true team performance, however this is awarded to our GK, Ruby UR who helped us stay in the match at important moments including a vital ‘Sweeper Keeper’ clearance when the match was still 2-2.
This is the 7th County Cup Final for Presdales in the last 4 years and our 3rd County Cup win. This impressive record demonstrates the incredible talent at Presdales coupled with a huge desire to win. The girls simply never give up!
Well done girls, enjoy the win! You are amazing and I feel very privileged to have shared this victory with you
Year 8
Well done to the Year 8 rounders team who narrowly lost 8 & 1/2 to 7 rounders. Lots of lessons learned and onwards and upwards for their next match.
Year 10
Big well done to the Year 10 rounders team who recently beat Chauncy 19 – 13 & 1/2 in the beautiful sunshine!
U12s
The U12s gave everything against a physically strong and powerful GOFFS team in the U12s District Final.
It was a game of fine margins with lots of great football played by both teams. The girls unfortunately lost 0-2 but on another day, the score line could have been the other way around.
Coaches PoTM shared between Amy and Scarlett. Fantastic effort from all the girls!
U13s
Congratulations to our U13s who recently won a hard fought and extremely tense match against GOFFS to become District Champions!
The girls played some great football and showed resilience to recover from a 0-1 deficit when GOFFS scored straight after half time. Despite creating chance after chance, it looked like it was going to be one of those days where the ball just wouldn’t find the back of the net. However, the girls kept pushing and two late goals scored by Grace M secured a deserved win for Presdales.
This capped off a successful season for our U13s who added the District Cup to the Stevenage 7 a side trophy which they won earlier in the season. Fantastic win against at a very good GOFFS team and it was lovely to see the girls celebrating the win!
Coaches PotM was Ella R but special mention to Francesca M who made some good saves at vital times. Well done girls, really proud of you!
U13s
Well done to the U13 squad who recently competed in the Regional round of the English Schools National handball competition.
Growing in confidence throughout the day, Presdales finished runners up in our group. This meant we faced Herts & Essex who were the team that we lost to in the County round.
Presdales were more than up for showing H&E what they could do, and they went on to play some of the best handball we’d seen all day. At full time the score was 2-2 taking the game to extra time. An intense 5 minutes ensued with Presdales never letting off the pressure, but the experience shown by H&E club players edged them ahead in the closing seconds.
Such a brilliant performance by all only narrowly missing out in a spot in the Regional finals, and therefore National finals. A brand new sport, next to no experience, but a great achievement that all should be proud of!
Players of the tournament: Amelie for her constant hard work and attacking drives, and Lucia for the most incredible saves that kept us in that semi final.
Congratulations to Izzy and Ruby who recently competed in the Acro Schools Competition in the over 14 category. They came away with gold and will now go on to compete at National Finals representing the East Region in May. Amazing work girls – well done!!
U14s – NATIONAL SCHOOL NETBALL FINALS!
6th overall.
6th in the Country.
6th out of 1500 schools that begin their journey in the County stages.
The highest placed state school.
6th. Incredible and so so proud!
Our group was extremely tough. We only lost two games all day, but unfortunately the two teams above us lost one, and drew to each other which pushed us down into 4th. Our total points exceeded all of the teams in the other section bar the winner, which highlights the sheer quality in our group.
The final ended up being between the top two teams in our group: Yarm and Brighton College. Yarm were crowned the National Champions in a closely fought final. They only lost one game all day, and that was to Presdales. This again highlights the level of netball that we are capable of, and just how much we can compete against the best in Country.
Year 8
Well done to the Year 8 netball teams who competed in the district tournament on the 17th March. Both teams topped their pools meaning they both progressed to the cup finals.
The B team came 3rd overall out of 14 teams with POTT going to Liv M.
The A team remained undefeated and won the tournament meaning they are YEAR 8 DISTRICT CHAMPIONS!!
A team POTT was Sophia P.
Well done all, what a fantastic netball season and a very talented group of girls!
Year 7
Well done the Year 7 Netball teams who recently competed in the Year 7 Netball tournament! The A team made it to the Cup Competition and finished 3rd overall. The B team made it in to the Shield and ended up WINNERS!! Some awesome Netball played in cold conditions. Well done to all of you!!!
Sportshall County Finals! The Year 7s made it to the finals following the district round. The effort and determination was amazing from all girls especially during the gruelling longer races – 4 and 6 laps! Overall results as follows 4th place – PRESDALES!!!! (1- Bishops Hatfield, 2- DAO, 3- St George’s)
U12s
Well done to the U12s mixed football team who beat a strong Haileybury College A team 3-2 in their final group match in the District league.
It was a tough match and the girls competed well showing great determination and resilience throughout. Haileybury hit the bar twice before scoring to go 1-0 up, but Presdales responded well fighting for every ball. After some excellent pressing, the girls forced a mistake and managed to equalise just before half time.
Haileybury dominated the opening exchanges of the second half, hitting the bar and the post, but the ball stayed out! Presdales then started to create chances of our own, scoring twice to lead scored to 3-1 with around 10mins remaining.
Haileybury responded strongly, scoring from a well worked goal to reduce the deficit and pressed for an equaliser as the minutes ticked down. Presdales showed great determination to defend their lead and hold out to take the win 3-2. We now await to hear if we have qualified for the District semi finals.
Coaches PoTM is the whole team as it was a real battling team performance! Well done to all the girls.
U13s
Congratulations to our U13s football team who recently beat Broxbourne 4-0 to reach the Final of the District League!
It was a fantastic performance from our girls against a good Broxbourne team who were very competitive. Presdales dominated the match playing the majority of the game in Broxbourne’s half.
Our defence limited Broxbourne’s attacking threat so our goal was rarely threatened as we pressed for the opening goal.
The girls took a deserved lead just before half time with a well worked goal to take a 1-0 lead into the break. They carried on where they left off and continued to control the game, scoring three more times to put the game out of reach.
It was a real team performance. The girls demonstrated their ability and determination throughout. We now await to hear who we will meet in the final. Coaches PotM goes to Ella R. Well done to all the girls!
U15s
Our U15s put in a truly fantastic performance in the County Cup Final against Croxley Danes on Wednesday, but unfortunately it showed the cruelty of football where you can completely dominate a match and still end up losing.
The girls conceded from a penalty after just 2mins and then conceded another from a freak goal just before the break to go into half time 0-2 down. This was such an injustice based on the balance of play and total dominance of Presdales but we just couldn’t find the back of the net. We hit the bar and the post, some chances slid inches wide and the Croxley GK made some great saves.
In the second half, the game continued in exactly the same pattern with Presdales playing some beautiful football and peppering the Croxley goal relentlessly. Again, the Croxley GK proved extremely hard to beat but the girls reduced the deficit with a beautifully worked move and a fine finish from Marlee S on her ‘weaker foot’ into the bottom corner.
This was well deserved and with 25 mins left to play, it seemed inevitable that Presdales would go on to win the game, such was our complete dominance. Sadly, lots of near misses and more good saves meant it was not to be and the match ended in a 1-2 defeat.
The girls couldn’t have given more. They played some brilliant football and it is really quite unbelievable that we didn’t win the game. However, that’s football and shows that the only statistic that ever matters is how many goals you score versus how many you concede.
Despite the disappointment, the girls should feel very proud of their achievements this season, reaching the County Cup Final and the Qtr Finals of the National Cup. There were too many wonderful performances to pick a Coaches PotM, so it goes to the entire squad. Well done to all the girls!
Massive well done to all those that played in the Rugby last week!!
The girls went over to Hertford Rugby club, they had a training session with the Hertford Rugby club coaches James and Dave, a tactical team talk about set plays and then in to a full game. The girls were outstanding!!
For some of them this is their first contact rugby match against a strong Year 8/9 Leventhorpe team and they held their own! Leventhorpe picked Lottie as player of the match for her amazing runs and scoring a number of tries.
Coaches player goes to Skye for her amazing tackles throughout the game! Massive well done all of you!!!
Well done to all our swimmers who competed in the District swimming gala Championships on Friday! Lots of success in all age groups and medals all round!
We had a brilliant sunny weekend at PGL with the Year 7 netballers! The girls have played some excellent netball and supported each other throughout. The girls came in the following positions;
Team 1 – Runners up in Year 7/8 tournament
Team 2 – 3rd place in Year 7/8 tournament
Team 3 – 5th place in Year 7 tournament
Team 4 – Runners up in Year 7 tournament
Team 5 – 3rd place in Year 7 tournament
The girls selected players player from each team and the coaches selected most valuable player for each team over the weekend.
Team 1 – PP – Sophia W & MVP – Scarlet C
Team 2 – PP – Freya E & MVP – Lois D
Team 3 – PP – Jasmine B & MVP – Holly P
Team 4 – PP – Evie R & MVP – Lyla C
Team 5 – PP – Jasmine S & MVP – Daisy F
Well done everyone!
The girls have been doing lots of activities when not playing netball, including, zip wire, giant swing, axe throwing, archery and abseiling and climbing!
Well done to our badminton players who played a friendly match against Haileybury on 25th February. Some tough games narrowly lost and some great individual matches won against a strong opposition.
Well done to the Presdales U18 team who recently beat RMS 6-3. Player of the match was Cara Nolan.
U14s Well done to the U14s football team who, on 25th February, beat Broxbourne 4-3 in the District League. It was a closely contested match between two evenly matched sides. Presdales dominated possession but Broxbourne carried a constant threat so the game was always in the balance. The girls showed their resilience twice coming back from going behind, especially when Broxbourne scored a 3rd to go 3-2 ahead with less than 10mins left.
Presdales equalised with only a few minutes left via a confidently taken penalty from Keira G, then snatched victory with literally the last kick of the game, AJ ghosting in at the front post to turn the ball into the net from a corner! Our other goals were scored by Florence W and Ava M. We now await the results of the other remaining group matches to find out if Presdales go through to the semi finals. Coaches PoTM shared between Ava M and Sienna R. Well done to all the girls!
Congratulations to the U14s Football Team who this week qualified for the County Cup Final following an 8-2 win against St Clement Danes. The girls got off to a lightning fast start going 3-0 up within the first 10 minutes, however Clement Danes came back into it and scored twice in quick succession to reduce the deficit to 3-2 at half time. This left the girls a bit stunned, but they started the second half with renewed purpose and energy, playing some lovely football and taking control of the match. The goals soon started to flow and take the game away from Clement Danes. Some great performances all over the pitch, with special mention for Aleks Iv and Lily F who showed incredible power and energy throughout. Coaches PotM goes to Ava M who was outstanding with 1 goal and 3 assists. Well done to all the girls! The U14s complete the hat-trick of County finals for Presdales, joining the U15s and U16s. The U14s will now face either Croxley Danes or Parmiters in the final.
U15s Congratulations to our talented U15s football team who on 27th February reached the County Cup Final with a 3-1 win against Parmiters! The girls played in their smart new Navy football shirts, generously funded by the Parents Association. Thank you!
The match didn’t have the best of starts with Presdales going a goal behind in under a minute and losing our GK, Poppy W, to an injury in trying to save the shot. Poppy had to come off, but luckily Liv W was willing to take the goalie gloves for the remainder of the half. Presdales began to dominate and limit the threat from Parmiters. The girls came close to finding an equaliser on several occasions but went in 0-1 down at half time.
Poppy W felt ok to return to her goalkeeping duties so this released Liv W to play in midfield for the second half. It literally took Liv only a few minutes to show her quality with a fine finish to level the tie, 1-1. Liv then added a second shortly after with a quite outstanding solo goal to give Presdales the lead.
Presdales took control of the midfield and created chance after chance. This dominance eventually resulted in a well worked 3rd goal from Marlee S to lead 3-1. Presdales then hit the bar, hit the post and kept the Parmiters GK busy, but couldn’t add to their tally. So, after a difficult start, the game ended in a comfortable 3-1 win for Presdales.
The girls can now look forward to another County Final! They are such a talented group and it’s a real pleasure to work with them. All the girls performed brilliantly and played football to an incredibly high level. I could award Coaches PoTM to several players, but it goes to Liv W for her outstanding performance in a combination of GK and midfield roles to help Presdales secure the win. Well done to all the girls!!
The U15s journey in the Football National Cup unfortunately came to an end on Friday, losing 3-0 to a very strong Shenfield team (National Champions) in the Qtr Finals.
All three of Shenfield’s goals came direct from corners in the first half. Aside from this, it was an evenly balanced game with Presdales competing well.
In the second half especially, Presdales were the better side. The girls found their stride, playing more confident football and taking control of the game.
Unfortunately, despite creating a number of chances, we couldn’t quite find the back of the net. The momentum was definitely with Presdales and getting one goal could easily have led to more. The girls should all feel extremely proud of themselves. It was a gallant effort and they played their hearts out. They now have the Final of the Hertfordshire County Cup to look forward to in a few weeks time.
Coaches PoTM goes to Annabel G who made lots of great runs and was a constant threat on the left wing. Well done to all the girls, I’m incredibly proud of you.
U16s Well done to the U16s football team, who reached the Final of the County Cup with a 2-1 win against Royal Masonic (RMS)!
It was a close match throughout and could have gone either way. Presdales led 1-0 at half time through a goal from Amy L but RMS came out very strongly in the second half putting Presdales under a lot of pressure.
RMS deservedly equalised with about 20 minutes of the match remaining. Both teams then missed chances to take the lead, but Annabel G managed to put Presdales ahead 2-1 with less than 10mins to go. RMS pressed hard to equalise again but Poppy W pulled off a couple of great saves, including one where she dived at the strikers feet, to keep Presdales ahead and see out the game. Coaches PoTM goes to Poppy Ward for a fantastic performance in goal. Considering that Poppy does not normally play in goal, it shows what a talented, brave and versatile athlete she is. Presdales is very grateful that Poppy is willing to play GK for the school teams. Indeed, she filled in at the last minute today after Teairra L suffered an injury at the weekend. Thank you Poppy and well done to all the girls on a fantastic achievement!
Presdales win now play either Herts & Essex or Ashlyns in the final.
First ever handball experience for the U13s last week. They loved it!
Some tough opposition but Presdales soon found their flow learning every step of the way. Hertfordshire Runners Up
Year 8 Congratulations to the Year 8 netball team who played a tough county cup semi final on the 4th March against Herts & Essex. The score was very evenly matched throughout but the girls dug deep in the final quarter to win the match 23-21.
POTM Sophia P for her excellent determination and resilience on court!
This means we are through to the CC Final on Thursday 13th March held at STAHS.
UPDATE : On 13th March, the Year 8 netball team competed against Queenswood School in the County Cup Netball Finals at STAHS. The first quarter was very close with Queenswood leading by 1 goal but as the game continued, Presdales found their well known stride and dominated the game.
Our non stop teamwork and determination led to us winning the match 36-20 meaning we are YEAR 8 COUNTY CUP NETBALL CHAMPIONS!!
POTM as voted by Queenswood was Maisy W and CPOTM was Leah H.
Amazing work girls, so proud of you all and truly deserved!
Year 9 Pure grit, drive, versatility, and teamwork on display from our Presdales teams this week at the Year 9 District tournament.
Congratulations to the B team for coming Runners up in the plate competition.
Superb performances and only dropping two games all afternoon (one of which was against the winners).
The A team dug deep suffering from another injury, and playing the majority of their games with only 6 players. The determination to still do their best for each other, despite being out of position, was really admirable. Their reward…. DISTRICT CHAMPIONS!!!!
Year 10 Well done to the Year 10 Netball team who recently played their County Cup semi final against Herts and Essex. It was a close, tough game from the start. The girls worked hard in every quarter but unfortunately lost 27-33. Star player was Clemmie.
This brings to an end our netball for the season. It has been a successful season with a district title, runners up in the STAHS league and County Cup semi finalists. The girls should be very proud of themselves and the quality of netball they have produced game after game. I am looking forward to the challenges of next season! I know the girls will come back even stronger!
Well done to the Year 10 indoor cricket team who held their own at indoor tournament last week.
Latest News
Coming Up
Monday 16th to Friday 27th
Year 10 End of Year Exams
Friday 27th
District Athletics
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Presdales School
Hoe Lane
Ware
Hertfordshire
SG12 9NX
Tel: 01920 462210
admin@presdales.herts.sch.uk
Headteacher:
Mr Warren
