Sports Report Spring 2023

What a term it has been!

Firstly, I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has made me feel so welcome since I started here at NHEHS The breadth of talent has blown me away and I can honestly say I am so excited to be part of this wonderful school This term has brought so many sporting highlights and has seen the school reach the National Finals in 5 sporting competitions across both waterpolo and netball I was fortunate to watch the U16 Netball team in their recent endeavours at the National Finals. I can honestly say I have never shouted and cheered so much in one day The team spirit and camaraderie across this team, and indeed all of the teams at NHEHS, is nothing short of amazing The desire and determination to achieve success and play for each other is something which runs throughout the school

In addition to the recent performances at the national finals, NHEHS has continued to shine on a local, county, and regional level This is a wonderful reflection of all the dedication and hard work displayed by the students, staff, and coaching team

I am always delighted to hear about students sporting achievements out of school and these further highlight the wonderful array of talent we are so fortunate to have at NHEHS

Sport is not all about the success and I am equally thrilled to see the number of students who embrace the wonderful variety of clubs and activities which are on offer

I hope everyone enjoys a well-deserved rest and I am very much looking forward to the delights of the summer term and all the exciting opportunities and fixtures which await.

Highlights in this issue:

GDST Swim Rally - Pg 2

U12 & U13 Indoor Cricket success - Pg 3

U15 & U18 Waterpolo Finals - Pg 4

U16 Netball National Finals - Pg 6

Comic Relief RowathonPg 9

Spring Term sports photos - Pg 11 & 12

On the 26th January, we travelled to the Guildford Spectrum Leisure Centre for the GDST Swimming Rally 2023 It was an early start, but worth it for such a great day of racing for both the junior teams and the senior teams

After an extremely busy warm up, the U11’s started with their individual races All of the U11Bs stormed their way into the finals and three of the U11As did the same After the junior individuals, the senior teams competed The U14 team swam well and many of them got PBs in their 50m swims! Then the O14 team swam, and Zara D and myself made it into the finals for 50m breaststroke and 50m freestyle respectively

Then it was time for the finals, we waited and cheered on the U11s while they raced They all swam amazingly, with Yeeting winning silver in the U11B breastroke, Bella winning gold in the U11B backstroke, and Violet winning the silver in the U11A backstroke In the O14 finals, Zara and I swam well and we both came Top 6, despite being the youngest in the age group

Then came the relays, the most fun part of the day, as we got to swim together as a team All of the age groups swam well and we got some team PBs in the progress!

Overall, it was an extremely fun day and we all learnt a lot, as well as getting to meet swimmers from all across the country!

Borough Finals for U12 Indoor Athletics

The U12 Indoor Athletics team qualified for the Borough Finals that took place on 9th January

The team travelled to Greenford High participate against other independent and st in the Ealing borough The winning teams wou on to represent Ealing in the London Youth Ga

After some strong performances on both the field, it was a close call for the top spot Un the NHEHS team finished second, narrowly m top spot

A huge well done to a positive, hardworking te

U12 Lady Taverner's Success!

On Tuesday 24th January, our U12 A&B Cricket teams travelled to Lord’s by train to play in the Lady Taverners indoor cricket competition We started the day with a quick introduction from the coaches/umpires at Lord’s before playing our first game of the day

The tournament started with the A team playing their first match against Putney A We ended up winning this match by 3 runs which was an amazing achievement! After this, the B team played against Godolphin and Latymer, sadly losing their first match

At around 11:30, the A team (along with two other teams) were taken on a tour of Lord’s It started with the Lord's Museum where big achievements and player’s shirts were held We took a group photo with the Ashes trophy We were also allowed inside the pavilion and into the home dressing room While we were there, we learned about one of the main superstitions that England players have about where they sit in the dressing room and got sit where famous players such as Joe Root, Jos Butler and Ben Stokes sit As well as this, we got a group photo by the balcony On our way out we visited the Long Room where the players walk out from when they are going out to bat as well as the end of their innings This was one of the main highlights of the trip (apart from winning of course!)

Our next match before lunch was against Latymer Upper, (which was probably the match that we performed best at) who we beat quite comfortably The A team’s last match was against Godolphin and Latymer which was a crucial match We batted first and set a good target After getting a firm start with the fielding and decisive wickets, we won the game As the day came to an end, the A team won all of their matches, and finished first place in the Lady Taverners competition!

U13 Lady Taverner's Success!

On the 31st of January the U13A Cricket team took part in the Lady Taverner’s tournament

The team started the day by getting on the train to Lord’s, in which they had an enjoyable ride Firstly, the team had an effective warm up to get prepared for their following matches The first match that was played was against Francis Holland RP, where the team won the toss and decided to field first although they seemed to struggle slightly they managed to pull through by taking many catches, and ended their batting innings within only a few overs NHEHS then played St Paul’s B team and they had a very large improvement compared to the first match played Again, many wickets were taken and the batting was also phenomenal It was after this match that the team took a break and strategised with Mickey and Mr Henderson, who encouraged and gave helpful advice to the girls After the break, the team played Lady Margaret’s School and the match was won with ease and the girls took many wickets (especially catches) and also batted very well Then NHEHS played their final match against Godolphin & Latymer B team and it had a similar report to the past matches played, with impeccable playing in all categories

Unfortunately, it appeared that the matches had gone over time so many of the teams had to leave early, with NHEHS one of the schools still in the running for winning the tournament, the other team being St Paul’s A As both the teams in their pools had won all their matches, it came down to the results of which team had the higher run rate. Luckily, NHEHS won the tournament, beating St Paul’s with the run ra

GDST Sports Scholar Day

The GDST hosted a day of activities, speakers and workshops for Sports Scholars from all the schools within the trust It was run by the Mintridge Foundation and held at Sutton High School.

Here are the experiences from two NHEHS athletes who attended the event

On Friday 10th February, sports players from all through the school travelled to Sutton High School to take part in the GDST Sport Scholar’s Day, run by the Mintridge Foundation Throughout the day we took part in a range of activities that included playing sports such as netball, hockey and cricket and attending interesting lectures from some of the UK’s top athletes Upon arriving, we headed into the main hall, where we listened to an inspiring speech from England netball GK Eboni UsoroBrown, about her journey through sport and to success Then we went off to our three activities, which included strength and conditioning, a talk on how to portray yourself as an athlete in the media and how to navigate sports as a neurodiverse athlete We were taught throughout the day by athletes who included Liz Cann (badminton player), Caragh McMurtry (England Rower) and Jordan Jarrett-Bryan (Wheelchair basketballer and journalist). It was an amazing opportunity to learn from elite sports people I particularly enjoyed the cricket session where we were coached by England Cricketer Fi Morris, who inspired me to keep persevering in my sports – Minna Year 9

The GDST Sports Scholar day was an amazing experience to meet many ambassadors, sports people, and other people our age that are like-minded and passionate about their sports The first workshop I went to was on 'Managing Stress, Pressure and Energy Zappers' with Commonwealth Bronze Medallist, Liz Cann This was really interactive, and the activities were relevant to everyone, and I learnt new things about my daily habits that could be harmful on my sporting performance; even small things such as screen time, or how much water I drink The next workshop I attended was the swimming coaching session with GB swimmer, Molly Renshaw We started by doing drills to improve our freestyle technique, and I could feel that I was more efficient through the water by the end. We even got to do a relay, getting to swim with/against swimmers from GDST schools all over the country and from different year groups! The last workshop I went to was 'Strength and Conditioning', where we started by doing circuit work with the resistance bands we were provided, where I learnt new exercises I could do at allenging for me as I was practicing things I was power which I have been implementing into my d

U15 Waterpolo journey to the National Finals

On the 21st of March we competed in the U15 ESSA National Schools Waterpolo Finals, where we were previously National Champions in 2022 To make it to the finals we had to play in the qualifiers at Highgate a week before Thanks to the other two teams dropping out we only had to play two matches against Highgate and Kings School In our match against Highgate we won by 9-1 putting us in the lead and ensuring we would qualify Next, we played Kings School, where we won by 11-2 securing our qualification with a strong lead

At the finals, we first played Colfe's school and won comfortably 9-0 After that, we played St Bede's and won again, this time 5-1 We then went on to semi-finals and played Alleyns School, where we also won We were in good spirits for the final, as we had won every game so far in the competition, however we knew Bolton-who we were about to play- had as well In the finals it was an intense game, and very close We were down one goal until the last 10 seconds where Jaspreet scored a top corner goal from halfway, by far the best goal of the tournament However, we had to go to penalties to decide the winners With Iskra as our goalie, only one goal was scored in the first round of penalties, however she was rivalled by Boltons goalie, who also only let one goal in. We moved onto sudden death, and still every goal was saved. However unluckily, on their 9th penalty they scored, securing them their win.

After our win last year, we were disappointed, however still incredibly pleased with the position of 2nd best team in the entire country

U18 Waterpolo National Finalists

On the 28th of March our U18 water polo team (containing Zara D, Zoe D, Rosie H, Nicola H, Amelia D, Jaspreet G, Evie S, Emma T, Zoe D, Iskra C P and Manpreet G) travelled up to Northampton Bos School to play the ESSA U18 National Finals, having qualified in first place in our regional round

In order to qualify, we travelled up to Marlborough on Monday 27th February, where we played Croydon High, North London Collegiate Highgate and Marlborough College We won all of our matches convincingly This secured us a strong position in the final by coming top of our pool

We were then put into Pool A for the Finals, playing against Trinity and Kesteven & Grantham school Our first match was against Trinity school, we came into this match full of energy and excited for the day It was a very tight match, which we came out of with a strong draw, despite a last minute shot being discounted Our second match was against Kestevens, and by winning this match by a greater goal difference than Trinity, it would secure us top in our pool We had a great match completely dominating the play all the way to end, with a convincing 13-1 win

We then progressed into the semi-finals, where we played Highgate We knew the Highgate team well so played a tactical game which allowed us to produce a 9-0 win

Having qualified for the grand final, the team was up against Bolton, who had dominated their pool. Going into the first half, we talked about how best to shut down their attacks and make the most of our talented players up front. After a physical first half, the two teams were even. We went into the second half with high spirits and good team morale however, the second half only got more physical We had a couple of injuries during the game and unfortunately came to a 5-8 defeat

Despite this, we are all so proud of our achievements, with an amazing team of players from Year's 8, 10 and 11 As a team we played incredibly well, with some great shots and saves, allowing us to come 2nd in the U18 National Finals We are all excited to get back in the pool to come back even stronger for next year's to

U16 National Schools Netball Finals

On Friday 24th March, the U16 Netball team were on their way to compete in the National Netball finals at the Oundle Sports Centre in Peterborough Our team was a mix of Year 10 and Year 11, and consisted of Iris C (Captain), Addy MS (Vice-Captain), Eliza H, Ella M, Mim C, Hope G, Sophia M, Jasmine D-RR, Jaspreet G, Julia B, Morven P and Georgia C We arrived promptly and kept our spirits high as we were all excited and pumped to play the following morning. We had Mr Bennett, Mr Henderson and Miss Dunkley accompany us on the bus journey, however to our surprise, Miss Munro-Hall and Miss Newman came up to Peterborough later that evening to be part of the team for this momentous occasion We were very grateful to see the majority of the PE department there to support us

The morning of Saturday 25th March was the day of the tournament After a quick run in the parking spaces behind the hotel, we headed in for breakfast and then went to Tesco to get some snacks for the day We then made our way to the sports centre When we arrived, we saw many teams warming up and all the teams’ tents set up in the team area Before our warmup, each team was invited to have a professional team picture taken to commemorate this momentous occasion After the pictures, we did a warmup and the NHEHS U16 Netball National team were ready to play

We played a total of 8 matches and we were proud of our performance throughout each game. Our First match was against Solihull School where we played strong and kept our spirits high. The final score was a draw of 9-9 and we were very happy with the outcome We continued our matches with a positive and supportive attitude until we played all our matches Halfway through our matches, we were very grateful to see Mr Shoults, who traveled up to support the team With support from the PE Department, Mr Shoults and many parents and family members, we finished with 4 losses, 2 draws and 2 wins, and placed 12th in the country!

We are very proud of our achievements and will definitely use this tournament as a learning experience for our future steps as a team We would like to give a special thank you to the whole PE Department for all the amazing coaching and advice whilst we were playing, and the outstanding support and encouragement on the side line

Fulllistofresults:

NottingHill&EalingHighSchoolvsSolihullSchool9-9draw

NottingHill&EalingHighSchoolvsRedmaids’HighSchool13-6loss

NottingHill&EalingHighSchoolvsPresdaleSchool8-8draw

NottingHill&EalingHighSchoolvsWoodhouseGroveSchool14-10loss

NottingHill&EalingHighSchoolvsSponneSchool11-4win

NottingHill&EalingHighSchoolvsNorthChadderton19-8loss

NottingHill&EalingHighSchoolvsRGSNewcastle16-6win

NottingHill&EalingHighSchoolvsTheMarist11-17loss

Ibstock HockeyTournaments

The annual Ibstock Hockey Tournaments took place from Monday to Friday, where NHEHS entered the U12, U13, U14 and U18 tournaments

Unfortunately due to the bad weather, the U18 tournament was cancelled, but the rest took place, albeit wet and windy conditions

The U12's saw themselves finish 3rd in the tournament; some strong performances from the whole team!

The U13's took 5th place after some narrow losses and a few games that ended in draws.

The U14's took joint 5th place, after a tough pool to play against

Once again, it was a fantastic week of tournaments and a great way to end off the busy Hockey season

GDST U13 Netball at Condover Hall

From the 3rd to 5th of March, the U13 B&C teams were away attending the 2023 GDST U13 Condover Hall netball weekend It was worth the journey by the time we arrived - with the rest of the weekend ahead and lots to look forward to! We participated in a range of activities within the time slots we had between netball matches, such as ziplining, indoor laser tag, archery, high ropes, and tunnelling ( although a few of us got stuck when it came to this, especially my group) It was lots of fun to hang out together as a team and many of the activities none of us had ever tried before!

Our first netball matches didn’t begin until Saturday afternoon

The U13 Bs were on the grounds of Condover Hall, playing in the U13A section and played four matches, while the U13 Cs went offsite to Shrewsbury High School for the afternoon, playing in the U13B section and played six matches On Sunday morning, we played our last few netball matches of the tournament, and as a result, both teams managed to place themselves in the top 4

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Football

Cross Country & Gymnastics

On Thursday the 9th March half of the Year 7 Football term and half of the Year 8 Football team came together to form the U13 Football team that competed at the first U13 GDST Football Rally We all tried our hardest to represent our school in the best possible way, hoping to improve and to have fun; however, winning doesn’t hurt

Our first match ended 1-0 to us against Norwich, but at the end of the second match we ended up 1-0 down against Streatham & Clapham Our spirits were still high, and we won 2-0 against Newcastle In our last group match we won 1-0 again against Northampton We beat Belvedere Academy and Shrewsbury to finish top of our group! None of us were expecting us to even get to the next round, so we were already so proud of ourselves! We were ecstatic to get into the quarter finals and had to face Streatham & Clapham again However, the result was in our favour and won! The semi-final was against Newcastle, and it was very tight, but in the last 5 minutes Sophia, our top goal scorer scored yet again! We made it through to the final it was crazy - we were all screaming and shouting! We were going to place either 1st or 2nd, it was insane! In the final we were playing Northwood, and we were all very nervous as we had gotten this far But as we started playing, we all became calmer Yet again, our top goal scorer Sophia, scored and gave us a lead of 1 - 0 As soon as that final whistle went off, we all burst out in happiness and endless screaming Knowing that we won the first U13 GDST Football Rally ever sparked joy and excitement as we were the best football team throughout all the GDST schools - what a privilege!

Forgetting about the long drive to the tournament, we all really enjoyed ourselves, and found it a good opportunity to improve as a team As it was seen to rain most of the day, Mr Henderson thankfully brought a gazebo, keeping our bags clean and (mostly) dry

Cross Country

The race began when we realised we had to be in school by 7:00am but we had only just left and it was 6:55 Ella’s mum took us in the car and we zoomed down the North Circular hoping to not be too late We arrived at school at 7:13 and Miss Munro was waiting for us outside the coach that was about to take us on a 2 hour journey all the way to Bromley The coach journey was quite enjoyable until it kicked in that it was absolutely bucketing it down with rain We had also forgotten to get spikes (not very smart of us) however we were quickly reassured that we would be okay without them, although it would be a bit easier with them When we arrived at Bromley High, we were taken into a large, quite crowded sports hall where we left our bags When we got to the field, we realised how muddy and wet it was However the Year 6's kept the spirits high by dancing around the wet rainy field After that, we took a walk around the course trying to avoid all the muddy puddles, however our feet still got completely drenched and we hadn't even gone through the muddy bits Our race only started at 11:50, so we had an hour and a bit to do our warm up and get ourselves ready for the race The course we ran was approximately 2 km but we all thought it was maybe a little bit more 11:50 approached quickly and the nerves began to kick in

As 11:45 hit we made our way over to the start line The Year 7's taking part were Ella, Erin, Daisy, Monica, Sofia and Lara Before the race began we had a briefing from a lady in a Bromley uniform telling us where to go READY SET GO! When we finished we were all so tired we sat down on the muddy floor panting like thirsty dogs Erin had a bit of a hard race slipping about 7 times and getting covered in mud! It would be an understatement to say we were just a bit muddy We were coated in mud, our shoes squelching as we walked back to our stuff in the field After we got back to Bromley High, we ran to the changing rooms to get clean and dry We had our legs in the sinks trying to scrub all the mud off Luckily most of us had brought spare clothes however some of us forgot, which meant that they had their clothes in the sink and under the blow dryer

Overall it was a great experience Some of us have learnt a valuable Cross Country life lesson: always get spikes, and bring a whole new change of clothes and shoes

Sisters in Sport Plate Final for U12

The NHEHS U12A Netball team played in the Sisters in Sport

U12 Plate Final at Bromsgrove High School on the 22nd March 2023 This is a national competition that takes place throughout the Autumn and Spring term

All the girls knew this wasn't going to be a easy game but to get this far in the group stages was a fantastic achievement We received great encouragement from our coach Miss Dunkley, who continuously supported us throughout the competition We travelled to Bromsgrove by coach, which took us 2 ½ hours to get there Our rivals were The Queens School

The final kicked off at 1040am The other team were rapid and had good technical skills, while we struggled throughout the game as our main goal shooter was injured on the day The end score was 35-7 to the opposition

It was a great day and we had a lot of fun despite the defeat We were so proud and happy of our performance and journey to reach the final of this national competition

Ealing Schools Cross Country Champs

On Wednesday 22nd March, three teams of runners from Years 7-11 took part in the Ealing Schools Cross Country Relay Championships at Perivale In this event one runner from each year between Year 7-11, runs one leg of the race, each passing onto the next person in the year above We had won this event for the past 7 years, so everyone was eager to maintain this winning streak and retain the trophy for another year! With the original course being flooded due to the rain, everyone ran a slightly different course but still of the same distance of 15km The 'A' Race was incredibly tense to watch with us fluctuating from between 1st and 2nd place all the way up until the final leg where Nicola stormed her leg to lead us to victory!

With the original course being flooded due to the rain, everyone ran a slig km

One e team aspe uraging and a very enjoy

Comic Relief Rowath

On Friday 17th March the PE Department and Charities came together to host a Rowathon to raise funds for Comic Relief

The morning started off with a bang, with both students and staff getting going, rowing a total of 30km in 30 minutes! Then there was break time, where Mr Shoults committed to rowing 5 minutes in a suit and tie!

Lunchtime was our main event, with over 60 students and staff rowing, adding another 85km to the total! And the last stretch of the event was after school, where more staff and students rowed to reach a total of 11875km! An incredible feat, as many students and staff were first time rowers

Charity reps Isie and Bella were the driving force behind the event, ensuring that the music was on, recording all the distances rowed, cheering on the students and staff, and making the event an overall success! We raised over £120 for Comic Relief - thank you to all those who supported the event!

Sporting achievements by NHEHS students

It has been a busy start to the term for NHEHS athletes, participating in a full Spring Term of school sport, alongside their own sport outside of school.

Below are some of the many achievements this term:

Manpreet G, Iskra C P, Jaspreet G, Evie S, Amelia D, Zoe D & Zara D were selected for the Swim England Waterpolo Talent Pathway

Bea G is in the England U18 Tag Rugby team and is part of her club team that are current National U18 Champions.

Alex D won a total of 6 medals at the County Swimming Championships, winning the 1500m Freestyle event

Ansley V finished 7th in the Schools team row & finished 4th in the Ladies team row.

Lana G, Manpreet G, Nishka P & Jojo D were part of Team Ealing at the London Youth Games cricket tournament

Amelia C & Iris C played for Academy Netball Club at a Middlesex County Div 1 match

Maddy C was selected as a brand ambassador for Limitless

Cosima L D was selected into the final round of the Young Lioness Pathway programme

Amelia D, Zara D, Zoe D, Evie S, Manpreet G, Jaspreet G, Emily B, Iskra C P & Emma T were part of the West London Penguins Waterpolo team that were crowned U16s Girls Cup Winners of the London League.

Alex D was selected to be a LYG33 ambassador for a second year.

Gen P & Bea G were part of the GDST Select Netball team that played Mavericks U17 Netball team Gen was also named player of the match.

Nina P finished 6th in her age group at the Regional Round of the National Schools Trampoline Championships

Erin L, Anishka G & Aila A were part of the U12 Starz Netball team that finished 2nd in the Eng U12 Netball Cup Midlands Finals

Natasha B & Sofia B placed first in their age groups at the Thames Valley Athletics Club Cross Country Championships

Sofia B & Nicola H represented Middlesex in the British Athletics Inter Counties Cross Country Championships in Loughborough.

Natasha B was third in the Middlesex Country Indoor Championships in the U17 800m.

Spring sport in pictures

Spring sport in pictures