We had an amazing day last Friday when the whole school enjoyed a dry and sunny sports day. The weather was kind as not too hot, and not a drop of rain in sight.

The team selection was complete. House colours were in full force and the competition was gaining traction. It was a delight to see each house embrace the competition and appreciate those who were competing on the day. There were students who were determined to win, but many who simply enjoyed the competition and earned precious points for their tutor group and houses.

A special mention must go to three students who broke the school record:

In Year 10, Poppy Ward broke the Triple Jump record by 9 cm, jumping 9.25m.

In Year 12, Lewis Thorne broke the Javelin record by over 10m. Throwing 28.03m

And finally, Jacob Colligan who broke two school records. He was able to Triple jump 9.02m, breaking the previous record by 32 cm. He was also able to complete the 800m race in 2m15sec. This smashed the previous record by close to 30 seconds which is an unbelievable performance.

Here are the results for each year group:

The overall house results:

The is an award for the best performance in each year group, otherwise known as the Victrix Ludorum which translate to “victor of the games”:

Year 7 Skye Howard

Year 8 Lottie Stocker

Year 9 Georgia Street

Year 10 Poppy Ward

Year 12 Jacob Colligan

It was a day of celebration, and the students were amazing.  They supported their own house. But showed appreciation and respect towards every competitor.  Thank you

Athletics

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

Football

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

Rounders

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!

Acrobatic gymnastics

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!!

Netball

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 Athletics

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)

Football

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!

Rubgy

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!!!

Swimming

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!