Netball

The Year 8s played their first county round match in very windy conditions against STAHS this week. After a 50 minute warm-up (as STAHS were stuck in traffic), the match began and Presdales were a force to be reckoned with… going up by 3 goals in the middle of the first quarter STAHS pulled it back before the quarter was over. Presdales continued to play some great Netball, moving it down the court well. Unfortunately, each quarter STAHS gained an extra goal and they were up 19-16 after the third quarter. The final quarter saw some tired legs and unfortunately STAHS managed to turn over a couple of centres leaving the end result as 27-19. Some amazing Netball from all the girls. Well done, you should be very proud!

Football

The girls played St Margaret’s and it was a comfortable win. St Margaret’s are quite new to football and should take enormous credit for their resilience and good spirits despite facing a heavy defeat.

Tougher tests will follow but for now, onward to the next round! Well done to all the girls who played.

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!