Prep School

I find every week I mention how busy we have been in Prep School, and yet again I find it hard to fathom how we fit so much in!

Friday saw us host the IAPS Regional Qualifier for boys hockey, with 15 teams arriving with their spectators to our astros. It was a magnificent sight to see so many children involved in some great hockey and our own boys did not disappoint! In their group they finished second only losing to Exeter School who were the eventual winners of the whole tournament. Having qualified for the Cup competition, they were in knockout territory. Sadly, in the quarter-finals they played some great hockey but eventually lost on golden goal in extra time to the Downs who finished the tournament as runners up behind Exeter. A fantastic day and thank you to the staff for putting together such a great event for the children and school.

Saturday saw us again hosting, this time U10 Netball. The morning was played in great spirit and our girls did really well and played the most consistently I have seen all season! Well done to Blundells who were the eventual winners. The Year 5 boys also had a hockey tournament over at Millfield. Some of them had played the day before so were a little tired. The boys did well, but possibly did not perform at their best.

The new week has turned out to be a little less hectic with the surprise snow delivery on Wednesday but Monday we had another  football encounter, this time a mixed team against North Town Primary. The players had a great game and six goals were scored in total with Luis scoring the best of the day from the halfway line!! It is brilliant to be able to offer opportunities in sports beyond our normal fixture programme.

Snow Wednesday brought House Dodge ball for Yr 5 and 6 which was chaotic but extremely fun! The children had wanted to play the snow version- staff were less keen!

Thursday the U11 boys headed to Millfield for the County tournament and again challenged for honours. Unfortunately it was one of those days when things didn’t quite click and we struggled to score goals despite numerous entries into the opposition D. Nevertheless the boys remained positive throughout and were a credit to the school.

Finally today,  the U11 team are at another football tournament and the U11 girls are at Exeter for Netball.

Even with the snow day, a pretty impressive seven days!! Well done to all the players and thanks as ever to the hard working staff for taking them out for these opportunities.

Senior School 

It has unfortunately been a slightly interrupted week for sport at Queen’s, with that rare fall of snow stopping the fixtures from taking place on Wednesday afternoon.

Hockey

On Saturday the boys hockey teams were fortunate to have had a training afternoon with John Royce, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended and a lot was taken away, to hopefully be seen in the final few weeks of the season.

The U15 boys had their next fixture in the national cup against RGS Guildford on Tuesday. Despite the long journey, the players started brightly and contained a talented RGS team, matching their physicality and desire throughout the first half. The difference between the teams was in the D, with RGS converting two opportunities, and Queen’s failing to score from 3 short corners and 2 well-worked opportunities.  A great effort.

Netball

The girls teams played Mount Kelly, with the seniors travelling away and the younger years at home. 

The 1sts had a top-class performance from the first centre pass to the final shot. They showed their full potential in this match- they were dynamic, well paced and even tried some zonal defense. A great fixture before the County Cup Tournament, and hopefully the confidence boost they need to carry them into their first match. Well done ladies!

The 2nd team also travelled to Mount Kelly. A tough 1st quarter put us on the back foot. But the team fought back over the next 3 quarters with some great netball. Freya was named POM and fully deserved for many turnovers.

The indoor fixture suited the U15A team with some brilliant attacking moves enabling GS Tabby to accurately convert numerous shots on target. Izzy controlled the defensive circle turning over many oppositions passes. The team are really gelling together and looking forward to the upcoming Somerset U15 county cup competition.

The U14A girls had a really strong start, winning the first quarter comfortably. As the game went on Mount Kelly started to pull out all the stops and we attempted to halt them with a zone defence. The Queen’s girls were in the lead until the last quarter when Mount Kelly were able to find their shooter that one time more than we had managed. A great game with some fantastic play from our ‘honorary’ U14s for the day. 

The U12A side dominated the first quarter against Mount Kelly taking a 13-0 lead. For the remaining three quarters, we worked on our versatility by playing different positions. This met more resistance than the pathway of the ball down the court and did test individual’s applications out of their comfort zone. The team kept their competitiveness throughout and triumphed 30-2. 

Football

Our football teams are going from strength to strength under the guidance of Mr Bennett and Mr Bishop. Last week saw the 1st XI boys play Sherborne in a fantastic showing from our senior squad. They really showed their abilities and put into practice the things they have been working on in training sessions. From good passing movements, to tight defending it was an all-around satisfying performance. Arron was POM, scoring a hat-trick, with three superb finishes.