SPORTING OPPORTUNITIES
Love of The Game Cricket at Westminster Under School Any history of cricket would for cricket at Westminster certainly mention Westminster — Under School. It forms a key it was a sport played here as far part of Games from Years back as the mid-1700s, long before 3 to 8 during the summer the formation of the Marylebone term, with training taking Cricket Club and the laws of place on our ten-acre playing the game. Westminster were fields right in the heart the winners of the world’s first of London, where pupils ever inter-school match versus benefit from well-maintained Charterhouse in 1794. grass wickets as well as nets. The 1800s saw an explosion Lessons are led by two full-time of sporting competition and the PE teachers and six experienced introduction of regular fixtures, coaches - including three who also including those with MCC and the coach at Lord’s - and the Director Lords and Commons, as well as of Cricket at Banstead Cricket against many other schools. Club. In all this history, games were Keen cricketers can also train played on the site that is now our year-round through a dedicated Vincent Square playing fields. after-school club to further Today, that tradition remains in develop their skills and passion. the exact same place. Opportunities are plentiful, There is a genuine passion from U11 and U13 tournaments
Riding High Equestrian sports at Bryanston Bryanston’s ‘learning in the saddle’ ethos is riding high, with both its Prep and Senior schools celebrating competition victories, facility upgrades and individual honours that underline a riding tradition first established on the Dorset campus in the 1950s. In the Prep School’s BHS-approved yard, Reception children take part in stable management and care sessions of 13 ponies, while Years 1-8 rotate through hacks, flat-work and showjumping in the all-weather arena. Family events like the summer gymkhana take place alongside inter-school teams competitions year-round. Seven Prep riders recently collected nine podiums at the NSEA Grass Roots Regional Championships, alongside style awards and rosettes. A short canter up the drive, the Senior School’s yard - highly commended by the British Horse Society welcomes pupils’ own horses
to the biennial South Africa tour, which offers a chance to experience playing in a new environment. The summer 2025 season ends with a match against a visiting team from Singapore, an event pupils are already looking forward to and a fitting way to round off a season that celebrates a shared love of the game. STACEY SOLUADE Communications Officer www.westminster.org.uk
and offers coaching in dressage, showjumping and eventing. Director of Riding Sophie Starr’s team blends tuition with sports psychology, biomechanics and strength training for those on the HighPerformance Sports Programme. Facilities match ambition with indoor and outdoor arenas, schooling ring, portable cross-country fences and two full sets of show jumps sitting under a five-star licence. A Year 11 riding scholar calls the yard: “The highlight of my day.” stating that stabling her horse on site lets her “compete at a high level.” Nowhere is the Prep-to-Senior pathway clearer than in polo, with two pupils sweeping all three chukkas at November’s SUPA Friendly in Oxford and a Year 9 pupil becoming the youngest rider named in the PV Dubai 2025 squad. Sophie Starr’s aim at Bryanston is simple: “Take care of the horses as well as we do the pupils.” Judging by this year’s results, both are thriving. SOPHIE PENDER CUDLIP Communications and PR www.bryanston.co.uk TURN TO PAGES 68-69 for tips for beginner padel players
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