Prep School

This half-term has been fast and furious and we have crammed in a lot of matches during the last few weeks! Last Friday Exeter School came for the first of two visits to us in three days with their U11 and 10 girls. There were some great matches with the U10 girls which showed the progression they have made with both their marking and also understanding how the ball needs to move effectively down the court. The U11 had some tougher matches. Saturday our U11 and 10 A team boys hosted Bristol Grammar, a very good hockey school and both teams played well, with the U11’s being more than a match for BGS whilst the U10 found a very talented team against them but battled well and scored off a short corner.

Monday Exeter visited for the second time with the U9 and 8 boys, the boys loved the experience and continue to learn a lot from match conditions.

On Wednesday the girls hosted Millfield. Both U10 and U11 A teams were focused and committed in their games and played with tenacity, both matches were very even. The U11B played some great netball and were pleased with their result. The boys played West Buckland and Exeter Cathedral, the U10s played positively and with great focus in both games and the U11 worked hard in their triangular but needed to capitalise on scoring opportunities. The U11B continue to make progress and each week they are improving their understanding of the game. Sixteen matches in six days!

Senior School

Football 

On Tuesday Mr Bishop and Mr Bennett took eight Year 7 and 8 footballers to take part in a tournament at Castle School. Last week Year 9 and 10 went to a similar tournament. This weeks team certainly lived up to last weeks outing.

Playing against 3 teams from Castle and 2 teams from Bishop’s Foxes we again went unbeaten. With 4 wins and 1 draw. The team played some fantastic football, ultimately outplaying the opponents and scoring some beautifully worked team goals. Congratulations to the whole team, who were led expertly by captain Ollie L and vice captains Alvaro and Aiden. The future for this group certainly looks promising!

Hockey

U12/13A-D V Wells Cathedral

The U13A team put in a strong performance, taking the lead early on and controlling play. Despite being the stronger team, Wells fought back into the match and were always within touching distance. Some positive link up play and well thought out attacks saw Queen’s win 4-2, with a great team performance. In the B team, the boys played some good hockey and linked well with each other. However, some defensive lapses allowed Wells some fairly straightforward goals whilst we squandered far too many opportunities in front of the Wells goal. There will be some lessons learned. The U13C boys took a 1-0 lead into half time and had played well, battling hard. Unfortunately the team ran out of steam in the 2nd half and Wells ran away with the game. The D team had a brilliant match, and it was great to see the progress they have made so far this term. Some strong performances kept out Wells and some strong running on the ball created a few chances for Queen’s to get something from the game. However, Wells nicked the result with a scrambled goal. 

U/1415 V Wells Cathedral

The U14s travelled to Wells high on confidence, having qualified for the next round of the Tier 2 County competition earlier in the week. They met a strong Wells team but put in a fantastic performance, despite missing some key players. At one point, the team had the lead, but as the game progressed Wells showed the strength and came out 4-2 winners. 

The team started slowly and went a goal down within the first few minutes. A second followed as Queen’s struggled to find the fluid, structured hockey that served them well the previous week. After time to reset at half time, the team regained composure and got themselves back into the game with a scrambled goal. In the last 15 minutes, Queen’s played well enough to win the game but had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Consistency will be the key going forward for this group, with an important cup match to come against Warminster.

Seniors V Wells Cathedral

The 2nd XI faced Wells away, and some excellent hockey. The team have a real cohesive feel about them and were very supportive of each other. They created several opportunities but were missing the finishing touch, and the Wells keeper made some excellent saves. Wells came out on top after some explosive counter attacking hockey and deserved the win, but our players put in a great account of themselves.

The 1st XI had a tough evening at home to Wells 1st team, who have had a strong season so far. Their clinical finishing and hunger to win exceeded ours, and as errors crept into our game, the scoreline also crept up. Queen’s did manage to get on the scoresheet but it was a consolation and the team will need to reset after half term.

Netball

U12A V West Buckland and Millfield

After a long journey to West Buckland, the U12A team took a while to find their flow but came into their own in the second quarter. They showed great speed and skill bringing the ball down the court to the shooters who were extremely accurate! The girls defensive pressure was excellent throughout the court, and the circle defence worked well together putting pressure on every pass and shot. Queen’s took a convincing win! Next up was Millfield, and unfazed by the chaos of matching teams, the U12 A’s rose to the challenge of playing half a game against the U13B team and the U11A team.

U12B V Millfield

The U12B team came up against an energetic Millfield team with some sporting specialists who had crossed over to netball. Queen’s played with gallant enthusiasm but perhaps lacked the anticipation of the opposition. However, the final period of the game was hard fought and ended in a draw demonstrating that our girls never gave up and worked hard throughout. Special mention should go to Harriet who was always in space and made some excellent decisions

U12 C V Millfield

The U12C have come on ‘heaps and bounds’ since their previous match last week against the Castle school. It was Nana’s debut, and she was an excellent centre, moving well and finding some good space. Mariella worked well in defence alongside Agne. A tough match but a good performance.

U13A V Castle School and Millfield

The game was played at a good standard with better tempo and composure from our improving A team. The contest was well-fought and Castle pulled away in the second half to take victory. Against Millfield, the U13A team dominated the first quarter with excellent movement of the ball. Unfortunately we couldn’t convert this possession to goals and Millfield pulled ahead. Excellent work from captain Evvie through the mid court. Defenders Annabelle, Freya and Emily were superb in the D. A tough match but a strong performance from the girls.

U14 V West Buckland

A good performance from the U14 Team. They worked well as a team and communicated throughout the match. At times they struggled to find space or get in front of their opponent which lost them the ball. Bahiya and Nelly shot well, securing us 3 goals in the first quarter.A really good team effort in a match played in a lovely spirit.

U15A V West Buckland 

A well-fought match against well drilled opponents. Unfortunately, we were unable to capitalise on all our goal scoring opportunities and the opposition were effective with their shooting. We did play some good netball in attack and joint players of the match were awarded to Tabitha & Alicia.

U15B V West Buckland 

We struggled to gain any momentum in the first half but, with the mid court of Chloe & Flora the team got more scoring opportunities in the final quarter but could not make up the deficit. There were a lot of positives in the final quarter and the team will need to learn to maintain this throughout a game if they want to be competitive.

Senior 3rd Team V King’s College and West Buckland

A promising start against King’s led to us taking the lead in the first half with some lovely attacking netball. There was some dominant play from Rachel with accurate shooting and Lily controlled the centre court, well supported by Lucy. At West Buckland, a poor first quarter put us on the back foot early on. Much stronger showing in the 2nd and 3rd quarter with some lovely shooting from Niamh. Fallon played well in the centre court.

Senior 2nd Team V West Buckland

A brilliant performance from the 2nd VII. Well drilled, focussed and hard working from the first quarter to the last. Emily Handel made consistent turnovers as GD which allowed us to dominate early on in the match. Everyone gave 100% and took on feedback at the end of each quarter. A well deserved win for this amazing team. 

Senior 1st Team V King’s College and West Buckland

A top-class performance from the 1st VII as they took on local rivals, King’s College. The team was fierce in attack, moving the ball well in and around the D. Millie, Edie and Claire dominated the D and took great passes close to the post. Excellent mid-court work and defence in the D. Osa and Jen made a number of great interceptions and rebounds. This performance set Queen’s up for the next match, against West Buckland, and it was another fantastic performance from the 1st VII. Structured passing, timely runs and some great turnovers made for an exciting match. Jen was Mr White’s player due to her tenacity in defence and in the mid-court. Millie was made MVP by the West Buckland team.