Clitheroe Royal Grammar School Founded in 1554 School Sports Newsletter Christmas 2018 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Welcome to the 2018 Christmas edition of the School Sports Newsletter. Another academic year is flying by and with it lots has been achieved by our wonderful students in the sporting field. Students have been successful in Sportshall Athletics, Cross Country, Netball, Rugby and Football to name a few. The Inter-House competitions have also been highly competitive and well attended. Clubs and practices continue to flourish with record numbers attending a range of different sports.
Cross Country Clitheroe Royal Grammar School students always prove that they have guts and determination at the District Cross Country event and this year was no exception. On his debut Matthew Fleming ran a very mature race and beat the rest of the field by coming in 1st place in the Year 7 boys race - and by a good distance. In the Year 8 and 9 girls race Joss Waiting finished in an excellent 2nd place as did Abigail Earnshaw in the Year 10 and 11 girls race. Harry Wood ran to his usual high standard and managed to finish in 3rd in a very strong field. The Year 7 girls team and the Year 10 and 11 girls teams both won their events as did the Year 10 and 11 boys meaning that overall, the CRGS team finished champions of Ribble Valley and 2nd in the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley District. A great achievement!
Rising Stars! Over the years many of our extremely talented students have represented our District, County and even our Country and this is continuing today. Many of our students are still bashful and don t like to sing their own praises. We love to congratulate and highlight their achievements so please do get in touch if your child has gone on to represent above and beyond District level. Kitt Nelson, who plays for Preston North End, has been a keen footballer since a young age and his talents have now been recognised by the Lancashire FA as he has been selected to represent the Under 14 team. This is a huge achievement so we congratulate him for this and wish him well in his career. Such is the strength of our Under 14 boys, that four of them have also been selected to represent the District team. These are Kitt Nelson, Harrison Rickard, Sean Buckley and Reuben Johnson. The Under 13 boys are doing equally as well as four of them have been selected for the Under 13 District team. They are Tommy Davis, James Arden, James Carr-Butterfield and Joel Booth. Charlie Havard has been selected for Sale Sharks Under 14 Development Player Programme, as an open side flanker. This is a credit to his hard work and dedication to the sport and we wish him well as a Shark! Not to be outdone by the boys, several of our girls are rocking the Netball world with their talents. Netball in the area is huge and to make it to the next level is magnificent. A few of our girls already represent Lancashire, Manchester Thunder and Leeds Rhinos and the latest youngster is Olivia Maudsley. Olivia is a keen netballer and plays at a grassroots level for Ribble Valley netball club. However, she recently trialled for the Yorkshire youth pathway at Leeds Rhinos. She had a final assessment screening and she received confirmation that she had been chosen for the Under 13s squad despite only being 11 years old. Anjalie Singh has continued to flourish in the Cricketing world and has maintained her position in the Lancashire squad. Recently Lancashire played Somerset in the national Semi Final and defended a low total bowling Somerset out. They played Staffordshire in the Final. Lancashire batted first only putting on a first innings score of 97. The game was slightly affected by rain and Staffordshire had an adjusted total of 90 to win. Anjalie came on when Staffs were 6 wickets down and took two wickets in her first over. She then took the final wicket to help her team to victory and crowning as national champions. Hot off the press, Jacob Simpson is hopefully heading to America on a Football Scholarship. He trialled along with over 300 other athletes, competing in many mini games so that the coaches could assess his ability. Jacob was successful in his first trial and was invited to attend the second stage in the process which was an interview held at The Marriott Hotel in Leeds with a representative agent from First Point USA. The interview consisted of an informal discussion about the stages of the scholarship programme which involved Jacob explaining what motivated or inspired his desire to play football in the US at a competitive level. He talked at length with the agent about the pros and cons of studying in another country away from family and friends and explained that the decision wasn t always an easy one to make. The interview itself was aimed at informing him that although scholarships are offered to students who demonstrate a high level of ability in a chosen field of sport, the universities in the US will only consider students who also demonstrate high achievements academically. (Continued on next page)
Rising Stars! (Continued) Jacob hadn t received his GCSE results at this point but they based their decision on his mocks. In the following week, he was notified that he handled his interview with confidence and had the exact qualities, physically and academically, that the university coaches in the US were looking for. In the following weeks First Point USA notified him that he was successful in his application and that they would like to offer him the opportunity to be represented. He was offered a place on their programme that hopefully will ultimately result in an offer or offers of a scholarship in the US to play competitive football. He is one of 300 candidates nationwide out of over 100,000 applicants to have been offered this chance of representation. We wish him luck! Football The Year 11 boys football team has won through to the last 16 of the ESFA Small Schools National Cup having beaten 4 teams and having scored 16 goals en route. Louis Bassano has been a revelation, now back in the squad, not having featured too much in Year 10. The team also continues in the Lancashire Schools cup having been cup runners up last season. They await their 3 rd round opponent. The Year 7 boys football team has made great progress in their first 4 matches and goes from strength to strength. Captain Harry Shackleton has led the team well and he has been rewarded with a place in the District representative squad. Whilst the boys have been knocked out of both national and county cups, they are making great progress and will most definitely be a force to be reckoned with in 2019. The Year 8 squad has had a mixed season with some fantastic individual performances. Some promising improvements have been made in the season so far. It has been a mixed year so far for the Year 9 team. We have lost only once in the league and now progress into the Premier league in the New Year. Unfortunately we recently lost in the Lancashire Cup and English Cups to strong teams from Ormskirk and Prestwich. Our focus remains on the Premier league and the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Cup (which we ve won for the last 2 years!). Finally, a big thank you to Mr Wallace who has helped with lots of games this year- this is very much appreciated! The Year 10 team have battled their way to the 3rd round of the Lancashire cup having beaten St. Mary s of Blackpool 4-1 and they await their opponents of the next round. The 1 st XI football squad are now beginning to show their true potential after a slow start to the season. The team have reached round 5 of the ESFA Under 18 Schools National Trophy and are now only 4 games away from a final. In the North West Colleges League they sit 4 th which is a very good start to the season. Captain Joe Cotton, who also represents the Lancashire representative squad, is confident the squad can have a very successful season. The girls have had a mixed season so far. The Under 16, Under 14 and Under 13 have all had early exits from the Lancashire and English Schools competitions against some strong opponents. Meanwhile the Under 13 team played some excellent football in the BRFC indoor tournament and managed to top their group and make it through to finals day. At the finals there were some very talented footballers but the CRGS girls did us proud and came 3rd overall. A fantastic achievement!
A Level PE trip to Loughborough University In November Year 13 PE students enjoyed the annual trip to Loughborough University. The day involved nutrition and lifestyle workshops as well as a session in the English Institute of Sport Exercise Physiology Laboratories. All of the students were tested by laboratory technicians who regularly work with international athletes. A special mention should go to Jack Stanley who took part in the gruelling V02 max test. His results were excellent and display the talent that we have at CRGS. Rugby Year 7 have been a joy to coach Rugby to this year. As is often the case, very few students had played the game before September. However, by playing the game in lessons students quickly found that they both enjoyed it and were very talented! Numbers at practice quickly grew and the team took part in their first event at Blackburn Rugby Club, comfortably beating both St Augustine s and Darwen Vale. The team also took part in a tournament at Burnley Rugby Club and, despite missing a few key players, they again did the school proud and won all except one match. The highlight of the year so far came again at Blackburn Rugby Club as the team entered the Emerging Schools Lancashire tournament. Some exhilarating rugby was played and outstanding tackling from Dylan Wadley, James Wilkinson, Dougie Allanson and Hamza Butt was complimented by free running tries from Harry Shackleton, Jed Davies and Harley Harrison. The team didn't concede a single try all day and were crowned Lancashire Champions at the end of a brilliant day of Rugby. We couldn't be more proud of these boys! There are too many names to mention but everyone played well and contributed to the success. Well done! Please see the front page of the newsletter for a photograph of the boys.) Basketball Girls Basketball keeps going from strength to strength and is becoming increasingly popular with record numbers attending the Under 14 girls practice each week. The first table relates to our Under 16s, the second our Under 14s. The girls Basketball season is well under way. At the time of writing we have added another 3 points to our total here with a final game to play in the Lancashire leagues! Both the Under 14 and Under 16 girls look like they will qualify for the Lancashire finals night in the New Year. The boys Basketball is also well underway. The Under 16s are struggling with a dip in form but the Under 14s look set to qualify for the finals with wins against Bishop Rawstorne and St. Wilfrid s.
Netball Netball has once again been extremely popular at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School. The Year 7 practice alone had 46 girls regularly attending and the Year 8s and 9s had similar numbers each week. The tournaments this year have been hard fought. The Year 7s were narrowly beaten to victory on goal difference after they played some lovely Netball - a team to watch for the future as they grow and develop their team spirit. The Year 8 team again played with high spirits and managed to finish in a very respectable 3rd place. Unfortunately the Year 9s couldn't defend their title as the good old British weather turned and the tournament was unfortunately cancelled. Hopefully a new date will be set in the New Year. Year 10 have really gelled as a team this year and have strength and depth in the squad. They managed to play their best Netball and finish in 2nd place. All our teams are through to the District League finals due to take place in March. In November the Under 14 Netball team took part in the Lancashire Schools Netball Competition. The standard at this event is always absolutely exceptional and this year was no different. In some freezing conditions the team worked really hard and played some very good Netball. They overcame a rocky start, where they struggled to move the ball through the court with their usual fluency and ease and found their first game really challenging. After this they came back strongly and enjoyed some superb wins. In the end they did not quite qualify for the semi-finals, going out on goal difference! A really huge well done for a fantastic performance at such a high level event. On 28th November our Under 19 Netball team took part in the Lancashire Schools Netball Tournament. Amongst others, the team played Runshaw College, beating them 10-7 and Cardinal Newman College whose team was in the lead after the first half. However, our team fought back and won 9-8! This meant CRGS were crowned Lancashire Champions for the second year running, making it through to the next stage of the competition which will take place in the New Year. House Competitions The House competitions have been extremely well supported throughout the year so far. The results so far are in the tables. Curie Roosevelt Galileo Socrates
Badminton Under 14 Boys Badminton - The District tournament was set to be an intense day and we weren't to be disappointed. CRGS entered two teams and both reached the Semi-Finals. It was here that things really hotted up. Unfortunately it wasn't to be for the CRGS boys and the A Team came 3rd in a very closely fought match with the eventual winners. Under 14 Girls - A similar story to the boys in that there was tough competition with some gripping performances. The B Team unfortunately didn't make the Semi-Finals but the A team managed to play some mature badminton and won through to the final against local rivals, St. Augustine s. The game was swinging in the favour of St. Augustine s as they went two games up by the narrowest of margins. Unfortunately a comeback was thwarted and the girls were proudly awarded 2nd in the District. It has been another fantastic term for the Under 16s Boys Badminton team. The A and B teams travelled to St Christopher s and both played some fantastic Badminton. The A team consisting of George Hand, Harry Singh, Ariyan Balachandran and Isaac Johnson progressed to the final and won a very close match, beating the hosts 3-2 in the final! The boys will now focus on the Lancashire Red Rose competition (which we won last year!). Well done to all the players who continue to inspire the younger students in the school. The Under 16s Girls team had home advantage for their competition. Again, the A and B teams played some great Badminton. The B team had a tough draw and played against mainly A teams, winning some matches along the way. The A team consisted of Mary McBride, Maya Nelson, Eleanor Jorgensen and Radhika Kaimal who were inspirational on the day. They were unbeaten in every match, convincingly beating a strong Bowland team in the final. The girls have made a huge amount of progress in the last 5 years and we are very proud of them as they pass on the baton of success to the younger students. The PE department would also like to say a big thank you to Mrs Wilkinson who has given up her Tuesday lunchtimes to help coach the Under 14 students. Thank you also to Dr Ellis who has once again run his ever popular Thursday night club. Students from all year groups have enjoyed playing for fun and improving their skills.
Sportshall Athletics The Sportshall Athletics events are always a highlight of the sporting year and this year s competitions did not disappoint! The Year 7s have been training hard since October and were more than ready for their inter-school competition. It is always nail-biting for both the spectators and athletes as it is almost impossible to tell how the team is doing as a whole. But this year CRGS looked as if they were dominating in most events and staff were reasonably confident before the scores came in. They were right to be, as both the Year 7 girls and boys teams won the District competition, meaning that they will go forward to represent Ribble Valley at the Lancashire competition in the New Year. Next came the Year 8 competition where our athletes had more experience, having competed last year. The events appeared much more closely contested and it was anyone s guess who had won before the results were announced. As ever, our athletes did the school proud, with the girls finishing in second place and the boys coming away with the Gold medals. The boys team will join the Year 7s in the Lancashire Finals in the New Year! GLAMS Winter PE Kit Our GLAMS have continued to work hard behind the scenes getting ready to launch a new fitness club in the New Year. The club will be open to all girls and will include Fitness with Boxing. Unsung Heroes? Are we missing anyone from our Newsletter? Often our students are too modest to tell us of their success outside of school. Please do let us know of any achievements as we will always celebrate them! Temperatures have plummeted as they always do at this time of year. Lessons take place regularly outside come wind or rain and it is vital that students stay safe and warm and most importantly they are warm enough to enjoy their lessons! We have a very smart new school PE track suit that is available through the uniform suppliers for all students and this is something we strongly encourage. Base layers can also be worn but should be white. CRGS knitted hats are also available. Finally, students involved in extra-curricular clubs can also wear CRGS SPORT warmup tracksuit jackets. Order forms are available from the PE office.
What s next? In the new year we will see the conclusion of the Netball and Football leagues and the Basketball finals. Girls indoor Cricket will commence and we are hoping to repeat last year s success. The Handball season will begin and again we hope to emulate previous years and make it to the School Games in summer. We also look forward to the Athletics season and have high hopes of retaining the District title once again in the summer. We also look forward to the Year 7 Football and Netball Tour in March and the Greece Football and Netball trip in July. Please continue to follow us @crgspe to keep up to date with fixture information. In addition we now have Twitter for GCSE and A Level PE students. We strongly encourage students to follow us @crgspetheory to help improve their wider reading and knowledge of the subject. Please also continue to retweet us and get your friends to follow! @crgspe Twitter Visitors to the school to watch matches are Visitors warmly welcomed but please could we remind you that you must report to the main office to gain access to the facilities. Feedback We are always looking to improve Physical Education and Sport at CRGS and value feedback from students and parents. If you are able to help promote and develop our provision please do let Mr Alcock know. We greatly appreciate your continuing support and we are looking forward to another exciting year of success at CRGS. We would like to say Thank You for your emails and updates on students progress outside of school. Please do keep them coming in! Each week our forthcoming fixtures are published on Friday morning and they can be found at http://www.crgs.org.uk/parents/sports-fixtures/. There will be another Newsletter in the summer term. In the meantime please do keep up to date by following us on Twitter @crgspe and by regularly checking the school website www.crgs.org.uk. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year