Sport

1ST XV Rugby

Never in the history of AGS rugby, have so few, battled so hard, to overcome adversity and resolve the dilemma they found themselves in at the start of the 2017 season.

Fresh from a successful tour of Singapore and Australia, where 4 of 5 games were won, we returned to pre-season to find that eight players had departed AGS for pastures new or had retired from the game due to changing priorities. We won’t dwell on this negativity for more than a second. Because from out of this darkness, came light. Light in the form of character, resilience, determination and strength. The 2017 season was a long road of transformation. Week by week, we rebuilt our shattered confidence and worked hard to develop new combinations, partnerships and team vision. Stride by stride, moving forward. We’d get knocked down and we’d get up again. No-one could ever keep us down. Gradually we created a defensive system which proved difficult to break down and expressed ourselves offensively with creativity and flair. From out of the ashes came giants. Giants of men who were prepared to put their body on the line, game after game, and pull on the shirt with pride and passion.

We need not focus on results or score lines but give our 100% attention to the warriors who started and completed this incredible journey. Words may not come close to conveying their true qualities and achievements but we must try.

1. George Pratt – Reliable, 100% committed and brave

2. Sammy Roberston – Leader, inspirational and intelligent

3. Ore Oyinloye – Man of Steel

4. Adil Munir – Most improved, analytical and feisty

5. George Wyatt – Work horse, dependable and ever present

6. Jordan Dyer – Positive, honest and just keeps giving

7. Ed Giles – Tough, powerful and the perfect role model

8. Jonty Hanwell (Capt) – Leader, motivator and powerful

9. Jack Nuttall – Confident, skilful and tactically astute

10. Harvey Mack – Physical, visionary and hard as nails

11. Isaac Macdonald – Elusive, speedy and committed

12. Joe Channer – Versatile, communicator and deceptively quick

13. Marc Grant – Balanced, skilful and agile

14. George Davies – Solid, dependable and athletic

15. Shea Minty – Under-rated, superb engine and intelligent

16. Charlie Dunne – Committed, hardworking and confident

17. Tom Lindars – Versatile, reliable and dogged Thank you to the Year 13 who have played their last game in the AGS jersey. You should be proud of your efforts and I hope you look back fondly on your experience. For those in Year 12, I challenge you to go again, to be the leaders of the 1st XV next season, to set the standards for all to aspire to and leave behind a positive legacy, just as this year’s Year 13 have done.

Mr G Ramsbottom

2nd XV Rugby

The season started with a bang, although we were on the losing end of the fixture against Campion, but ended quietly with games against Watford, Henry Floyd and John Hampden being

cancelled. This meant that the team ended with 4 wins and 4 losses which was probably a little harsh as the cancelled games would have produced at least two more victories.

After the comprehensive loss to Campion the team found their feet to beat Bedford Modern 17 – 5 and Dr Challoner’s 28 – 24. This was a particularly pleasing result as we came back from a 7 – 19 deficit at half time to win by 4 points. James Massey and Ollie Scorey led this fight back with 3 tries supported by some excellent place kicking from captain Peter King.

St Albans was next but the 2nd XV disease of poor tackling let us down again and we lost 26 – 5 which was a flattering result for the opposition. However, there was a pleasing recovery against Reading Bluecoats where the team scored the try of the season, and the 18 – 5 victory took us into the Magdalen College school game. Again, the tackling let us down and we let in 8 tries to lose 52 – 13, the worst performance of the season.

The Wednesday afternoon curse of lethargy hit us against Akeley Wood 1st XV. Down 33 – 8 at the end of the first half the team fought back to score 22 points in the second half but it was just too little too late and we lost it 40 – 30.

The Watford game was called off because of frost and the Henry Floyd and John Hampden first teams pulled out for reasons only known to themselves, all three were potential victories. So, to the final game against Royal Latin. Another Wednesday in the gloom and drizzle produced a relatively easy win. Although the 19 – 15 score line suggests a close encounter we dominated all phases but were particularly generous in allowing the opposition to run through some weak tackles. Tom Aston shone in this game with two tries and a man of the match performance. Toby Higgs showed great skill in converting two of the tries, perhaps a skill we should have utilised more in earlier games.

Last year I said that it was my last season but obviously returned for one more. However, after 48 years coaching this great game it is time to go, so my time is up. During that time I have seen the game change markedly from an amateur to a professional one and this has been echoed at all levels. Skill levels have improved, the try has gone from 3 points to 4 and now 5, the line out has been transformed from a shambles to the lifting allowed today – a definite positive, but the ruck has all but disappeared and the game today resembles a 15-a-side Rugby League game with dummy runners and defensive lines spread across the field. I’m not sure if the constant tinkering with laws has improved matters either.

To finish, I would like to praise the commitment of the vast majority of the members of the squad. The example set by the year 13s has been matched by the year 12s and I hope that those year 12s come back to form the spine of the 1st XV next year.

My thanks to Mr Ramsbottom and all the players and I hope they continue with the game in some form by playing, refereeing or coaching.

Mr G Holmes

U16 Rugby

Having started the year with a hard fought loss against Campion School, the boys bounced back with a 20pt victory against Bedford Modern

School. Quickly followed by a 24-12 victory over St Albans, it is fair to say that the boys started in fine form and it looked as though we had put right the questions, which were asked of us last year. Unfortunately, our next game against Reading Blue Coats raised some of the same questions. This year the boys have worked hard on their defence and I can honestly say that this has become their greatest asset over the year. Despite the losses they have faced, and the rubs of the green, which haven’t gone our way, they have kept their chins up and remained positive and proactive in their approach.

Our last game of the season against Magdalen had been the focus of the year. A bitter rivalry against a team which had unjustly beaten us last year. Little did we know that this was to be the last game for some of these boys. In reasonable conditions, on a pitch hand cut by the queen herself, the boys were in the best shape of the season and against the glorious backdrop of Oxford the stage was set to end the season on a high. Starting early on with the solid defence that has very much become a trade mark of this team, Magdalen had nothing. In desperation to turn the game in their favour, their number 10 kicked a ball deep in to our half, in to the safe hands of our full back. Captain graceful, Joe Chapman. In the face of mounting odds, Joe gracefully evaded the attempts of their winger. Now at the half way line, Joe adopted a less subtle approach as he ran over his opposite man leaving no sense of dignity in the man he had flattened. Unfortunately, the try was not to be, no raise of the arm from the ref and no points on the score board. Despite no points, the boys no had their tails in the air put on the defensive performance of the year. The next 15 minutes see the boys putting in some of the most brutal hits over the last two years. Giles, White, Claasen, Barrett, McIntosh, Brownhill are a pack possessed, putting their bodies on the line to win anything. Tackling every man they can get their hands on. Unfortunately, with a little lapse in concentration, giving Magdalen a little too much time on the ball Magdalen went up. Queue a game changing performance by none other than Tom Lane who from the first whistle in the second half single handedly neutralised their number 10. With no options to run the ball, the game turned and we got on top of the opposition early on in the second half. With the grit the boys had shown in the game, it was only a matter of time until we were rewarded with points of our own.

With the boys exhausted, it’s time for the finishers. It’s like the changing of the guard. On come Goillon, Harty, Birch, Gillis, Graham. The tempo does not let up. Every time we get the ball we look dangerous, with hands from Speake, Walters and Edmonds, the wingers start to cause problems. Twidale, Forrest and Birch all show their form from the season taking turns to run at the opposition. With a decision to deny skippy of 5 points following some tasty hands in the back, the boys found themselves setting up for a line out 5 metres from Magdalen’s line. It is here where the actual events become blurry. What we know is that Jake Graham

catches the ball from a poor throw in to the line out, and he falls over the line. He has no idea whether he’s scored, but the arm of the ref goes up and we get our five points. With the potential of 2 points from the kick right out on the touch line, AGS now have the chance to go 2 pts up. Unfortunately the kick is missed and the score stands at 5-5.

The boys know that this is their chance to do a number on Magdalen and come off the field victors. With two minutes to go we are down in their half and we look in a strong position. Unfortunately, rugby is a game where the rub of the green can go with or against you. On this occasion we didn’t get lucky and with 30 seconds to go we find ourselves under our posts staring at the raised arm of the referee. As the clock goes red, the boys are forced to watch as the opposition 10 takes the kick, which could seal their fate. Given the performances the boys have put in this year it is a cruel act to have lost our final game with a kick in the final play of the game. This year we have been blessed with numbers, consistently turning out high quality line ups.

With the pack power of Barrett, Birch, Brownhill, Claassen, Cyster-White, Giles, Goillon, Graham, Harty, Lane, Littler, MacKnight, Martin, Plummer and White, we have rarely been out-muscled this year. With the back finesse of Bates, Burt, Chapman, Edmonds, Forrest, Jadavji, Miles, Page, Speake, Thomson and Walters. Of course a big mention must go out to Joe Chapman who has led from the front this year and has earned his position as captain of a very dedicated team.

There is no doubt that the boys have shown tremendous commitment and enthusiasm this year and I hope it continues this year. I would like to thank Mr Bull and Mr Warner for all of their help this year and I know I speak for the three of us when I wish the boys the very best of luck for next year.

Mr T Walker

U15 Rugby

Part one: This year has been nothing short of a phenomenal one for the U15 rugby teams. Over forty boys have committed to the process and have done so since the previous summer term with initial meetings and fitness testing followed by a very busy Autumn term start with regular training sessions and plenty of fixtures.

The overall squad boasts genuine strength in depth across all positions and this has led to some great competition for places. In total, across the 19 matches played at A & B team level, there were 15 wins and only 4 losses. 585 points were scored and only 181 conceded. Those numbers display an average score-line of 30 points to 9. The statistics themselves show exactly how great this term has been but they still don’t do the boys justice.

It is a talented group of rugby players. But it is a talented group who have shown the attitude and commitment required to make special things happen during a season. Without that commitment and enthusiasm to each other and the process, those results would not have been possible. Due to the squad’s continued successes we were able to progress well in cup competitions this season, and extended the journey well beyond the usual December finish.

The Spring term would boast a county cup final against the old enemy from down the road, Dr Challoner’s following wins against Princes Risborough and Stowe school. And the little matter of a massive tie against Northampton School for Boys in the National Cup as the team won their first 4 rounds; beginning locally against Lord Williams, and moving further afield against St Albans, Haileybury and Langley school from Norwich. Each win has brought them closer to the end goal of the final at Twickenham stadium. The fixture against Northampton was the final of Midlands A section - putting AGS in the last 16 schools in the country of the biggest competition at this age group; that is an exceptional achievement in itself. The match lived up to all the expectations of a latter stages competition tie with two very accomplished teams battling hard throughout. Sadly we just could not get over the line, losing 15:12, so near yet so far.

It has been a collective effort of the greatest degree and the boys have been a genuine credit to themselves and the school. It is a special group of young AGS rugby players and the best thing about it, is that the season is not yet over - a huge well done to all involved.

Mr L Gardiner

Part two: Our last game of the season saw us line up against Dr Challoner’s in the U15 Bucks County Cup Final. Not only was the County Cup title to play for, but the bitter local school rivalry and the fact that this game would not only conclude our very successful and enjoyable season but the last time we’d belt out the words to Josh Groban’s ‘You raise me up’ in victory karaoke.

Despite horrific conditions we started sharply and as we intended to play for the whole match, keeping the ball in hand and maintaining possession.

After scoring the first try of the match due to Ben Latham rising into the air like a salmon from a river desperately escaping the ferocious jaws of a hungry bear from a lineout, the ball was then carried by an impressive display of pure forward power in the form of the notorious AGS U15 maul. The ball was finally bulldozed over the line by Will Spencer; who in the moment seemed to resemble a baby rhino running for the first time as he crushed all opposition in his path. The try was then converted due to a delightfully graceful kick from Dylan ‘the dream’ Taylor. 7:0 to AGS.

Being clinical was our main goal and we were just that as Challoner’s gave away a penalty right in front of the posts that was slotted neatly through with ease, making the score 10:0 in our favour, just as the half drew to a close.

As the second half started the Big Man (Mr Gardiner) warned us that they’d come out far better than they had to begin with, and this was apparent straight away. As they began to take over the game. The opposition came onto the pitch hungrier and more aggressive, with one of their freakishly large players obliterating our defence, trampling through our smallest player to score. We wish Josh Alexander a speedy recovery... Reminding us all of that tragic scene in the Lion King (Mufasa was a king). The score was now 10:5 after they failed to add the extra points.

Despite Challoner’s new found thirst for victory, the whole team stepped up to meet the level of performance demanded from us, the extra 10% individually as Mr Gardiner calls it. We tirelessly defended inside of our

own 22 for most of the half as they relentlessly smashed their main ball carriers into us. In an attempt to break the brick wall that was our defence. Players such as Cannonball Cam, Archie Davies and Fearsome Fred played a monumental role in overpowering and shutting down the oncoming attacks of our line with some impressive tackling, ensuring that the re-enactment of the Lion King didn’t happen again.

The back line also stepped it up a gear, meeting any attacking opportunity with lightning fast line speed.

The dying minutes of the game went on and on, and the amount of deafening noise and abuse screamed from the mouth of team talisman and coach Mr Dean was truly epic. However the game came to a close, as Dylan ‘the dream’ Taylor gracefully as ever lined up a penalty kick in front of the posts... And missed. Horribly.

Everyone anxiously wondered if this was to end the match or if Challoner’s would have a last chance to score. Gladly for us though the final whistle blew and AGS one last time, belted ‘You raise me up’ at the top of their lungs. It was a physical and intense match, and looking back we would like to thank as a squad, Mr Sturgeon, Mr Ramsbottom, Miss Pollard, Mr Manley and Mr Streat for coming along to boost the morale of the team. In Miss Pollard’s case challenging every single one of the referee’s decisions verbally as well as vigilantly ensuring each player on the side-lines was wearing a jumper and keeping active and warm. Proving once more why she’s the most supportive head of year. On top of this we’d like to apologise on behalf of several of the team’s parents for mistaking her as one of our own Mums, which as expected did not go down too well! We would also like to thank Mr Manley for running after school strength and conditioning sessions to give the team some much needed gains in order for us to have the physical edge over the competition and look good doing it.

Finally of course the biggest of thanks to Mr Gardiner and Mr Dean for their continued support and coaching from the start to the end of our season, allowing us to gain County Cup glory as well as the Last 16 of the National Cup.

Ben Mulholland – Denson 10

U14 Rugby

Year 9 rugby is all about transition, notably from 13 a-side to 15 a-side rugby, which put a strain on this squad

straight away. With numbers lost to other sporting commitments from last year’s squad right at the start of the season, and injuries to key players happening throughout the year, finding a squad of fit and available players each week was a challenge and subsequently impacted on team development. While being completely necessary, the new concussion protocols alone accounted for 5 ‘A’ team players during the season, which had an obvious impact on team strength on several occasions.

Taking all of this into consideration, the first half of the season saw us play some promising rugby in patches, but a lack of consistency and squad depth led to some disappointing team results. Early and heavy losses to Campion, Bedford Modern and St Albans really highlighted where we needed to improve, but a narrow 3 point loss to a strong Reading Blue Coats team suggested that we were moving in the right direction, but the next game, a 55-5 loss to RGS, proved to be the low point and turning point of the season. Although they all gave their best, fielding a seriously under strength team against RGS was a humbling experience, but it resulted in two huge big positives….one was the performance of Matt Sparke as flanker, a position he impressed in for the rest of the season. The other was the leadership shown by team captains Max Dolphin and Harry Jones following this defeat,

who demonstrated how a team of young players can start to take collective responsibility for their own development and success, rather than having to rely on others to continuously motivate and cajole.

The renewed focus and application in training, coupled with improving attendance by most, started to pay dividends and performances in matches improved considerably. A much needed 53-5 win against Akeley Wood before the half-term break was followed up by our most impressive result of the season, an excellent 21-19 win away at Northampton School for Boys’…..never an easy place to get a win and the team did extremely well to hang on having led 21-7 with 10 minutes left. The issue of squad strength would again cause us problems though straight after this game, as we lost both Sam Kearney and Daniel Partridge to concussions while on club duty and Bar Heasman fractured a thumb in training. Despite these challenges the squad continued its improvement and a 2 point loss at Magdalen College followed by a 5 point loss to Dr Challoner’s could have easily been two more wins, had our handling and decision making been a bit better in both games. The team rounded off their season in style with a well-deserved 50-5 win against Royal Latin, which again came after we were able to field one of our strongest teams thanks to the return of most of our injured players.

In addition to Matt Sparke, many others impressed with their performances throughout the season and it’s impossible to talk about all of the boys, but some of the standouts include Fin Spencer, who made a huge difference after returning from injury, Harry Jones and Max Dolphin, who were immense ball carriers and big hitters throughout the year. Will Chapman and Paddy McNulty showed real improvement as 9 and 10 respectively, Sam Kearney was always a genuine attacking threat and Alfie McIntosh was a real find at full-back.

From a technical perspective there are lots of areas in which the team needs to improve and work on next year, but ignoring all of that there is a couple of areas that could perhaps make the biggest difference next year, those being general organisation and communication. All in all though the efforts of the squad in the second half of the season made this an overall enjoyable season, despite the frustrations referred to earlier. Mr McGill would like to thank all those who played A team rugby this year for their efforts and he looks forward to seeing their future progression in the coming years.

Year 9 B TEAM

Despite the anticipation, our season did not start well and a heavy loss to Campion School was followed by similarly heavy defeats to Bedford Modern, St Albans, Reading Bluecoats and RGS. All of these sides boasted extremely strong B teams, which had players all on the fringes of their school’s A teams. Despite the disappointing results, all the boys involved continued to work extremely hard and more importantly smile and enjoy their rugby throughout. Similar to the A team, injuries and availability resulted in a different set of results than hoped for. Continuity in our pack and the struggle each week with a different backline made it difficult to build solid foundations on as a team. But the boys represented their school with pride, passion and the utmost professionalism. Special mentions must go to the numerous players who have contributed at B team level and earnt themselves call ups to the A team squad. Additionally, standout performers throughout the season must go to Will Greenfield, who was a driving force in attack and to Will Ratcliffe, whose pace provided us with real dynamism in the rare attacks that we had.

Both myself and Mr Mattu would like to thank all those who have contributed for this season and wishes you the best of luck in your future rugby careers.

U13 Rugby

Year 7 was a successful year for this group of boys so Mr Dimbleby and I were keen to get started with training early on in Year 8 so that we could meet the boys and see what sort of pool of players we had

to work with. From the outset the number of boys attending training (around 50) was really positive and it is testament to their work ethic and commitment that these big numbers remained right up to the last week of training. There are a number of boys who have progressed through the teams and competition for places has been extremely high making selection a genuine nightmare each week. I am pleased to say that we have built on the platform created by Mr Gibbs last year though and had another very successful season. Individual skills are still worked on but at the same time the boys have worked on their understanding of tactics and strategies and this has certainly improved their decision making during games.

A Team:

Played: 10 Won: 7 Drawn: 1 Lost: 2

The pack have provided us with a solid base to work from and this makes things much easier for Archie Dodds at 9 who is then able to dictate the pace at which we play. In truth, the pack have also been the catalyst for our go forward rugby and there have been a number of times when significant breaks were made by Charlie Shepherd, Josh Armstrong, Morgan Billings, Riaghan Matheson and Luke Evans to name just a few. We are also fortunate to have a very talented backline who have the hands to play really exciting running rugby but also the desire and hunger to defend as a unit. George Birch has done a great job at fly half and Harry Wilson, Finn McGuire, Tom Oakes and Adam Bosompen have all played a vital role in our attacking play. I would also like to mention the boys who have worked hard to earn a position in the A team squad and when given the chance have not looked out of place. This includes Riaghan Matheson, Jason Stephens, Theo Bockmuehl, Sam Tung and Leo Walsh.

For me the defining game of the season was not a victory but a draw against Northampton School for Boys. It was clear from the warm up that NSB were really up for the game and my concern was that if our boys were not mentally and physically ready that they may end up a few scores down within a few minutes. I need not have been concerned however because the team showed a tremendous amount of assertion, desire and work rate along with skill and accuracy to match NSB in every department. The truth is we haven’t had to be at our best to win games this season but on this occasion we did need to be at our best and we were able to respond with an excellent team performance.

B Team:

Played: 7 Won: 6 Drew: 0 Lost: 1

Dynamic, forward thinking, expansive and aesthetically pleasing are just a few words that could be used to describe the vast array of players that were involved with the Year 8 B team this year. The season finished with a fantastic 6 wins and only 1 defeat against a very strong RGS team bearing in mind our squad was limited at the time.

of B team players who have shone and earned themselves promotions to Mr Rooney’s A team squad. This is a credit to their ability, commitment and willingness to improve. The way the boys have demonstrated a camararderie and team spirit has exemplified what team work is about. That’s what makes this year group stand out from all others. They are not a bunch of individuals who don’t click, but a fantastic group of players who are keen to become better rugby players.

Awesome wins against Reading Bluecoats (40-10) and St Albans stand out as the most impressive results where Tom Kirkpatrick Brown and Leo Walsh stood out as notable runners and tacklers. In these games, we tackled extremely well and ran moves we have been practising religiously in training. It was nice to see the boys all click in their very first game against Campion School, again winning (30-15). In this game, a breakaway try from Ben Warner got the team going after a year of not playing together. This also showed that they were already a strong unit so credit must go to Mr Gibbs for the preparation in Year 7. In this game, the scrum was perfect even with the new laws and credit here must go to Peter Drotske, Charlie Gould, Jason Stephens, Theo Bockmuehl, Will Smith, Josh Sond and all of the other players who stepped in when injuries caused issues.

An especially tight victory against a strong Bedford Modern really cemented their credentials and this fixture stands out to me as the game of the season. AGS started very poorly going 10-0 down after 2 quality tries from BMS. At the start of the second half it looked like it would be the same again with BMS scoring within seconds of the restart. Alex Brown however reacted with a huge line break, bouncing off multiple tackles to score in the corner. Alex then scored again and then Sam Tung scored from a Fijian style off load executed perfectly by Ben Perkin. Sam then went on to score again and then when the scores were tied Ben Perkin scored in last minutes winning the game. Winning 25-20 the boys showed what they were all about. They showed they could play gritty rugby and that they had the mindset to stay awake after not having the ball for long periods of play. A special mention must go to Ben Warner and Ben Perkin who shared the captaincy and led the team effectively showing great maturity and drive to win.

The future is extremely bright for this year group and I am sure they are going to go from strength to strength all the way up to when they are playing senior rugby for AGS. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Dimbleby for giving up a huge amount of his time to run coaching sessions and taking fixtures and thanks also to Mr Manley for facilitating our sessions in the fitness suite each week.

Mr R Rooney

U12 Rugby

The season for U12 rugby started back in August when the new Year 7 boys attended the Sports Induction week here at

AGS. All new to the school, some active club players and some new to the sport of rugby. There was a range of different abilities and different attitudes towards the game. But there was bucket-loads of potential, lots of characters and great way to get involved in AGS life with the huge help of our coach Mr Gibbs.

A Team:

Played: 10 Won: 3 Lost: 7

B Team:

Played: 8 Won: 2 Lost: 6

Both teams started off the season with heavy defeats against Bedford Modern (85-0 for the As and 35-10 for the Bs), showing us that we had much to learn but spirits were not broken. The next week we went into training determined to learn something new and to win the next match. The training in the week paid off with wins for both teams against St Albans.

Maybe we were a little over confident for the next match when taking on Reading Blue Coats away. The As let a few easy tries pass by early on and then struggled to get back into the game . The Bs also lost in a close game of 25-35.

Towards the end of September, we travelled to Royal Latin for a great victory for the As. Scoring a few early tries gave us the momentum to score more. The B team also had a great result of 45-15 and this time with no injuries!

The next match was the big one, against RGS High Wycombe. The As were 3 tries down at half time but determined not to be outdone by our local rivals, the team dug deep and tackled superbly. Billy Knibb used his brilliant pace to score a superb try at a crucial time in the game to level the scores at 15-15. A try in the dying minutes secured a well-earned victory of 20-15. The B team sadly had a heavy defeat of 55-5 but remained in good spirits.

After the half term break both teams returned to suffer x2 losses against well prepared teams from Northampton School for Boys and Oxford’s Magdalen college. Dr Challoner’s was the next match which we always knew would be a tough outing with many of us knowing the Challoner’s players from clubs or previous schools. The As lost 45-0 but the score doesn’t reflect the impressive and relentless tackling put in by the boys and the all-round effort. The B team suffered a similar fate losing 60-15.

Another challenge awaited in the next game. It was Caldicott. The bus journey was highly entertaining with some good tunes. After the match, there was a great tea but the result sadly didn’t go our way. 50-10. Once again there were some stand out performances from Billy Knibb, Harry Woddus and Sam Johnson. James Marklow-Brown had an amazing game scoring both of our tries.

The final game of the season was against Watford Grammar at home. The As started the game on a high, scoring 2 tries in the first five minutes. We went on to score a total of 5 tries in the first half to Watford’s 2 tries.

In the second half we plummeted showing a lack of commitment and discipline and ended up losing a match we really should have won. The final score was 25-45. The B team lost 10-30 in another well contested match.

Player of the Season: Sam Johnson (D7)

Most improved player: Billy Knibb (Pa7)

Players’ player: George Mansfield (Pa7)

Overall it has been a hugely enjoyable season and first term at AGS. Thank you to Mr Gibbs for all his encouragement and guidance throughout the season. This is the first opportunity we have had to play together and we are looking forward to rugby in year 8.

Ollie Blundell – Phillips 7

1st XI Football

2017-2018 must go down as one of the most successful – if not the most successful season

played at 1st XI level. In our 18 games we won 15 and drew 3. The only blip on an undefeated record was that we lost a penalty shootout yet again – this time in the National Cup against Tring School. No side was able to defeat us in normal or extra time across a long season.

Played: 18

Won: 15

Drawn: 3

Lost: 0

Goals For: 63

Goals Against: 21 Goal Difference: +42

Top Scorers: Leo Blackman (10), Tom McElroy (8), Euan McDonald (8)

Top Assists: James Richardson (11)

I had a feeling that we had the potential to be successful after watching the traditional curtain-raiser against the Old Aylesburians, which we won 4-2. It was then straight into cup action in the group stages of the County Cup. We won all 4 matches against Sir Henry Floyd, Walton High, Chalfonts Community College and the Hazeley Academy, whilst Great Marlow conceded. We therefore finished our group as winners with maximum points, although several of these games were much closer than they should have been on account of our poor finishing. We really should have killed teams off much earlier.

In the National Cup we defeated a competitive Sir John Lawes School 3-1, with goals from Euan McDonald, Leo Blackman and Jonny Booth, which earned us a home tie against Tring School. This was the low point of the season where we were the victims of our own complacency. Having led through Alex Rice, we missed our usual array of chances and then conceded 2 goals, before a

late Harvey Thorne equaliser took the game to penalties. However the result might have been different if we had been awarded a stonewall penalty and then not been the victims of a soft penalty at the other end. Predictably we lost the resultant shoot-out 4-3.

In the Quarter Finals of the County Cup we were held 2-2 at home against Royal Latin, when once again we lacked the killer instinct to win the game in normal time. With light fading, we were forced to replay after the Christmas holiday.

After Christmas we really hit form. We preserved our unbeaten record with a last minute Leo Blackman equaliser at Reading Bluecoat and we also had several cancellations and postponements due to the weather. We then finished off the season with a run of 8 consecutive victories. We defeated Royal Latin 3-1 in the Quarter Final Replay, earning an away tie at Denbigh. For a week or two in March, the team played a brand of total football. Denbigh were beaten 8-0 in the County Cup Semi Final and two days later we beat Bedford Modern School – traditionally one of our toughest games of the season, by the same score. We therefore scored 16 goals without reply in 48 hours of high quality football. During this period James Richardson really hit top form and he contributed 11 assists in the course of the season. Attacking players and goal-scorers often get the plaudits, so a special mention should be made of two stalwarts at the back – Luke Priestly and Harry Poll, who both played all 18 matches. held at Slough Town’s superb new stadium. We undoubtedly entered the game with the tag of firm favourites, but I was confident that the 3G pitch would suit our skilful, passing game. Our opponents were old rivals Dr Challoner’s. AGS dominated the first half and we only had a goal from influential Captain Tom McElroy to show for our supremacy. The second half continued in the same way – AGS in near total control, creating plenty of chances, but unable to put the ball in the net. As we neared the last 10 minutes, I began to worry. We should have been out of sight, but Challoner’s were still one chance away from undeservedly taking the game to the dreaded penalties – dreaded because AGS have lost our last 6 or 7 penalty shoot outs. However, I needn’t have worried. With 10 minutes to go we scored a second – belatedly awarded to Jonny Booth by the Dubious Goals Panel. In the final moments Harvey Thorne broke away and coolly slotted home to give the game a more realistic score line. This was a superb achievement by the whole squad since we had not won the Under 18 County Cup since 2000 & 2 years ago we lost on penalties! I know that it meant a great deal to the squad.

Our final game of the season was against Chesham Grammar. After the euphoria of the previous week’s Cup Final, we slightly struggled on a terribly bobbly pitch against committed opponents. It was far from our best performance of the season, but Leo Blackman scored with the last kick of the game to earn us a 2-1 win and with it the Hawkinsport Trophy, competed for by ourselves, Challoners, John Hampden, Chesham Grammar and Sir William Borlase.

This has been a long, memorable, successful and hugely enjoyable season. I would like to congratulate everyone who has played for the team. They should all be very proud of their achievements.

Mr J Barrie

2nd XI Football

As Gary Lineker once said “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end,

the Germans always win”. I used to say the same about the AGS 2nd XI, but with 2 losses recorded this year and a win percentage of only 75% (#QuickMaths) the quote doesn’t quite sum up the team anymore. I have therefore undertaken a significant amount of research and plumbed the depths of my football knowledge to come up with some quotes from the football world that do accurately represent this year’s incarnation of the AGS Senior 2nd XI.

Played: 8 Won: 6 Drawn: 0 Lost: 2 Goals For: 31 Goals Against: 21

We start with the late great Johann Cryuff who said “Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins”. For the most part AGS were solid but we certainly made a few mistakes. A particular favourite was Xav Atkins throwing the ball in the back of his own net moments after goading the opposition and complaining about how rubbish they were.

Ex-England Manager Bobby Robson once said “We didn’t underestimate them, they were just a lot better than we thought”. This best sums up some of our defensive displays this year and in particular Lorenzo Cross and Toby Simon’s against Akeley Wood. They were given the run around for 80 minutes and conceded 5 goals, 2 of which went to a striker that Toby claimed “wasn’t even that good”.

“Well, football is a hard game; there’s no denying it” said Sir Alex Ferguson way back when. At times the AGS midfield certainly made it look that way with some wayward passing, questionable dribbling and hilarious attempts at goal.

Current Man City boss Pep Guardiola best summarises our strikers’ displays this year. He once said “the most difficult thing in football is to score a goal”. This is certainly something that Seyi Afonja, Simon Amaeshike and Adam Munir must agree with, but when they are missing an open goal from 5 yards out, they certainly could have made it look a little easier.

In truth the team wasn’t all that bad. They won more than they lost, played an attractive brand of football and scored some exceptional goals. Xav Atkins was largely a solid and dependable presence in goal, Jonny Dance ‘captain fantastic’ was a reliable defender and a threat on the overlap. Toby Simon was a consistent performer throughout the season and Lorenzo showed some very composed performances with some nice flashes of flair.

Shafiea, as expected could be heard long before he was seen, provided some entertaining in-game commentary to accompany his play. Tom Faulkner, who appears to play the game like someone playing FIFA on a PlayStation with a broken pass button, produced some dazzling displays and superb long range finishes. Leo Gualchierotti was dependable and robust in midfield and alongside him, Yusuf showed some very impressive performances and was a real threat in the opposition’s box.

Tom Carter displayed a wonderful variety of tricks out wide and Matt Kiely-Smith was a fantastic utility man, effective at plugging gaps in defence and midfield. Up front, Seyi showed some exceptional touches and has a wonderful ability to keep the ball. Adam Munir was a man mountain and a true number 9 that held the ball up effectively to allow the rest of the team to push forward. Simon Amaeshike must have finished the season as our top goal scorer combining his exceptional physical attributes of pace and power with some very composed finishing.

As always, there are too many players to mention, injuries hit the team hard at times and there were some very impressive cameo appearances from many of you.

Finally, well done to all those who have represented the teams this year. From the 1st XI to the 4th XI you have all demonstrated excellent character throughout the year and have been a credit to the school.

Mr G Davey

U16 Football

This season has been a very stop start affair for the the Year

11 side. Drawn in a small group in the area cup and a spate of cancelled fixtures due to the poor weather conditions has led to games this year being rather sparse.

Played: 8 Won: 6 Lost: 2 Goals for: 31 Goals against: 16

Similar to last year, we never really got going in the County Cup. After a convincing win against The Grange in the first round, we were pitted against a very robust Lord Grey side that managed to just edge us out of the competition with a 2-1 win. The two sides were evenly matched on the day but certainly, a team that AGS would feel comfortable beating if given the chance again. In the National Cup, we travelled to Luton to play a very strong Stockwood Park Academy side. Despite having played much of the better football and looking very composed on the ball we ultimately had no answer for the pace, power and penetration our opposition had. Time after time, we were picked off by a lightning fast counter attack. Despite a valiant effort in the second half where we played them off the pitch, the tie ended in a 6-3 defeat for AGS.

The area cup again became our only chance of silverware and we were dominant in our group recording 6-2 victories over both Waddesdon and Royal Latin. Our journey in this competition, as it had a year earlier, unfortunately ended in defeat at the Semi-finals stage to The Grange. However, the boys should be immensely proud of the effort, determination and dedication they have showed throughout the last 2 years and no doubt, they will go on to be successful at senior level.

Ollie Twidale has continued to demonstrate excellent authority as our goalkeeper with an ability to pull off some spectacular saves. In truth however, in many of our more recent games he has had very little to do with much of the credit going to our defence. Harry Cook and Ben Jacobs look very assured full backs capable of going forward and being a threat on the overlap. Our regular centre back pairing on Harry Edmonds and Jack Burns have displayed exceptional steal and composure throughout the year. Our midfield trio, regardless of who starts, always seems to have a great blend of guile, guts and finesse. Ollie Cay, Michael Amaeshike, Cam Ross and James Atkinson and Endurance Rich have created a very combative and creative midfield, which have at times bullied and played teams off the pitch. Complementing them, Ben Ratcliffe and Owen Williams have provided a potent creative attacking force in the wide areas and have been the source of many goals this year. Up front, Elton has demonstrated devastating pace and is a constant goal threat both from careful build up play and on the counter attack. I would like to thank the whole squad, you have dealt with the constant disappointments and set back of cancelled games very well and produced some fantastic football this year. Keep getting involved and enjoying your football!

Mr G Davey

U14 Football

The results are as follows:

Y9 B team: Played 5 Lost 4 – Drew 1

Y9 A team: Played 11 Won 7 – Drew 1 – Lost 3

After the ongoing trials throughout the games sessions in year 8 a provisional squad of around 35 boys had already been drawn up and these boys were excited to get going come January. Games came straight away and although it is normally the weather that causes the majority of the problems this year it seems that player availability or lack of availability was going to be the biggest issue for the staff. After the long wait to represent your school at football it seems that this opportunity was not as good as playing for your club and although I do have some sympathy for the players, the coaches were disappointed not to pick exactly who they wanted and see all of the boys play in the Saturday friendly games.

The Google Classroom group for year 9 football has 43 players yet Mr Rooney had to come into assembly on numerous occasions to try and get extra players just so that we could fulfil our fixtures. The lack of communication has been extremely frustrating but in response to that I would like to thank all the boys that stepped up at last minute (both year 8 and year 9 boys). Player availability on Saturdays has had an impact on the teams that we put out and it is no surprise to say that all of the losses for both teams came on a Saturday rather than a

midweek game. That said it was great to see so many boys represent AGS at football and a large majority were representing their school for the first time which is excellent, despite the mixed results, I do hope that you enjoyed the experience.

Interestingly, for the District Cup campaign for which the games are held during the week, the coaches have been able to select exactly who they want and this has resulted in some superb performances and excellent results. We beat Mandeville 6-3, Waddesdon 11-0, The Buckingham School 3-1, Royal Latin 12-2 and were awarded a walk over versus Akeley Wood all of which took us, as group winners, to a semi-final tie played after the Easter break.

Despite their inability to communicate effectively, their occasional moodiness at training and their reluctance to get changed quickly in order to get to period 5 after training I am starting to enjoy working with the A team squad!

There are a number of really good players in this team and at times this season they have played some excellent free flowing attacking football. They have also shown that they can win ugly too and the best example of that is the 3-1 win at Buckingham school on a pitch that makes the top field feel like Wembley. I would like to give a special mention to Jude Guest-Brainch who has been an exceptional captain both on and off the field. He has been committed to all training sessions, been available for all of the games and will go the extra mile to help the staff when needed. Back to the District Cup and finishing top of our District group led us to a semi-final match against John Colet. The opposition only had ten men so you would think it would be a straight forward game but this certainly wasn’t the case. JCS came back into the game after AGS led on two occasions and despite going down to nine players due to an injury, the game went into extra time.

Finally the extra men made a difference and AGS scored twice to make the final score 4-2. The team had made hard work of it but were through to the District final in their first season. The final was played at The Mandeville school on their 3G surface and a large crowd had gathered to see AGS play against Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School. The team played extremely well against the County Cup winners but just came up short losing 3-2 in a tight game. Timi scored two very well taken goals and on another day, it could have been a different outcome. It is obvious that there are some great individual players but over the season they started to work better as a team and have a greater understanding of whole team tactics, formations and an awareness of each other’s responsibilities. I certainly look forward to seeing how this squad develops next year.

A team squad:

David Williams, Julian Atat, Ollie Flecknell, Jake Field, Dylan Changer, Isaac Ayilara, Sanjit Mallya, Harish Ramesh, Jude Guest-Brainch, Matt Sparke, Timi Ashaolu, Daniel Olawale-Babs, Tom Smale, Will Ratcliffe, Max Cornish.

1st XI Cricket

Overall this has been a pleasing season for the senior cricket side and we certainly have a number of promising young cricketers coming through who will continue to represent the 1st XI for many

years to come. Two Year 9 boys have played this season as well as three Year 10s, two Year 11s, six Year 12s and three Year 13 students. It is fantastic the way in which the team welcomes new players regardless of their age and all season we have had an excellent team spirit with balance between competitive cricket and team cohesion.

The after school net sessions throughout the second term were well attended and this year we added an additional session in before school on a Friday. Despite boys having to get up much earlier in order to be in the sports hall by

7.45am, we had good numbers each week and this clearly demonstrates their desire to improve as cricketers.

In terms of results, we won 3 and lost 5 and, unfortunately games against Akeley Wood and RGS High Wycombe were rained off. Our competitive fixture list is always challenging but the players are happy to test themselves against top opposition and understand that these are the games that you learn the most from. In truth, improved game management at times could have led us to win close games against Dr Challoner’s and Bloxham School but we are a young side and the majority of the players from this year will be playing again next season.

I would like to say thank you to the Year 13 players who have contributed many years to AGS cricket; Toby Simon (H13), Tom Faulkner (Ph13) and especially Max Hutt (Pa13) who has captained superbly this year. We hope to see you in the OAs’ game next year!

Highlights this year include a comprehensive victory away against Bancroft’s School, two Year 10 boys Sachin Patel (Pa10) and Ryan Connor (D10) putting on a 50 partnership batting at 9 and 10 against Lord Williams’ and, a very enjoyable day at the Reading Blue Coats T20 Festival where Marcus Connor hit 98* in the semi-final versus Shiplake College.

Finally, I would like to thank Mr Holmes who is officially retiring at the end of this season. He has had a very big impact on AGS cricket over many years and worked hard to build the foundations of the successful cricket programme we now have at school.

Mr R Rooney

Top individual performances:

Usman Khan 38, 35, 56, 47, Tom Carter 24, 30, 2 for 29 off 3.2, 3 for 19 off 5, Max Hutt 27, 77, 88, 2 for 13 off 6, Marcus Connor 50, 55, 98*, Tom Faulkner 2 for 24 off 6, 2 for 15 off 3, Milan Laljani 3 for 36 off 5, 3 for 22 off 4, 23, 33*, Ben Jacobs 28, 69, 39, Sam Holcroft 4 for 30 off 4, Sachin Patel 38*, 2 for 22 off 4, Ryan Connor 24. Other squad members include Toby Simon, Vibhav Pandey, Sammie Robertson, Ahmad Iqbal, Rohan Mistry, Bhavan Jeyanathan (2 for 27 off 6) and Dinath Alwis.

U15 Cricket

The season started with a difficult opening fixture away at Stowe in the county cup.

It was the team’s first match together and they were up against some quality opposition, going down by 31 runs in the end. In reflection, scoring over 110 runs against Stowe was an impressive achievement as they have been dominant in every other fixture against other opposition. A week later, the side suffered a forgettable loss at home to RGS, being bowled out cheaply in the first innings. In reply, AGS were inventive with their fields, aggressive with their bowling and outstanding in the field. Luke Murray-Russell took the catch of the season and Sam Gilbert introduced us all to some interesting chat in the field.

The side then travelled away for a great encounter with Bedford Modern. Batting their 25 overs, AGS set an impressive 166-3, anchored beautifully by Sam Holcroft with 60no from his opening position. In reply, AGS limited BMS to 135-5 (Hirshal Patel with 2-24) via some brilliant bowling discipline and energy in the field.

They took that momentum into their next midweek home fixture against a Bloxham senior side (2nd/3rd XI sixth form pupils). AGS bowled supremely and with a true assertiveness, they were yet to show. Sachin Patel finished with 2 for 5 and Kai Bailey supported him with 2 for 13. Bloxham’s total of 80-7 was not enough, and Ryan Connor’s aggressive 34 from 38 balls sealed a comfortable 9-wicket victory.

A long layoff due to fixture cancellation followed the victory and the side then hosted a solid Akeley Wood outfit. With five players rested, it was a good chance to see some of the other players in action. The visitors set a decent total of 130-5 via some pure striking from the top order but were challenged by some fine efforts with the ball from Abdul Gohar (1-23) and Jasper Smith (2-18). In reply, Ollie McKenna performed well at the top of the order and built a lovely partnership with Sam Holcroft. Sam again anchored the innings brilliantly to a 67 not out that allowed AGS to be competitive. Kai Bailey came in lower down the order and dismantled the bowlers for a quickfire 23 off 15 balls but it was not quite enough as the side fell short by three runs.

In the final game of the season, the side came up against a strong DCGS side and were always chasing the game when DCGS set an impressive over 225. In reply, many batsmen contributed and made starts but they failed to build and fell 60 runs short in the end, Ollie McKenna top scoring with 30 runs.

U15 season:

Played: 6

Won: 2

Lost: 4

Berkhamsted 6-a-side Competition – Shield Winners.

The final commitment for the side came in a fantastic 6-a-side competition at the end of June. A new format to most of the boys, it was a brilliant experience for them all and tested their cricketing ability to the maximum. Group stage losses against DCGS and UCS Hampstead pushed AGS into the shield. On the big pitch one, in front of the crowd and with the music blasting, AGS put on a fine performance, bowling Bedford Modern out in under five overs. Holcroft and Connor impressed with the bat but it was the leg-spin of Ben Harding and seam of Kai Bailey that sealed the game in the end.

The final created a stressful, tense atmosphere from the word go. Batting first, AGS bludgeoned 79 runs for the fall of 1 wicket. At the half waypoint, the side were confident, but that soon changed when Berkhamsted’s B team opening batsmen began in style hitting 41 runs off the first two overs. It eventually came down to Luke Murray-Russell to bowl the final over, that saw his final delivery be edged for a streaky 4 that tied the score at 79 runs. After discussion with the umpires, a super over was announced. 6 balls. Most runs win…..we scored 14 for 1!

Luke “The Iceman” Murray-Russell, the Ian Poulter of cricket, stepped up. Supported by some great fielding in the deep by Freddie Perkin, AGS reduced Berkhamsted B to just 4-2 off their final over, settling a win for the AGS side.

The 6-a-side victory was a nice way to round off the season. There have been some brilliant moments to go along with some more forgettable instances. Many boys have held their hand up well and have shown massive development between Year 9 and Year 10, but also from the start to the finish of this school season. There is great strength in depth in this year group too, with plenty of competition for places and selection headaches for myself as coach. Competition for places builds progress and that will be important for this side moving forward into senior cricket next year. As many as six of the boys have represented the school regularly at 1st XI and 2nd XI level this season, which is wonderful for their development. They will need to call on that experience next year and in the rest of their AGS careers.

Mr L Gardiner

U14 Cricket

The Year 9s had started training

mid-way through April. We used the sports hall and/or the field on Mondays. The first match came late in April against Akeley Wood. There was tight bowling from everyone and we restricted them for 74-9. The opening pair of Bhavan (L9) and Danyaal (R9) had chased that below par score down with many overs to spare.

The next match was a cup match against John Hampden Grammar School. After losing the toss, we fielded first. We bowled extremely well and had bowled them out for 90. Despite a little collapse with our top order, we had chased the total in 13 overs; Bhavan top scored with 43. Next, came a game against Bedford Modern School. AGS batted first and made 166-4. Dinath (H9) hit 63. We bowled BMS out for 59. This was another very convincing win.

Afterwards, in mid-May, we played Bloxham School. AGS started slowly against a good bowling attack, but then accelerated to a hard earned 129. Bhavan made 70.

At the halfway point in their innings Bloxham were on top. They were going at a good rate and hadn’t lost any wickets. Though, after a good comeback, we won the game. Bhavan got 5 wickets. At this point, we had won all 5 of our games.

The streak was only to be broken in the county cup semi-final against Stowe School. We batted first and made 113, but that wasn’t enough on our ground. They’d chased it down with 3 overs to spare. We lost in a cup match and therefore thought we were out of the cup. A couple of weeks later, we had got some unbelievable news. Stowe School had been disqualified because they’d used overaged players! Everyone was buzzing and we were given a lifeline.

We had two friendlies against Berkhamsted School and Dr Challoner’s Grammar School. We lost to Berkhamsted by 35 runs, and we beat Dr Challoner’s comfortably. There was a fantastic opening partnership between Danyaal (60) and Bhavan (35).

Next was the crucial semi-final against Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School. We batted first, and started off shakily, losing our opening pair early. But the middle order stood up and brought the total to 115. We knew we had to bowl well and that is exactly what we did, bowling them out for 60. The Year 9s were in the finals for the 2nd time.

On the 10th of July, came the big game, the County Cup final vs. Dr. Challoner’s Grammar School. Both sides turned up early, preparing for the 25 over game. We lost the toss and bowled first. Everyone bowled extremely well, and we had restricted them to 111 on what was a good batting track. Our opening pair set out to bat and we started off well. There were good performances all round, including Danyaal (64). We chased the total with ease and won the cup for the second time in three years.

We’d like to thank Mr Ramsbottom for all the hard work he has put in to make this season possible.

U13 Cricket

Our season started against

Berkhamsted. Despite the fact that there had only been enough time for the squad to have two training sessions before this game, the team got off to an absolute flyer. Batting first, the As put on a solid score of 127 off 25 overs. A good opening partnership from Jack Callaghan and Archie Dodds was followed by impressive knocks from James Whitehead and Will Cliffe, which kept our run rate up. It was all then down to the bowling, which was not a problem for the likes of Will, Ben Kearney and James, who all took a brace of wickets. Berkhamsted ended up scoring 78 all out, meaning our first game of the season was a great success.

The second game, against Bedford Modern, was a completely different story and a bit of a rude awakening. We only managed to score 103 runs off of 25 overs as a result of some poor running and shot selection, which obviously meant that we needed to bowl and field very well in order to win. This however didn’t quite go to plan and on a very small pitch BMS batted aggressively and managed to reach and beat our total in only fifteen overs, for the loss of just one wicket!

Our next game was against Akeley Wood. As a ‘friendly fixture’ it was decided that we would mix up our normal batting order so that each player could start to experience different game situations. Getting the chance to open the batting, Dan Sudbery took full advantage of this to record an impressive knock of 42. Together with some good batting from Will, who managed 29 and George Birch, who got 32, we put together a total score of 168, which Akeley Wood never looked like beating. After restricting them to just 73 runs, it was great to record a confidence boosting win after the BMS game.

Next up was our first game in this year’s county cup against Royal Latin. For this we put out our strongest team in its normal batting order. Bowling first, RLS set a reasonable score of 100 off of 20 overs. In our closest game yet Archie managed to play a great innings, scoring 51 runs. This allowed us to beat the Latin’s total with only 1 over to go, meaning we were now into the next round of the cup. The final game of the half term was against Magdalen College, where the batting order was again mixed up. This time it was Will who shone with the bat, getting 32 while chasing a score of 107. We started slowly in our attempts to beat this total against good opposition and had about thirty runs to get off of the last four overs which, even for Archie proved too difficult a task (despite his best efforts notes Mr McGill) and we just fell short. Our bowling will not be mentioned as it was not one of our best performances!

Our first game after the break was against John Hampden, which provided us with the opportunity to field a mixed A and B team, allowing some of our squad players to get some valuable game time. Although we lost this game by 4 wickets, the star man for AGS was Ben Perking who, in addition to a decent knock with the bat, managed to take a 3 wicket haul in one over.

Our last two games of the season where our toughest yet. First we had Dr Challoner’s, who were previous cup winners. It was obvious that we were up for the game the moment we arrived, as our entire team had managed to turn up before their first player even arrived for their home fixture. We were sent in to bat first and a great opening partnership from Dan and Archie got us up to 70 in not too many balls. After that though we collapsed, losing 4 wickets for only 10 runs. Great batting from Ed Stubbs and Zac Fish managed to get us to 107. The opposition started off quite well and were on track to win, but we never let our heads drop. Thanks to some great field placement and fielding and some tremendous wicket keeping from Zac we managed to slow their run rate down. James got a key wicket, getting their best batsman out and with Challoner’s needing 7 to win off of the last, Ed stepped up to bowl a brilliant over from which only 3 runs were scored, securing us a great win.

For are final game of the season in the County Cup semi-final, we played old rivals RGS. If truth be told, it was a game that we unfortunately never looked like winning and in a high pressure game we retreated into our shells a little bit. They managed to get 137, with Archie getting 2 wickets, while Ansh Biyani and James bowled very well. Despite a few promising starts, none of our players managed to get enough runs to challenge the RGS total and we were bowled out for 103. It was a game we could have won, but on the day we never came close.

As I close the report I would like to say thanks to all the boys who have taken part in AGS cricket and the commitment shown this year. Most of all I want to say thank you to Mr Mattu and Mr McGill for coaching us, arranging all the fixtures and keeping everything organised. It has been a great season with highlights not just in the A’s but in the B’s and C’s as well, who played a number of fixtures that allowed all those who have attended training to represent the school. The B team’s record of played 4, won 1 (against Magdalen College) and lost 3 (against Berkhamsted, RGS and RBC) does not tell the story of their season properly, but it was great to see the likes of Josh Armstrong and Dan Tearle put on some fantastic performances. In each of these games at least 10 players were given the opportunity to bowl and they provided the opportunity for players like Riaghan Matheson to break into the A team.

All in all, it was fun and it looks very promising for next year.

Archie Dodds – Lee 8

U12 Cricket

The Year 7 cricket team enjoyed a generally successful first season together, winning 5 of our games and losing 3.

We started the season with a comprehensive victory over Berkhamsted, with both Hussan and Ollie making fine fifties.

Ollie was on form again in our next game versus Reading, making another half century after a superb fielding performance by Will as we chased down 120 with apparent ease.

Next up was the first round of the county cup. Against Chesham, Ali compiled his first fifty and was well supported by our bowlers, notably Uwais with 4 wickets, as we qualified for the semi-finals by 53 runs.

Our first defeat followed against Bedford Modern, despite 4 wickets for Alexander. Another 4-wicket haul, this time for Harry in our next game restricted Dr Challoner’s to 82, which we chased down calmly to win by 10 wickets.

In the county Cup semi-final, against John Hampden, a stellar group bowling effort ensured a more-thancomfortable victory, putting us in the final. Before that took place, we faced a strong Magdalen side and lost out in a tight game by just 7 runs, despite 5 wickets for Alexander.

The final match of the season was a disappointing one, losing to RGS in the final of the County Cup by 23 runs. With some of our more consistent bowlers having an off-day, Prag stepped up to take 3 wickets for

not many, but it was not enough as we struggled in bat against some tight bowling and fielding.

Despite this, it has still been a year to remember, with several very good performances and seasons. Hussan and Ollie both scored over 150 runs and Alexander was our leading wicket taker with 16. Sam showed his wicketkeeping prowess, claiming over 10 dismissals, and Uwais showed excellent control with the ball over every game. Ali, Prag, Aryan, Jonny, Harry and Will also put in important contributions towards our promising first season for AGS.

Meanwhile, the B team was capably led by Callum, who also had a consistent season with both bat and ball. So did Owen, who scored his first fifty against Reading in one of our 3 victories out of 7 games. They were supported in particular by Sam behind the stumps, Aryaman as another all-rounder and Aaron. It was great for so many boys to at least play in 1 match, and everyone who played represented the school well and contributed to whichever team they played in. Next year we will hopefully be even better and we look forward to what the summer of 2019 may bring.

Mr N Gibbs

Senior Basketball

This season we made our debut in the Academy Basketball

League (ABL). This meant that we would be facing a lot tougher competition than in previous years, but nevertheless we were hopeful and motivated to perform as well as we could. The squad consisted of (Captain) Aalim Shamsideen (Pa13), Kymir Ibragimov (H13), Tanatswa Chinzowu (Ph13), Ollie Mulcahy (H13), Jaden Adigun (H12), Henry Bambrick (Pa12), Sam Heasman (Pa12), Will Liggett (H13), Joslyn Mcleod (Ph11), Harvey NewlandSmith (D11), Mayokun Okusanya (L12), Luke Parry (Ph11), Rob Preston (Ph12), and Alistair Kemp (H12). Unfortunately, we had a very young team this year which meant that the season was going to be all the more challenging for us, but ultimately, I am pleased with the way the season went, with many players undergoing drastic improvements to their game and giving it their all.

We started the season with a win at home against Uxbridge, Jaden Adigun lead the team to victory with 23 points supported strongly by Sam Heasman’s 17 points and spectacular dunk. Jaden’s raw, gritty style of play was crucial to the team throughout the season, as his sheer strength allows him to back down taller players and get easy finishes at the rim. This season Jaden also stepped out of his comfort zone establishing himself as threat from the perimeter, this allowed for more opportunities on the court for him to punish opposing players. Sam standing at 6’6” towered over the majority of defenders – coupled with his insane standing reach and athletic ability, Sam was easily our most valuable rebounder, proving to be very consistent at grabbing rebounds and going up strong to put them back in. He is also quite a reliable free throw shooter, so we could always count on him to put up some good numbers, this is why it was especially difficult when we lost him due to an injury, which put a lot of pressure on Jaden, as he was often required to play ridiculous minutes, but never did he complain so a massive thank you to Jaden this season!

This season Joslyn, Harvey and Luke were up against players who were 2 or 3 years older than them, but I never once noticed any of them backing down, instead they gave every game their all, often at times reminding us older boys the mindset we should have.

Luke is an athletic guard who can knock down a three when needed, chase down and block the opposing players on the fast break with ease, and he is consistently vocal with the team letting us know what is working and what is not.

Harvey is one of the smallest guys on the squad but his use to the team is undeniable. He is easily one of our best shooters, providing us with a lot of opportunities for drive-and-kick situations in which you can always count on him to score, and when Harvey gets hot, he is unstoppable!

Joslyn is one of the most athletic players I’ve ever met, and he is extremely mature for his age. This season he proved to be one of our most valuable players despite being one of the youngest in the entire league!! This just shows the immense talent he possesses. He is able to manoeuvre his way around numerous players and finish with contact at the rim and can always be counted on behind the perimeter.

Many players showed huge improvements this season; this was Ollie’s first season and he showed tremendous improvement throughout, becoming a massive help to Jaden both on offence and defence; Tan showed that despite being the smallest on the team his experience and skill meant that he was possibly our best on-ball defender, rarely allowing any to pass him; but the greatest improvement I saw this season was from Henry who started off this season not being able to hit a three to save his life, but by some miracle our very own Henry Bambrick finished off the season being officially recognised as the 2nd best 3pt-shooter in the entire league, which is an astounding achievement and is only the result of hard work and determination, so a massive congratulations to Henry this season!

Lastly a huge thank you to the team manager Osazee who was a massive help in filming the home games, and also to the home supporters who came with such vigour, helping spur us on every game!

Aalim Shamisdeen – Paterson 13

Handball

The AGS handball season has been, once again, an extremely successful campaign with excellent development and performance across both the

U13 and U15 squads. Over the course of the year, more than 100 boys have been involved with extracurricular handball and more than 50 have represented the school in district, county, regional and national competitions.

U13 Squad

Numbers for the Year 8 U13 squad blew away our expectations from the first training session. With nearly a third of the whole year group in attendance, it was great to see so many students engaged with and enjoying handball - a theme that would develop throughout the season. For the first time ever, we submitted two squads to the District and County championships, and competed in some very even and tightly-fought fixtures, against strong levels of competition. Utilising the strength of Alex Brown on the line and Sam Tung and Ben Kearney in the back three, AGS overcame their opponents without too much hardship, qualifying for the Regional finals and showing much maturity and composure for such a young group.

After four months of dedicated practice with impressive commitment from all of the boys, we found ourselves heading to Surrey Sports Park to compete with the other

County Champions. Just the winner would progress to the National finals. In a typical AGS manner, the boys started with nerves and angst, playing without their usual freedom or fluidity, causing an initial shock to the system as they struggled in their first game. Rallying together, however, with some superb leadership from Ben Warner and Ben Kearney, the team manoeuvered themselves back into a strong position, winning their first game with some exceptional handball in the last couple of minutes. Christian Lynch and Theo Bockmuehl impressed from the bench, combining together well to finish off a number of successful AGS attacks.

Games followed against a plethora of teams from across the South East, with goalkeepers Aarya Poondy and Ollie Lemonde ensuring a strong defensive foundation, built upon by a fantastic tackling display from Oscar Wellbelove and Harry Holmes, working hard to cover ground across the court and ensure that opposition teams were restricted and frustrated when they had the ball. At the other end of the court, wingers Harry Wilson and Joe Barber were causing a multitude of problems for the opposition teams, and the end result was three resounding wins for AGS, taking them into the final against Christ’s College, a school who we hadn’t met at this stage of the competition before but knew would pose one of the squad’s greatest handball challenges to date.

Despite the AGS boys being full of confidence following their previous successes, there was a nervous tension in the air as throwoff approached, with both teams recognising each other’s strengths and identifying strategies with which they could combat them. The game started steadily and grew in both entertainment and quality as both teams settled in, with some of the most fantastic handball on display. There was a true understanding of positional awareness and group cohesion from both teams on the court that not many U13 handball games can boast, matched with two equally competitive and highquality sides with technical ability and exceptional decision-making skills. As the game progressed, the two teams scored equally, often returning a goal conceded with a goal of their own, and the inevitable became the reality: extra time.

Two periods of two minutes long were to be played, and this was executed with the same fierce competitiveness as the rest of the game. Unfortunately for AGS, the Surrey-based school scored early before becoming a defensive fortress and giving few opportunities for our attacking outlets to succeed. The game would finish 5-4 to Christ’s College, meaning that AGS would not qualify for the National finals, despite displaying some of their very best handball on the day.

Coming away from the event as coaches, we can absolutely reflect on the progress that was seen by the boys from their first training session in September to the spectacle of handball that all enjoyed in the Regional finals. The boys have come a great way over a short period of time, and it is testament to their relentless commitment and enthusiasm to the sport, alongside their willingness to learn, that they have continued to be successful and develop, in an ever more diverse, experienced and competitive handball world.

U15 Squad

Following on from last year’s U13 squad, this would be the first year that AGS would field a squad of players across different year groups; the combination of experience,

dedication and physicality certainly lived up to its expectations.

The U15 squad easily navigated their way through the District and County competitions (no mean feat with the likes of John Hampden and Royal Latin always eager to get one over on AGS), again submitting two squads of players. The formidable Sam Gilbert won plaudits from competition organisers for his strength and power on the wing, whilst the experience of Sam Hurley-Cook and Harry Jones as backs kept the team firmly under control and allowed them to exploit multiple tactical deficiencies of the opposition.

This would then lead to the squad qualifying once again for the Regional tournament: a competition that we had already seen with the U13s would not necessarily be plain sailing. However, as the Y10s continued to integrate with the squad overall and deepened their positional understanding, the team looked as though it would certainly be competitive. Players such as Joe Maggs, Chris Bond and Logan Smith were building in confidence, skill level and application every time that they stepped onto the handball court, and we were all secretly excited for the team’s chances in Surrey.

Starting with an effervescence of energy and enthusiasm, the AGS side saw early success against a range of different teams. Notably, Sam Hurley-Cook’s newly invented alternative hip shot was constantly finding holes within the opposition, whilst Max Dolphin and Ollie Flecknell worked superbly hard across the line to screen and create opportunities for the AGS backs and Sam Kearney’s imperious defensive fortitude minimised the attacking opposition threats.

With a number of decisive wins early in the competition, AGS found themselves in a final against another rogue and unknown school, who had played an intense style of handball through the tournament. It would require every player to step up and reach their pinnacle height of performance for AGS success, and they had little problem in accommodating that. With Tayo Oluranti-Ahmed growing further in confidence and athleticism with every attack and Ashray Moses covering fast breaks with some excellent running, AGS were able to beat the opposition in normal time by a comfortable margin of goals and qualify for the National competition for the first time since 2015 in this age group.

As has been an ever-present feature of this squad, enthusiasm and desire to learn at training continued with force between the Regional and National finals, allowing them to develop holistically and build a good platform from which they can now choose to develop with external handball pathways if they wish. The one final challenge of the season, though, would come in the shape of a Saturday tournament at the University of Worcester.

Uncharacteristically, the team began slowly, caught off the pace against a strong team from the North West. Despite some reassembling among the group, they were unable to overcome the initial hurdle and lost the game by a one goal margin. There was a realisation, at this point, of the magnitude of individual performers and teams at this level of competition, giving the AGS squad a good idea of where they sat. After the second game followed in relatively similar vein, it was clear that the lacking physicality of a Y9/10 squad against the powerful and athletic opposition was a clear sticking point, and nullified the tactical and technical advantages that the team is used to playing with. Nevertheless, despite a disappointing run of results which saw AGS come away with just a couple of wins and a draw, there were some consistent and mature performances from players such as Robbie Lawns, who was able to draw the width in the opposition from his left-hand wing position and Nathan

McDonald, who kept us in games where we should’ve been out of sight with some fine stops in crucial moments.

The squad were understandably disappointed coming away from the competition, but it’s important that their achievements are put into context: with a mixed squad, they finished within the top half of the National finals, and in the top 4 of more than 500 national entries into the competition. As a team, they have had an incredible cohesion and bond, combined with a relentless desire to play the game of handball and be the best that they can be. We thoroughly hope that those Y9s continue with success as they become the senior members of the U15 squad, and that the Y10s pursue external handball routes to continue building on their early success.

A massive thank you from Mr McGill, Adam Woodage and Tom Aston for all of the effort of every player who has come to training or been involved with the squad over the last season. You have been a pleasure to coach and we look forward to as many of you continuing as possible next year!

Tennis

Seniors

The Senior Team of Daniel Dean (R12), James Weller (Pa12), Krishna Chintamreddy (Pa12) and Joel Good (Ph10) reached the regional final of the Glanville Cup which is the LTA’s Senior Schools’ competition.

We received a bye in the 1st Round and then met Watford Boys’ School, Hertfordshire in round 2. This was always going to be a reasonably tough match for our side, with the tie being played outdoors on AstroTurf, a notoriously fast and sometimes difficult surface. AGS won the tie 10-2

Daniel Dean beat Alex Ali Habib 6-0 6-0, Joel Good beat Tom Watts 6-0 6-0, James Weller beat Patrick Evans 6-2 6-3 and DJ Mentiply (Ph8) lost to Dhillon Dodhia 1-6 0-6. We went on to take both doubles with Dean/Good and Weller/Chintamreddy

We moved on to our Regional SemiFinal away against UCS. On paper AGS were the slightly stronger team, and our players are always more than happy to put up a fight. Daniel Dean had a reasonably comfortable match and always looked in control, winning 6-4 6-4. Joel Good at No 2 had a difficult match against Tom Skinner, it was poised at one set a piece before Joel took the final 3rd set tie break, the final score was 6-4 3-6 10-5 . James Weller again won at No 3 beating Josh Imber 6-1 6-0 and Krishna Chintamreddy at No 4, served particularly well to beat Jon Ehmrooth 6-2 6-4. AGS therefore did not need to play either of the doubles rubbers, taking the match 8-0. An outstanding win in hot conditions, AGS moved on to the next round.

AGS were in the Regional Final for the 5th year in succession, an outstanding achievement for a state school. Our opponents were Sherfield School, Hampshire and a team consisting of four tennis scholars. The match was a home fixture, our first in this competition for 2 years and hosted at Halton Tennis Centre, on clay courts which are not the easiest to play on. AGS got off to a mixed start in the singles, Daniel Dean lost 6-4 2-6 2-10 to Liam Hignett. At No 2 Joel Good was eventually too good for Miles Bromilow winning 6-3 7-6, James Weller lost 2-6 1-6 to Dean CooperKirby. The final singles match would prove vital. Krishna Chintamreddy played well on the clay, but found Alex Dawson too strong losing 3-6 2-6 so it would be decided by the doubles. AGS had real concerns and major issues as they were 6-2 down and therefore had to win both doubles rubbers to force a match shoot out!! Daniel Dean and Joel Good got AGS off to the best possible start beating Hignett/ Bromilow 6-1 6-4. It came down to the second doubles match. Weller/ Chintamreddy played good doubles, battled hard and came pretty close to

forcing a 3rd set tie break. However this year it was just not meant to be, they came up just short, losing 2-6 5-7. No Last 16 in GB this year, no National Finals. The players will play plenty of tennis over the summer and there is always next year.

Year 10 AEGON Team

Our season started in the best possible way with a 10/2 win away at Dr Challoner’s, with good singles wins for Joel Good (Ph10), Dylan Sellors (R10) and Chris Bond (Ph10). The boys then paired up with Freddie Perkin (R10) to win both doubles matches. Our next match was v RGS with AGS taking the win comfortably 8-4.

Two more wins quickly followed with AGS beating Sir William Borlase’s 10/2 and Sir William Ramsey 12/0. This meant AGS needed to win our match v RGS High Wycombe to progress to the national stages of the competition in September 2018. The match saw AGS dominate RGS with Joel, Freddie, Dylan and Chris all winning their singles matches for the loss of just 2 games!! Both doubles rubbers were played but were just a formality and two more comfortable wins for AGS.

A great season, which is certainly not over. AGS will need to continue to play good tennis and battle on in the Autumn term 2018.

Year 8 AEGON Team

!!!Shock News Flash!!! After I completed this report Dr Challoner’s lost to Sir William Borlase’s School 7-6….. So AGS have made the Regional Play-offs in September.

This is how I finished last year’s Aylesburian tennis report. Well the Regional rounds started well in September 2017 for AGS. We comprehensively defeated Bedford Modern School 12-0. With comfortable singles wins for DJ Mentiply (Ph8), Ben Perkin (R8), Maxim Plumridge (Pa8) and William Murphy (H8), alongside the two doubles rubbers. The final Regional round to reach the top 16 in GB was far tougher v The Matthew Arnold School. DJ Mentiply had a very good win at No 1 beating Rafferty Read 7-6, further singles wins followed with Ben Perkin beating Rafe Llewellyn 6-3 and William Murphy beating Edward Dashwood 6-0. Maxim Plumridge/William Murphy then won the vital second doubles match 6/2 to propel the AGS year 8 team into the last 16 in GB.

How did the final stages go? They were tough in our group we played Culford School, Reed’s School and New Hall, these are some of the very best tennis schools in the country, with teams made up of National standard players on tennis scholarships! Let us say we found the day a worthwhile learning experience. In sport to judge where you are you must match yourself against the best. The players learnt some important lessons and in the long run will benefit from them. Three very tough matches played and three matches lost.

So on to this summer season. The team is older and wiser. However our toughest match of the summer, was also our first match of the summer season. We lost 6-7 in a tie break shoot out to arch rivals Dr Challoner’s. It was all nicely poised at 6-6 with excellent singles wins for Fraser Reeves (Ph7) at No 2, 6-0 v J Mellows and Ben Perkin

6-4 v R Spittal. AGS then took the first doubles with Mentiply/Reeves beating Oakley/Mellows J 6-1. Unfortunately we lost the second doubles 5-7 and then the “Shoot-out” 6-10 and therefore the match!!

Really good wins then followed against Caldicott School 12-0, Sir William Borlase’s 10-2 and RGS 8-4.

The season culminated with the annual Tennis Trip to Wimbledon on the 3rd July and the students really enjoyed watching some excellent tennis on No 2 court, in particular the third match of the day between Dominic Thiem and Marco Baghdatis; Dominic Thiem is an amazing player and surely a future Grand Slam winner, however Baghdatis had one final great day in the sun. Doing it for the out of condition! Older player! He showed a little like Federer that if you can hit the ball clean, if you have great technique and all the shots in the book at your disposal, then on your day anything is possible.

Can I just thank all the tennis players who have represented AGS with distinction this season. For the seniors, you were so close to reaching the last 16 in the country once again; UCAS prediction exams and injury did not help, but once again you proved that you can play really good tennis. To the juniors, keep practising and continue to improve. Often in tennis at all levels, it just comes down to serving really well; that is something you can practise on your own, you do not need a coach, you do not need an opponent, you just need a bucket of tennis balls and a free tennis court.

Finally for the Year 10 team a huge well done for winning the county event and we now advance to the regional matches in September 2018.

Mr P Dean

Year 7 & 8 Tennis Club

This year at AGS I have participated in several clubs and I am very grateful that I have had the chance to experience so many as they are all very enjoyable.

One club really stood out to me this year and that was the tennis club. The club meets every Friday lunchtime in the Sports Hall and for the Summer term has progressed outside. Initially the club was arranged for Year 7 students only but eventually we let the Year 8s have a go too in order to expand our skills.

It really stood out to me because we had an experienced coach from Halton Tennis Centre called Neale, who ran the club. He showed us various different styles of tennis to play, most of which I had never heard of. Slowly, but surely new elements were added in, leading up to an enjoyable, challenging and complex game.

We started to concentrate on ‘touch tennis’, playing on a smaller indoor court with a lighter ball. This ensures that rallies are longer, forcing players to really think as to how they are going to win the rally and the points on offer. It is a really high-paced and energetic game and we all got into it very quickly indeed.

Some people had previous tennis experience and some did not, but the game helped all abilities to improve and work well together.

One of my friends attended the club alongside me, which made it exciting because there was always a chance I would face him and have a decent, but not-too competitive game.

In the sessions, we occasionally did slightly stranger things like a race but with slightly different rules: the race started when a specific tennis ball hit the ground, but believe me, it’s not as simple as it sounds. There were other elements, such as trick tennis balls and lines, to teach us to be more aware of the ball. That was my favourite part of the club because watching everyone race around clueless of what they were doing was surprisingly entertaining.

During the summer term, we were also given the opportunity to attend an evening tennis session at Halton Tennis Centre, just for AGS students. I am taking part in these too, and really enjoying these because we are playing on clay courts. We have the same coach, Neale, who is teaching us how to serve and control the ball.

I have really enjoyed tennis this year, and will carry on practising over the Summer. I hope to continue playing tennis in year 8.

Athletics

Overall, athletics has had a mixture of ups and downs this past term, Aylesbury Grammar has often done quite well in these competitions, with us almost always getting past the first round, but falling short in the second, this year wasn’t much different.

We started off well in the summer term, going into the county event feeling confident, and this confidence was deemed necessary as it led both the juniors and inters boys to third place finishes. Keeping in mind we were in a harder competition this year, with every team having both the morale and the ability to place first, we had a good result, and we were able to make the next round of the competition.

Going into the regional competition, our determination wasn’t as high as it was in the previous round, maybe it was the sudden heatwave striking, or maybe we just weren’t as confident, shown with the 6th out of 7 place finish from the inters, and the juniors coming last. This meant we were out of the competition, nevertheless we still gave it a good try, and with our heads held high we went into the last competition of the school year.

It was our last chance to place first in an athletics event, the districts, looking back at the regional, we did all we could to improve, and by the time we got to the event, our team was looking stronger than ever. This was shown when the year 8 boys were able to win the event, with the year 9s not far behind, this was thanks to the incredible performances from all the competitors, but mainly victories for Basit Adeogan (100m), Mathew Sparke (300m), and a second place finish for Same Kearney (Shotput).

Next year, we hope to build upon our success, and learn from our failures, in order to do our absolute best in further competitions, I want to thank all the athletes who have given their time to come and give it their all for their school, and hopefully we can keep doing that for years to come.

Mr N Gibbs

Squash

AGS Squash is as popular as ever and now we have 4 age groups (U19, U17, U15 & U13) competing in National Schools, with a new format introduced

by England Squash. You can now only enter players in 1 age group and with this in mind our strongest team is the U17 team which is primarily our 1st team in friendlies. The aim is to progress as many of these age groups to the later stages of nationals as there is no longer a trophy competition for first round losers.

The U19 squad is Alex Axford, Ed Mathews, James Glover, Krishan Chintamreddy, Jude Cornish, Dylan Holmes Cowan & Tom O’Shea for national matches. We are in a group of 5, with top 3 going through to the knock out stage. We have managed to progress with wins over John Hampden and Berkhamsted, despite close losses to RGS & Dr Challoner’s.

The U17 team is Marcus Connor, Lewis Milner, Dan Choudhury, Harshit Gupta & Ryan Connor and have registered wins against both John Hampden A & B teams, Kenilworth,and Bromsgrove all convincingly 5-0. This means they have topped their regional group and they also progress to KO stages. The boys are a very strong squad and have potential to be one of the school’s most successful teams in recent decades. This squad also play as a 1st team in friendlies

and have had wins against Eton, Harrow, Abingdon, and Radley in recent months. They also remain unbeaten in the Bucks Junior League having won all their matches without dropping a single leg. M. Connor, Choudhury & Gupta also represented AGS in the Surrey Open Schools in Epsom College and were victorious, winning the tournament with competition from some impressive independent schools.

The U15 team have had to deal with their No 1, Ryan Connor, stepping up to U17s. The squad of Callum Egan, Ollie Carolin, Sam Woods, Joe Maggs, Logan Smith, Alex Davies & Harry Woodus have struggled to make an impact in their group and subsequently failed to make later stages. The experience gained will stand them in good stead for next year.

The U13 squad of DJ Mentiply, Silas Glover, Dryw McLaren, Thomas Whitehead, Ollie Peck & Aaron MacWhirter made a very steady start to their group and despite very narrow 3/2 defeats finished up with a 3/2 win over Challoner’s. We are unsure if they have gone through to the knock out stages, and so emulating the U19 & U17 teams, as we are waiting for other results from the group.

We also running a 2nd team in Bucks League this year playing in Div 2 and they are currently lying in 2/3 position in league. Great commitment is shown from all the boys giving up their Sunday afternoons and thanks to their captain Jude Cornish. This year’s National Schools’ Competition has now concluded and our U17 team has become the most successful team from the school for many decades, finishing 2nd overall.

The U17 team of Marcus Connor, Lewis Milner, Dan Choudhury, Harshit Gupta & Ryan Connor have had a magnificent season and can be considered the best team in recent history. They topped their regional group with 100% record, progressing to KO stages where they overcame John Hampden 5-0 and The Stanway School in Essex 5-0 and so qualifying for National Finals. The format of the competition this year meant that only the top 4 teams in the country would be playing in the finals. So we headed off to Nottingham to challenge the best juniors in the country knowing we would at least be ranked 4th best team in the country, but obviously aspired to be the best!

They were drawn to play Langley Park which posed a serious threat to our hopes. However, the boys came through with a 3/2 victory, with wins from Choudhury, Gupta and Ryan Connor. AGS had made the final and looked forward to our match against squash academy Ackworth School, Yorkshire. Ackworth boasts many of the top players in the country, and world, so this was going to be tough. After the first 2 matches we were level at 1-1 with Ryan Connor winning again on what was his Finals debut.

Unfortunately Choudhury went down 3/2 and Gupta also lost 3/1 which meant a win was needed from our 1 and 2 players if we were going to write history. Marcus Connor played the game of his life and despite having match balls was narrowly beaten by World No 1 Sam Todd in another 3/2. Milner then lost to another highly ranked junior 3/0 and our dream of a National title had faded but the effort put in by all the boys and the great spirit and sportsmanship shown throughout has been unquestionable. The support parents have given has also been overwhelming and thanks to them for their commitment to the cause.

National Schools’ competition in the U13, U15 and U19 age groups with the U13 and U15 teams going out at the first stage of the competition. Our U19 squad of Alex Axford, Ed Mathews, James Glover, Krishna Chintamreddy, Jude Cornish, Dylan Holmes Cowan & Tom O Shea progressed to the KO rounds, narrowly missing out on finals, losing to Harrow after beating Merchant Taylors’ in the previous round. Great effort by all the boys and most will have a chance to go one better next season.

Our quest for national glory continues but AGS Squash can be proud of many other achievements and successes this year. Our Under 17 squad had a warm up match before National finals against Harrow, who finished 3rd in the U19 National finals, and recorded an impressive win against them. The Bucks Junior League title has been won again and M. Connor, Choudhury & Gupta also represented AGS in the Surrey Open Schools in Epsom College and were victorious, winning the tournament with competition from some impressive independent schools. This has been a very successful season and one of the best AGS has ever had.

If any students are wanting to emulate this amazing effort in future get yourself down to the courts at lunchtime and after school where coaching and help is readily available.

Mr D Withey

Swimming

Coming off the back of another successful swimming season in 2016/17, the new 2017/18 squad had great heights to live up to this year with potential, in some age groups, to reach national finals once again and compete with the most prolific sporting schools in England.

Although swimming is a fairly new competitive sport to AGS, talent within the dozen or so swimmers who are involved is likened to that of some of our most successful sporting teams and hopes were high that we could maintain this success. The first challenge of the year was regional finals, an event used to rank schools nationally in order to select the top 30 of each age group for the ESSA nationals.

Although this was the first time that each team of four had swum together as a group, and despite some fierce competition in what is clearly a very strong swimming region, all three teams (Junior, Inter and Senior) pulled together on the night. After what can only be described as utter domination from our junior and inter teams as well as podium finishes in the seniors, AGS managed to accrue the most points overall and won the Regional competition for the second time in three years- we were all into the national finals at the Olympic pool, Stratford.

With a few months of training separating the two events, AGS came into the finals well prepared and motivated to replicate some top ten places as has been done in previous years- Mr Gibbs was certainly hopeful. Knowing the junior team, consisting of Sam Pyfinch (Pa8), Carmelo Almadin (Ph8), Murray Wakefield (Le8) and Will Annat (H7), had been seeded very strongly and swimming exceptionally well in the heats, we were not disappointed to see they had entered into the finals in 2nd and 3rd place for the Freestyle and Medley relays respectively. However following an

unfortunate disqualification in the Freestyle final, the junior boys still managed a Bronze medal in the Medley: AGS’s highest placing ever at a national swimming event, clearly a positive indication of future AGS success.

The inters were up next, consisting of Jack Edwards (L9), Nick Reed (Ph10), Ish Rahim (R10), Ted Gundry (H10) and James Phillips (H10), and whilst battling against some exceptionally strong teams in the Freestyle relay, achieved a 6th place seed for the afternoon finals in the Medley and eventually a 5th place overall- so far so good for the top ten finishes. Lastly came the Seniors consisting of Michael Witham (Pa13), Cam Brooker (D11), Tom Selby (R11), James Chennells (L11) and Oscar Almadin (Ph11), and despite having a relatively young team made up of mostly year 11s there was still hope that we could compete well against the older competition. Indeed, although the disappointment of disqualification was seen again in the Medley, 11th place was achieved in the Freestyle, narrowly missing out on the senior finals. Overall, a very satisfying day for AGS with some exceptionally fast swimming, once again, Aylesbury Grammar is a sporting force to be reckoned with nationally. It would seem each and every year the squad builds on the success of previous ones- who knows what next year will have in store?

Following on from such a great achievement, the hunt for talent has been brought back to AGS through the creation of the weekly swimming club run by Mr Gibbs. It provides an opportunity for anyone in the school to come along and be coached by the competition squad throughout the academic year and a way of keeping swimming alive even past the national competitions. The interest in the sport has exceeded any of our expectations and it is a pleasure to see that swimming is now a thriving sport in AGS with, undoubtedly, an extremely bright future for those involved.

Michael Witham – Paterson 13