AWAY FROM ELSTREE

IAPS Judo Competition

This year’s IAPS Judo Competition was held at the majestic ACS International School in Egham. A beautifully organised event with a relaxed atmosphere meant the children could put their training to the test and perform to their very highest standards.

Many of our judokas (or judo players) were a mixture of nervous and excited at first, but once they got started, nerves turned to concentration and skills flowed.

2023 Ski Trip

“Don’t tell my family, but that was the greatest day of my life!” – Quote from an unnamed pupil on the 4th day of the Elstree Ski Trip 2023.

34 pupils and 5 members of staff jetted over to the French Alps for adventure and adrenaline! Quickly becoming a tight band of brothers and sisters, making sure to look out for the stray bit of lost kit but also eager to make some special memories.

A lovely little window into the ski trip world is that everyday folks at home are treated to a barrage of photos, videos, and a blog of all the days happenings. Here is a tiny snippet of just one such blogs.

‘Huge excitement as more snow had fallen overnight. The beginners caught the shuttle bus down to the bottom of the mountain with Mrs Payne and Miss Boyd and everyone else flew down the mountain side. Being the first to cut through all the fresh powder with the clear blue sky and glorious vistas the only distractions. The group caught the very first gondola up to the top of the mountain where they had a good chance to explore. Meanwhile the beginners worked on their snow ploughs and turning technique.’

‘Everyone had a fantastic afternoon doing jumps, whizzing down reds and the beginners where particularly proud of themselves as they managed to ski all the way down the mountain back to the hotel twice. The stop at the creperie for a celebratory hot chocolate was also a high point!’

‘Back to the hotel for some relaxing downtime, swimming and chatting with some of the pupils from the other schools over some melted cheese on toast before supper and a well-deserved sleep’.

Countless happy childhood memories were made on this trip, the pupils were fabulous all week. A huge thank you to Mrs Payne, Mr Smith, Miss Boyd, and Mrs Burles for all their late nights, long days, great humour, and help over the 8 days. Their support was invaluable.

Many congratulations to Timi, Charlie and Thomas for their amazing achievement in striking Gold! Monty and Mila received silver medals and our bronze medallists comprised Henry, Kevin, Otis, Zachary, Harry, Midi and Tristan.

It was wonderful to see our young judo players smile, relax and enjoy the occasion as well as exhibiting both great sporting behaviour alongside their strength and skill. Well done to them all!

After seeing a photo of a little boy in theatrical costume, Hector declared to his Mummy, “please can I do that?” Initial thoughts from Hector’s mummy were that chances were rather remote, but - let’s give it a go! First of all, Hector was shortlisted based on photographs, then (equipped with no experience but buckets of enthusiasm), Hector eagerly marched off to auditions and successfully secured the part together with two other children.

Elstree Riding

On 29th April, the first Elstree School Show Jumping team qualified for Hickstead with a brilliant 6th place in the team 40cm competition.

Hector went on to have five rehearsals, two dress rehearsals and has just performed in fourteen shows at the Watermill in Newbury. We are all very proud – well done Hector!

Gaby went on to complete a very speedy round in the 50cm class, coming in 2nd place and qualifying as an individual rider! Phoebe, Gaby and Felicita supported each other brilliantly during their rounds, they kept smiling when things didn’t go so well and celebrated in successes when they did. They were also very smart and polite, thanking the organisers for a wonderful show. The NSEA Championship at Hickstead is on the 23rd August and we can’t wait to support them there!

U12 National Hockey

Congratulations also to Calvin who, after riding for over 4-years, has taken up competitive polo. We are delighted to hear that he has been selected to play in the Winchester College Polo Club from September this year. We look forward to hearing how he is getting on in this exciting game!

Jacob had an amazing experience at the England Hockey National finals in May this year. He joined the U12 Reading Hockey Team as Goal Keeper and whilst there was no medal, he can be super proud of playing his part for a team that is in the top 8 in the country for his year group – they qualified at County and Regional levels to get to the Nationals! By all accounts, it was a wonderful experience and an electric atmosphere – Jacob was understandably thrilled to have saved a penalty flick too! Well done to him and his team.