School Matters 36

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TEAM TRIUMPS CONT...

and Bs 2–0. Player of the Match: Jasper Paget and Tommy Baker. The U15 boys’ ESFA Cup run began with an end-to-end 6–3 win against Harris Academy, Wimbledon. Whilst in the ISFA Cup, the boys had a thriller against Harrodian to secure a place in the third round, clawing their way back from a 0–3 deficit: the match ended 4–3. Special plaudits to Fraser Bates, who gave a spectacular performance at centre back; Jasper Paget for keeping the team in shape and creating attacking play; Gigi Atherton for managing to keep Harrodian’s winger at bay and putting in some crucial tackles; and Jack Donovan for finishing the chances and making superb runs through the defence. In the third round, unfortunately they lost 2–1 to Buckswood School, Eastbourne. U14A footballers were in action against Normanhurst School in the first round of their ESFA Cup foray and came away 6–1 winners with Massimo Spada scoring a hattrick. Against Westminster School, the team went 4–0 up within twenty minutes in a match that ended 4–2. Player of the Match: Leo Arya.

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd XI travelled to Boxhill for their season opener. All three teams dominated throughout to win convincingly. Making his debut in senior football, Thomas Hadjipateras, PVI scored in both the 1st and 2nd XI matches. The 1st XI started this year’s ISFA cup run promisingly with a victory against RGS Guildford. Conor Glanville scored a screamer from 20m out and Ewan Searle’s goal sealed the 2–0 win. Playing in the ISFA Elgin league, the 1st XI dominated possession against Highgate for a well- deserved 3–1 win. Player of the Match: Alfie Barrett. The 2nd XI notched up a 4–3 win on the same afternoon. Against Latymer Upper School, the 1st XI scored three goals in seven minutes, including a “wonder free kick” by Ewan Searle; the match ended with a 5–3 win. Kew House were dispatched in 2–1 and 2–0 wins this season. The boys’ waterloo came at Brentwood School where, having clawed back to 2–2, they lost another goal. Shame! Player of the Match: Finnius Towle. Against John Lyon School, the 1st XI ground out a 1–0 win, whilst the 2nd XI won 4–1. Player of the Match: Ewan Searle and Leo Tafuro, respectively.

U13A netballers won their first-round match in the Sisters in Sport National Cup against Streatham and Clapham High 25–13. Holly Taskis and Flo Rumboll shared Player of the Match. The girls’ cup run continued against Kingsdale School. In a fast-paced match, IPS dominated from start to finish scoring an emphatic 36–7 win to see them into the third round. The team then proceeded to make history by beating Wimbledon High School for a place in the quarter finals! The pupils played their hearts out and defended brilliantly ensuring a 22–16 victory. Player of the match was once again Flo Rumboll.

In the IPS Netball Tournaments held at the beginning of the season, U12 girls gave their all on the court to be rewarded with an impressive 3rd place finish. U12A proceeded to enjoy well deserved wins against Emanuel 29–14 and Harrodian 16–8. U12C and D teams played tremendously well against Highgate for 10–6 and 8–4 victories, respectively, with Ceren Ulas and Allegra Caine-Hall collecting Player of the Match awards. At the Harrodian netball tournament, the girls again played superbly well to beat Emanuel School, Francis Holland and Highgate School. There were also great wins against Tiffin Girls for both A and B sides. In the Surrey Schools Preliminary Rounds, the girls had an outstanding day, beating Tiffin Girls, St Theresa’s and Gordon’s School, as well as drawing their matches against Thomas’ Battersea and Emanuel. Sophia Michael earned Player of the Tournament. The U12 girls’ qualification for the Surrey Finals came as fantastic news and was richly deserved.

U13 boys showed a blend of power and skill in the pre-season IPS Football Tournaments to defeat Ardingly in the group stages and then beat Grey Court 2–0 to take the top spot. U12 showed their metal, battled for everything, and made some good touches to finish in third. The U14 boys finished even more impressively in second position. In their first round ESFA Cup match against Harris Academy, Crystal Palace, the U13A side progressed with a 2–1 win. Elsewhere, U13 footballers dominated their afternoon against Weatherby. The B team won 6–1, the Cs 5–0 and the Ds scored a last-minute goal to secure a 1–0 win. At City of London, A and B teams won 2–0 and 7–1, respectively. U13 boys took on John Lyon in their last fixtures of the season. The four teams performed fantastically well and won all matches.

In a tough draw against Latymer Upper School in the IPS start of season tournament, the U15 suffered an agonising defeat in the semi-final but finally could be proud to place third. Player of the

Tournament: Daniel del Castillo. Both U15A and B teams gave excellent accounts of themselves

against Weatherby, winning 2–0 and 5–1 respectively. They also enjoyed convincing wins against Westminster School, 3–2 and 2–0. Gigi Atherton and Max Samuels collected Player of the Match, respectively. In emphatic matches against John Lyon School, U15As won 6–0