Cross country

Queen’s took a squad of 20 runners to King’s for the Junior Cross Country Championships. There were some fantastic results, several top 20 finishes.

In Year 7, Teniore (17th), Ella (19th) and Eliza (20th) ran fantastically. The Year 7 boys also ran well, with Jayden (12th) and Connah (20th) finishing strongly. In Year 8, Megan (6th), Harriet (13th) and Maryam (16th) all worked hard to place highly. These scores contributed to the overall standings, with the Year 7 Girls and Year 8 Girls both claiming 3rd place overall – well done to everyone who took part and represented Queen’s so brilliantly. 

Hockey

For the 2nd XI there were a number of unavailable players this week. This meant that the boys travelled to West Buckland with a weakened squad. Despite this, they showed resilience and determination to produce a solid performance and were unlucky to concede two early breakaway goals in the first half. The second half was a close-fought game, both teams producing scoring opportunities but not being able to capitalise on these. Queen’s managed to withstand relentless pressure towards the end of the match and should be proud of their overall performance.

It was another performance by the 15As that showed real class and a lack of composure in equal measure. The squad have fantastic potential and must now look to control games throughout, solving problems on the pitch as they go. A slender 1-0 lead at halftime was provided by Caspar, but in reality, it should have been at least 3-0 with the team dominating possession, moving the ball across the pitch with precision. Mo made several good saves and Woody provided excellent stability in defence. Queen’s were made to pay in the second half as West Buckland scored a breakaway goal, and despite some promising attacking play, Queen’s were unable to take advantage of their superior ability and numbers to claim victory. 

The U15Bs travelled to West Buckland this week to face some well-matched opposition. The game saw end-to-end action with Queen’s applying much of the pressure in attack – unlucky not to come away with more goals. A solid defensive display meant our boys did not concede but instead provided a solid platform for the attacking players to pinch a single goal – resulting in a 1-0 win.

The under-13 county tournament saw Queen’s with 3 wins and 2 losses to secure 3rd place in the county. Early goals in matches against Wells and All Hallows secured 1-0 wins, followed by a win Vs Holyrood. There were then tough matches against Taunton and Millfield, however, they were very well battled and closer affairs than the scoreline suggests. 

The 13As played again the following day against Hazlegrove with a weary performance, however, the team came to life with minutes left to go. Final score 3-1, after 1-1 in the first half. Tristan scored a great goal, and it was good to have Oliver back in CB after his absence the day before.

The 13B squad worked hard throughout their match with Hazlegrove and at times matched a very capable team. Alvaro was industrious in midfield and Leyton and Sam continued to provide stability at the back. Queen’s managed to find the net through Euan in the 3rd quarter but were ultimately overpowered by a strong outfit. 

Netball

The netball teams played a triangular tournament against Wellington and Downside.

The 1st VII went out ‘all guns blazing’ in the first quarter and showed excellent teamwork and set a very high standard of play. Millie and Edie barely missed a shot as they put away 18 goals in 24 minutes. Jen and Osa are a formidable pair in the D and work seamlessly together to close down the space and make turnovers for the team. Pippa, as always steadied the ship in the centre court- well done team!

A similar performance against Downside but they held us at a 7-7 all-draw at halftime. We picked up the standard and made less unforced errors which enabled the team to pull away to secure an 17-11 win.

The 2nd VII played two fantastic matches showing great teamwork and controlled play. Catriona controlled the centre court well with some lovely interceptions from Freya. Rachel was very accurate with her shooting.

For the 15As the 1st match v Wellington was evenly contested throughout but, the team defensive trio of Holly, Izzy and Megan took numerous interceptions for our shooters to convert to win by a close margin of 13-11.

The match V Downside involved great team work & determination being up by 1 goal at half time the girls introduced a defensive zonal mark which, enabling our shooters Hannah and Tabitha to storm to a 16-6 victory.

The 14As enjoyed their triangular despite an early injury to Annabel, meaning that they were a player down. Our opposition were kind and gave us a player for the match against Wellington where the girls showed how much they’d progressed since their last match against them. 

For the second match against Downside, the girls were hugely motivated by the arrival of Liv, who stormed the court and helped us to a 10 all draw. 

The 13As had their best performance this term against Wellington. They were clinical in attack and moved the ball well from the baseline and centre passes. Evvie led the team well and gave constructive feedback during the breaks. Annabelle, Emily and Freya made excellent turnovers in defence which led to some nice goals. Overall, a pleasing performance and one they should be proud of.

The 12Bs played a match against Wellington that could have rivalled a televised match! It was nail-biting with end-to-end play and goals galore being scored! The girls were incredibly receptive to feedback and were motivated by each team talk in the breaks, and so went out to play their best netball that they’ve played all term with decisive drives, using the space and coming away victorious in the end.

King’s Hall

13A After such an impressive performance against Wellington last weekend this team struggled to compete with a more dynamic and physical team. When getting into a good flow there were great elements of attacking play. Good turnovers were made by the defenders in the D but we battled hard to move the ball through the centre third. Lots of positives but unfortunately we couldn’t convert this to goals.

A fantastic performance from the U13B Team. They moved the ball well into our attacking D and quickly converted these into goals. The girls made countless turnovers throughout the court but sometimes this was followed by a quick pass which was fumbled or ended up out of the court. The match was close throughout and the Queen’s girls stepped up in the last quarter to secure a great win.

The 12Bs had another even match against King’s Hall, with the battle being contested in the centre court with numerous interceptions and changes of attack. In the end King’s Hall narrowly won with a decisive final quarter.