National CompetitionsThe Sports Faculty

Sport continues to thrive at St. Olave’s with a wide range of activities to engage the students both in the curriculum and as part of the extra-curricular programme. The Sport’s Prefects support this programme by organising clubs and attending fixtures, and their support is much appreciated by staff and pupils alike. There have been some exceptional performances this year in a variety of activities which we have been delighted to mention in the Headmaster’s newsletter. Impressive results are obviously something we are very proud of, but effort is also highly rated by the PE department and the students continue to impress with their positive attitude and willingness to learn and improve.

S___Director of Sport

St Olave’s team in many years. This season has provided the team with many memories and been a superlative way to end the Year 13s last year of school rugby. A thank you to Mr White and Mr Haines who gave up a great deal of their time throughout the season and helped the team reach their full potential.

In the Kent County 7’s competition, the Senior squad overcame Maidstone Grammar, Duke of York, Gravesend Grammar and Judd to top their group. This set up a tense semi-final with Dartford, where a strong second half come-back saw St. Olave’s win by 26 – 24. In a highly entertaining cup final against Eltham College, although the opposition just snatched victory with a last minute try, St. Olave’s can take great pride in their performance to come runners-up in such a tough competition.

At the start of the season many of the 1st XV could not have dreamed of the success we were to have in the upcoming season. A pre -season tour to South America had been a great learning experience and had certainly bought the two year groups closer together in preparation for the start of the new campaign.With early season wins over Colfes the Old Boys and Wallington, the team had started to show the ability and skills which would hopefully propel them forward in the NatWest Cup tournament. Two losses followed, but this losing run ended with a comprehensive 56-7 win against St. Dunstan’s in the first round of the cup. The desire of the team to succeed was highlighted in a 27-27 draw against Skinners, where the team managed to overturn a 20 point deficit in the last ten minutes. A disappointing loss to Dartford meant we entered the NatWest Vase, but this only inspired us to have a cup run with a big win over Gravesend Grammar school in the first round. The next couple of rounds saw hard fought victories over Brighton and Hove Sixth Form College and Robert Clack.This put us into the last 16 of the vase where the team came up against a tough Worth side. The game was played at Saracens’ Allianz Park which proved a great experience, but after a valiant performance with great support, the team just lost 12-10, ending a significant cup run. Other notable victories were recorded against local rivals Langley Park and Chislehurst and Sidcup. After the regular season the squad embarked on a series of 7s competitions where expectations were high. A promising opening in the St Olave’s 7’s saw the squad reach the semi- final stage but this was topped by the Kent 7’s where victories over Judd and Dartford to name two resulted in the team reaching the final where they narrowly lost out to Eltham College, the best result for a

With 10 wins out of 17 games the 2nd XV season was a great success with no shortage of tries scored. A commendable total of 445 points included a 67-0 win at Colfe’s and a 41-7 win against Wallington. Leavers will look back fondly on this as their last year in representing St Olave’s.

The U16s have claimed some notable scalps this season, with victories over Wimbledon College, Judd and Bishop’s Stortford. Some fine attacking play and resilient defense saw them finish with 7 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses, with several selected to represent the 1st or 2nd XV.

The U15’s had a disrupted end to the season losing several fixtures to the weather, but improved throughout the year to bond very well. With the 7’s season to go they can look forward to further success.captain Danny Jenkins (11K) and vice-captain Billy Belsham (11J) for their input into selection.

The under 14s have played some of the most entertaining attacking rugby we have seen in a while, shocking teams such as Judd and Ravens Wood, and now looking like an all-round quality team. They are competing in the Nat West cup where we hope to see them beating the top teams in Kent.

After a shaky start the U13s notched up some notable scalps such as Judd, St Dunstan’s (56-7), London Oratory and Robert Clack. Moving into the 7’s season they were optimistic, beating Dartford and Langley at The Saint Olave’s 7’s to reach the semi-finals and progressing to the quarter finals in the Kent 7’s.

All of the U12 games have been close and the future for these players looks most encouraging James Gander (7B) has been a very able captain who has been wellsupported by the rest of the team, with many of the boys in Year 7 having the opportunity to represent the school.

The Netball season began well with the A team gaining a victory over the Young Olavian’s team. Given it was so early on in the season and as such the girls had not been able to play as a team before, they performed extremely well. At the Kent Netball tournament the girls tried to build on their previous success and certainly developed more of a team identity. Especially noteworthy was Chloe Daley’s (12P) defensive manoeuvrings. The team came second in a local tournament, losing only to Colfe’s. Coaches there commented on their impressive performances. A and B team matches against Eltham College allowed all of the girls to be involved and certainly it was evident that future talent is beginning to shine. House Netball also added another dimension to the fixtures this year. Well done to all involved and we hope that this term’s success will encourage girls to get even more involved. Thanks are extended to Katherine

Hunt (13J), Megan Collett (13M) and Bumade Agbaje (13N) for their leadership and to Sue Ellis for her excellent coaching. It is really appreciated by all.

This year sixth form football has been run solely by Mr. Holton and the benefits have been instantly repaid with a perfect season of 7 wins and no loses. Currently the team lie top of the league with 3 points and a game in hand on the next team down. The exceptional performance of the team is a collective result that has seen over 30 different players run out for the 1st XI, a testament to the strength of the squad and the result of consistent training sessions on the top field. Outstanding performances have seen Jacob Skelly score the current goal of the season, a left footed hooked long range shot into the top corner to kill a game off. Outstanding debut goals for Sam Ferguson and Charlie Grozer, and consistent strikers Connor Smieja and Michael Cann-Abaidos complement the outstanding resilient performances of the older squad players, who have led from the front. Tom Crowland and Matthew Hodges have organised the squad as captains, whilst Aldous Poole has cemented his place alongside Alex McHale as one of two names on every team sheet.

Harry Rennolls (9C) achieved a time of 26.08 sec. in the 50m freestyle on 29 Sept., in the Orpington OJ Open Gala. This is the fastest time in Britain for this event by a 13 year old in 2013 and is the 14th fastest 13YO time of all-time, using age at 31st Dec. 2013.

Harry also won the 200 IM for 13YO’s, and was second in the 200m freestyle - both in Kent qualifying times.

During the weekWend of 12th October Henry Rennolls (9C), Michael Jacobs (10M) and Theo Haslam (11K) travelled to Sheffield on as part of the Kent Team taking part in in the National County Championships.

Henry came fifth in the boy’s age 12/13 year old 100 metre freestyle and 11th in the boy’s age 12/13 year old 100 metre backstroke. He was also in the boy’s age 12/13 year old 4x 50 metres medley team which finished in second place.

Michael came 10th in the boy’s 14/15 year old 100 metres backstroke. He and Theo were in the boy’s age 14/15 year old 4 x 50 metres medley team which finished in 11th place.

Theo came sixth in the boys’ 14/15 year old 100 metres freestyle. He and Henry were in the 6 x 50 metres mixed age freestyle relay team which finished in fourth place.

The Kent team finished in fourth place overall, which is their best result in recent years. Congratulations to all three swimmers on these outstanding performances in a national competition.

In the Kent County Schools’ Swimming Championships, Henry Rennolls (9C) destroyed the opposition to claim victory in the 100m Freestyle with a new KSSA record time of 57.84s; Felix Haslam (8C) secured 4th place in the 100m Back-stroke; Michael Jacobs (10M) triumphed with a Gold in the Intermediate boys 100m back-stroke; Timothy Adelani (13L) posted the 4th fastest time in the Senior 100m Back-stroke and Molly Haynes (12O) won the 100m Freestyle and 100m Butterfly. Having never quite won in galas at Sevenoaks School over recent years, the squad performed exceptionally winning all but one of the individual races and relays, to secure victory by a convincing margin of 195 – 171, a testament to the dominance of the Olavians and the depth of talent in the school.

Five boys represented St Olave’s at the LSSA Championships on Sunday 13 April at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. The five boys grabbed 11 golds, three silvers and one bronze between them, as well as several places.

St Olave’s finished 2nd overall out of 20 schools that enteredjust 4 points behind Whitgift and comfortably ahead of the 3rd placed school. This is another fantastic result and we are very fortunate to have such a strong swimming representation at the school.

The details are:

Felix Haslam (8C) (11/12 age group - age at the beginning of the academic year) - Gold in 50 metre butterfly, Bronze in 100 metre freestyle and fourth in 100 metre backstroke;

Theo Haslam (11K): (15/16 age group) - Gold in 50 metre freestyle, Gold in 100 metre freestyle, Gold in 200 metre freestyle, Gold in 50 metre butterfly and Gold in 100 metre butterfly;

Michael Jacobs (10M): (13/14 age group) - Gold in 200 metre back stroke;

Henry Rennolls (9C): (13/14 age group) - Gold in 50 metre freestyle, Gold in 50 metre backstroke, Silver in 50 metre butterfly, fourth in 100 metre freestyle, fourth in 100 metre backstroke, fifth in 50 metre breaststroke and sixth in 100 metre butterfly;

Matthew Ruiz (11L): (15/16 age group) - Gold in 50 metre breaststroke, Gold in 100 metre breaststroke, Silver in 200 metre breaststroke and Silver in 50 metre butterfly.

Congratulations to Harry Rennolls (9C) in Year 9 who competed in the ASA SE Region Age-Group. In his age group Harry won the following medals:

1. Gold in 100m freestyle in a National Qualifying Time (NQT).

2. Gold in 100m butterfly in a National Qualifying Time (NQT).

3. Bronze in 200m freestyle.

Consequently he will be competing in the National Age-Group Championships which take place in Sheffield in the beginning of August.

Congratulations to Harry Rennolls in Year 9 who won the gold medal in the Junior Boys 100m freestyle event, making him the 2014 English Schools Champion for 100m free (Junior Boys).

He also swam the anchor leg on both the 4x100 freestyle and 4x100 Medley relays. The London teams won Gold & Bronze medals in these events, respectively.

Congratulations to Thomas Young (9L), who has been selected to play for England at Korfball. Our very best wishes go with Thomas who will be joining the team on their forthcoming tour of Flanders.

On Tuesday 26th November evening the Key Stage 3 and 4 teams played in the first round of the national schools badminton championships where they faced Langley Park. The KS3 team played thrilling match and were narrowly beaten 3-2. The KS4 team proved far too strong for the opposition and won 5-0, they will now progress through to the regional round which will be played next term.

Congratulations to Kevin Wu in Year 8 who recently won several badminton medals. He achieved an impressive third in the Kent restricted Doubles for U15, second in the Tunbridge Wells Badminton League U13 singles and managed to win the U12 doubles event in the same league.

The first round of the national cross country was hosted by Darrick Wood School. Saint Olave’s entered runners into the Junior and Intermediate events. Intermediates Charlie Davis (10L), Alex Mulroy (11K) and Justin Mills (11N) finished 3rd, 6th and 10th respectively and are hoping to go through to the next round along with Joshua Davidson (10M) who was unable to run on the day. Alexander Walker (9C) finished 6th in the junior race and should also progress through to the second stage.

Congratulations to Charles Davis (10L), Alexander Leggatt (10L) and Joshua Davidson (10M) whose efforts in the Kent Schools Cross Country Championships resulted in Bromley finishing in 2nd place and welldeserved medals for the boys.

The senior boys’ team played in the AEGON tennis championship and played a tough fixture against Tonbridge School. Despite ending on the losing side the boys showed great promise with the doubles scores just going Tonbridge’s way, 6-4 for the first pair and 7-5 for the second pair

Young Olavians’ Day

It was a pleasure to welcome back a host of leavers and supporters for the traditional Young Olavians’ Day on Wednesday 9th September 2013. A fine spirit of good sportsmanship prevailed despite some keenly contested matches, with results as follows:

Badminton Young Olavians won: 5 - 1

Basketball Young Olavians won: 58 - 35

Chess School won: 2.5 - 1.5

Fives Young Olavians won: 2 - 0

Football Young Olavians won: 1 - 1 (5 - 4 on penalties)

Hockey School won: 8 - 3

Netball School won: 24 - 4

Rugby School won: 34 - 7

Squash Young Olavians won: 1 - 1 (YO won more games)

Badminton

There were several close matches in a tightly fought Bromley contest at Langley Park. The KS4 team were dominant throughout and won their section easily by 8 matches to 0, setting set them up well for the London regional round of the National Cup where they managed to finish a very creditable third after beating Graveney School and Hampton School but losing to Coombe School.

This is looking healthy this season, with many year 12 students adding to the stalwarts in Year 13. We continue to use Darrick wood Astroturf pitch, with the kind permission of the school. Of particular note recently has been the quality of coaching and exercises led by Angharad Ganguli (13K), one of the hockey captains, along with Charlie Bishop (13M).

Over the Easter holidays cricketers from Years 8 to 11 ventured to Antigua for a 12 day tour. The fixtures were competitive and there was plenty to admire from all players. The Junior team managed to win four out of five fixtures and the Seniors won two out of five. Within each game there was lots to learn and the players have now returned ready to start the domestic season in fine form. Highlights of the tour, other than the cricket, included a catamaran trip and snorkelling, a jeep safari around the island, the enthusiasm and friendliness of the opposition and, pictured, meeting one of the greats of the game –Sir Viv Richards. Well done to all of the players, and good luck in your forthcoming season.

The U15 cricket team had an early disappointing loss this season in the Kent Cup but since that defeat the team has gone from strength to strength going unbeaten so far in every other game. Highlights include impressive victories away to Skinners and Langley Park and home to Chis and Sid. So far the team have played 7 and won 6 with Tomas Gallagher top scoring with the bat and Arjen Anilkumar performing best with the ball.

The inaugural Bromley Cup Festival of Cricket was held for Year 10 on Thursday 26th June. Having won the longer format competition last year the team were focused on retaining their title and were pitted against Hayes school and Langley Park in a triangular group. The team faced Langley Park first and managed to set a total of 126 with Amrit Dawood top scoring with 44. This was a healthy score which was always going to be tough to chase and so it proved with our bowlers restricting Langley to 101. The second game was against Hayes. They batted first but were in a position only to score 92 with the bat. With victory in sight the team went out to bat in an aggressive mood and promptly achieved the required runs inside 9 overs with Henry Edwards top scoring with 41 off 22 balls. This victory ensured that we topped the group and came home with the silverware.

Following the successful Antiguan cricket tour hopes were high for an impressive start to the season. Unfortunately the rain hampered this and progress was slow. Despite this the boys have trained well and have now managed to play several fixtures. There were wins over Rochester Mathematicals, Langley Park and Wilson’s with the only defeat so far an agonising 1 run loss to Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School. The squad has depth, interest, desire and ability and it has been great fun working with them again. Captains Sohayl Ujoodia and Matt Lane deserve credit for their handling of the team and assistance with the weekly head-ache of selection. Well done to everyone involved.

The cricket started off slowly with the first few being cancelled due to the weather. Since then it has been full speed ahead with often 2 fixtures a week and training on top.

The U12 cricket team has an excellent bowling attack, with Vikram Rajendran (7C) and Joel Kovoor (7L) providing spin and Nikhil Dawood (7B) and Joshua Aderanti (7H) pace. Rajendran has set the pace with the bat but the side needs to develop its other batsmen so that we have other threats. Hutchinson has proved a safe pair of hands behind the stumps.

Thanks to the hard work and generosity of our Parents’ Association the school cricket teams have new sight screens for the forthcoming season.

section of the Midlands Championships. William Phillips (12S), Josh Ravi (12Q) and Kieran Walton (9L) won the Richard Barber Cup in partnership with The Old Olavians.

In the Individual Tournaments held at Harrow School, William Carew (9L) reached the U15 Final, Sohayl Ujoodia (9C) and James Tate (9C) won the U14’s, and Harry Wintour (7L) was a Finalist in the U12’s. Charlie Stocks (9H) and Will Carew (9L) were finalists in the Southern Schools’ Championships

Senior Fives

Motivated, reliable and well organised! As a result, the Seniors contributed a great deal to the good school fixture results, but also towards the running of the massive school team as a whole. The outstanding Captain, Dom Robson (13K), together with superb support from Ed King (12X), Josh Ravi (12Q), Will Phillips (12S), Max Brookes (12P), Arun Vigneswara (13H) and Jon Leech 12T), masterminded a great recruitment drive for Year 7. Much effort was also given towards the training of the junior players as well as selfless contributions on a regular basis at lunchtimes; Kosi Nwuba (10K) deserves special mention for this also for running his own group training! On court, Dominic Robson (13K) reached the Northern Championships Semi-Finals, and Josh Raviv, Jon Leech, Ed King (Aran Sivapalan, Kosi Nwuba and Tom Gallagher (10K) were key players in the Team that won the Adult Third Division.

U15 - played 14 won 9 lost 5; won the Bromley Cup, runners up in County Plate

U14 - played 13, won 10, lost 2, abandonned 1; won Bromley Cup

U13 - played 6, won 4, won Bromley Cup

U12 - played 6, won 1; runners up in Bromley Cup

The Fives team remains undefeated this season. Matches have been won against Westminster School, Harrow, Berkhamsted, RGS High Wycombe, Mill Hill, Lancing College, Belmont, Eton College, Old Citizens and The Abbey Club.

In The Rossall Schools’ Championships, Max Brookes (12P) reached the Final of the U18 singles. Tom Gallagher 10K) won the U15 Singles, and Kieran Walton (9L) and James Tate (9C) won the U15 Doubles.

William Edmonds (11J) and William Belsham (11J) become the youngest pair to ever win the “Festival”

The highlight this season was undoubtedly the performance of Will Edmonds (11J) & Billy Belsham (11J) in winning the adult Midlands Festivalwho are the youngest pair to have won this! This by any standards is a great achievement. The whole squad has worked hard and with great enthusiasm, with Leo Henderson (11J) and Harry Russell (11N) making particular progress with Top 16 training. Connor Quick (11K) deserves particular mention for his commitment over the year.

There were many highlights for the Year 10 Team, where the work-ethic is unbelievably self-driven! John Oxley (10L) and Morgan Pugh (10M) were Semi -finalists in the U15 National Championships, whilst Kosi Nwuba (10K) and Tom Gallagher (10K) played outstandingly to reach the U16 Final, still a year-young. They also became the youngest pair to win the Adult Northern Championships Festival. The commitment of so many players in this large Team squad this season has ensured that there is great strength in depth. As a result, almost all school matches were won across the season; Vishwakrith Shetty (10N), Joshua Hutko (10K) and Coby Plews (10J) deserve particular mention for a great year and their help with Year 7 training.

Simply the most successful U14’s season ever! Kameron Swanson (9L), James Tate (9C), Kieran Walton (9L), William Carew (9L), Sohayl Ujoodia (9C); all established outstanding Nationally ranked players, have recently been joined by Charlie Stocks (9H) on this list. Without these six players, the U14’s would still be extremely strong, with many talented and experienced players such as Sam Caine (9B), Laiq Nagi (9L), Matthew Lane (9L), Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang (9C), Izaak Hasnain (9H), Hasan Rahij (9B) and many more having enjoyed a superb season. The team, between them, won the National U14 3 pair Competition and the Rossall U15 Doubles. In the Nationals, Carew & Stocks reached the Quarter-Finals, Ujoodia & Swanson the Semi-Finals, with Tate & Walton reaching the Final.

Eight very committed pairs of Year 8’s worked hard all season and represented the school very well in numerous matches and weekend events. The whole squad performed well in the National Schools’ Championships, with Louis McLean (8H) and Sachin Balaji (8B), playing brilliantly to reach the National Semi Finals where they only narrowly lost out on a place in the Final. They did however reach the Final of the REFCA National U13’s event! Jack McKeone (8C), Louis McLean (8H), Tom Liddemore (8H), Swastick Gupta (8L), Michael Li (8H) and Shachin Pratheepan (8C) all took part in the Swiss Fives Tour in the May Half Term.

The U12‘s Fives Team is a very large one, with some 30 players training on a regular basis and competing in school fixtures. Good wins were achieved against Emanuel and Berkhamsted schools. Most of the squad took part in an Individual championship held at Harrow, being randomly paired each round with different partners from a variety of schools. Harry Wintour (7L) played outstandingly well to reach the Final. Together with George Smith (7L), Harry also reached the 4th round of the Schools’ National Championships at Eton. All players in this talented squad will enjoy more matches and success next season.

The St.Olave’s Fives Tour to Zuoz, in the Engadine Swiss Alps, took place in the May Half Term. 21 pupils from Year’s 7 to 10 took part in this trip. What other activity or sport ever manages, or even attempts to throw pupils together like this across the year-groups? Together, mixed in and operating as three level teams in a week-long multi-sports training and competition Tour, the group all enjoyed daily training and matches together – culminating in the Lindt Chocolate Fives Tournament which saw Morgan Pugh (10M) & Kieran Walton (9L), defeating rising star – Charlie Stocks (9H) with Tom

Liddemore (8H) in the Final, taking the entire stash of entry fee chocolate! Tennis, Basketball, Football and Quiz-night were all enjoyed in this incredibly beautiful setting!

This season has seen some excellent performances from our athletes in a variety of competitions. In the West Kent Athletics Championships our Intermediates came 4th out of 12 schools whilst our Juniors won the meeting. Following this over 10 athletes were nominated for the Kent Schools Championships. At the Bromley Minors the Year 8 team came 3rd out of 13 schools and the Year 7 team came 2nd out of 13 schools. Will Ruiz in Year 13 broke the senior school 3000m record with a time of 9 min 20.7 seconds – a record that had stood since 1991.

Tennis continues to be a popular sport in the school and with tennis coaching provided by professional coaches on Tuesdays and Thursdays the standard being played is improving. Our best players continue to be involved in the AEGON Schools tournaments as well as representing their clubs. Alex Jochim (9B) 9 has particularly impressed this year, with a rating of 4.1 and ranked number 1 in Kent as a 14 year old and under, and 6th nationally. Our thanks also to Shunta Takino(13I) who leaves this year but has helped organise the tennis teams and played some excellent tennis himself, currently being ranked 6th in the county for U18.

The snooker team enjoyed a prestigious first season, capped off by a silver medal at the inaugural BSC Schools Snooker Championships. The team had a strong start to the tournament, with captain Henry Zhu scoring a phenomenal century break to secure a confident 3-0 frame score against Shrewsbury, and despite a narrow 3-2 loss to Eton, St. Olave’s progressed to the knockout stage following a 3-1 victory over Harrow, with Luke O’Donovan sealing the win with a precise chipped shot to pot the black.

Wolverhampton Grammar, with Hoan Truong’s delicate cushion shot and an intelligent snookering by Jacob Skelly being the highlights of a 3-2 frame victory.

Close rivals Eton also enjoyed a 3-0 semi final win over Rugby, setting up a hotly anticipated final against St. Olave’s. Sharp play by James Burtonshaw and Oscar Dixon raced St. Olave’s into a 2-0 frame lead, but the mental exhaustion caught up with the team and Eton recovered their lost frames, leaving the title to play for in the final frame. A valiant team performance set up St. Olave’s to take the victory, but a chalking error by Shaun Bentum-Siripi led to him squandering a ten-inch potting opportunity, and Eton stole the victory from the jaws of defeat.

Moving on from this setback, the team are hoping to take their strong form into the Nationals in February.

This event, hosted by the PE department, and held in the Great Hall was well-represented by a range of years groups and a range of sports. Prizes were presented by Old Olavian, James Toop, and we were grateful for his speech and encouragement to those present. With a raffle, an auction, bar (with speciality beers), BBQ and speeches by Key Stage representatives (Matthew Lane (9H) – KS3, Billy Belsham (11J) – KS4 , Katie Hunt (13J) and Charlie Bishop (13M) - 6th Form) there was plenty to keep everyone entertained on a full but highly enjoyable evening.

We were thrilled to hear that Connor Stimson (12W), Michael Jacobs (10M), Molly Haynes (120), Felix Haslam (8C) and Jacob Gaskell ((7B) have been selected to take part in the London Youth Games representing the London Borough of Bromley at the Games, to be held on July 5th. Michael and Molly will form part of the Bromley swimming team, whilst Felix and Jacob will take part on the Aquathon (swimming and running) events. Connor will be part of the five man archery team.

Students will compete against representatives from 24 other London Boroughs, aged up to seventeen years old. Connor has only recently begun archery, but is routinely improving his personal best score each week, having already improved his handicap from 95 to 75. We wish all our Olavian competitors best of luck in their events on 5th July.

In the semi-finals, the team took on reigning champions

A big ‘thank you’ to the current cohort of Sports’ Prefects for their input into the extra-curricular programme at St. Olave’s. This is a crucial part of the sporting programme where their leadership enables many pupils to engage in school sport, either recreationally or by participation in matches.