Sport

Rugby, Hockey and Dunbar Football by Mr Sam Hewick, Director of Sport

What a busy term! Fixtures returned with full force and it has been great to see everyone enjoying competitive team sport again.

Boys’ Rugby

The rugby season has been typified by the effort, improvement and attitude across the club, which has resulted in some notable performances.

I have been particularly impressed with the U16s’ development this term. They have committed well and really earned some excellent results. The U14s and U15s have learnt what it means to play

in a Pangbourne side and I hope they continue to progress. The senior teams have battled every week, and in a different year we could have been looking at a very different set of results. Engagement in rugby has been at the highest level for a number of years, which does buck the trend of many other schools. This is combined with a number of boys achieving success outside of College with London Irish, Wasps, Berkshire, and Lambs Rugby.

It has been great to see pupils enjoying the noncontact version of the game, as well. I do hope they have enjoyed this opportunity to represent the College in competitive team sport. I look forward to running a senior non-contact team next year.

I would like to highlight Boys’ Rugby Captain Rory Hogan at this point, who after suffering a nasty injury in the first half of term, showed great resilience to return to captain the side in the night game against Shiplake. On that night, I feel we demonstrated what ‘Team Pangbourne’ truly means: epic heart and defence from the team, wonderful support from all pupils, and superb help from all the staff. It has meant events like this can happen again, hopefully with some working floodlights next year!

We must say ‘goodbye’ and ‘thank you’ to Mr HC (Mr Habasune-Cowdery) who left us at the end of the Michaelmas term. He has been superb working with the U14s and Dunbar rugby players over the last few years.

Dunbar Football

The Dunbar footballers (Year 7 and 8) have had a strong season in which they have shown good development across the season. For many, this is their first experience of Pangbourne sport and they have shown true spirit and sportsmanship - particularly when they have faced some opposition who have not demonstrated similar values.

Looking ahead

In the Lent Term we will be introducing Boys’ Football into the Senior school and for the first

time ever will run competitive fixtures from

Year 11 upwards.

Girls’ Hockey

We had an extraordinarily busy season, with the 1st XI playing over 20 fixtures, and sometimes three in a week.

They have battled well on several fronts including national cup, county cup, and the block fixtures.

Emily Cox has been named an outstanding captain by her coaches, Mr Dan Paynter and Miss Pip Sanders, and has led the team brilliantly.

It has been great to hear of the resilience, team spirit and progress made by the 2nd XI and 3rd XI, respectively. Furthermore, the reports from the U14s and U15s have been hugely positive; they play with enthusiasm, bring an excellent attitude, and are building strong team spirits. The Dunbar pupils have been awesome throughout and the learning going on has been incredible - the Hockey club is in a good shape for the future.

I would like to highlight a couple of individuals at this point. Firstly, Megan Fergusson. She has shown amazing resilience throughout her life and she is a role model for what can be done. She has signed a partnership with Grays Hockey and will be one of their school ambassadors - well done, Megan.

I would also like to highlight Mia Moore and Ellen Williams, who both went to the Futures Cup, which serves as a trial for England U16s. They both performed well, with Mia gaining selection. Well done to you both.

We must also say goodbye to Miss Holly Hunt who has been successful in her selection for Team GB and now will go on to become a full-time hockey player, with hopefully a pathway to selection for the next Olympics. Thank you, Miss Hunt!

Equestrian Success by Mrs Stacey Mackie, Head of Riding

It has been a busy term for the Equestrian team. We run two main teams: the Senior’s, made up of experienced riders, and the Grassroots team, who are generally new to competing. The Senior team competed at Hartpury where they came second and qualified for the NSEA National Schools Championships.

There were multiple wins and placings in every class entered and the team went on to qualify for the Keysoe Plate.

Our Senior team stole the show at the Keysoe Plate competition. The team won two classes, four national qualifications, and an individual

title/win also. In October, the team represented Pangbourne at the National’s and finished with two top ten finishes and an individual prize.

September saw our Grassroots team attend their first competition at Rectory Farm. They won and qualified for the finals, a wonderful achievement.

In November, the Grassroots team attended their second show with more success, another win, and qualification for the finals. Following on from this the Grassroots riders attended their third show - the Grassroots Championships! They took a top ten finish in every class, including reserve champions in one of the finals.

Rowing by Mr Charles Waite-Roberts, Director of Rowing The Michaelmas Term provided our full-time Sixth Form rowers with a chance to revive their fitness after a short break given last Summer’s Henley Royal Regatta being held in mid-August. For the lower year groups, it provided a great opportunity for them to reacquaint themselves with their rowing skills.

Over Half Term, Mr Richard Follett took an VIII to Putney to row The Boat Race course. As none of the crew had ever rowed the stretch from Putney to Chiswick, it was a baptism of fire one way and ‘a travelator’ back because the

crew was able to row with the turn of the tide. This gave confidence for the Fours Head of the River a week later and valuable experience for the Schools Head later in the Spring. November brought the first set of GB Junior trials in Boston, Lincolnshire. Harrison Green raced over the 5km course in a single scull with the intention of gaining an invitation to the next set of trials in February, and then crew formations over the Summer.

Burway Small Boats Head would have seen rowers from all year groups race but was unfortunately cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

Pangbourne College Boat Club hosted Leander Club for a sparring session on the river. Not looking to show too much and keep the cards close to their chest, the senior rowers held their own against a leading junior crew and rose to the challenge of side by side racing.

The last week of term was the annual Christmas VIIIs. Four crews with a mix of genders and age groups from Year 10 to Sixth Form took part. A short warm up and some practice bursts were all the preparation needed for these well drilled crews as they raced three times on our home stretch. In the final race, the first,

second and third placed crews were separated by only a couple of feet. The fourth crew ran into some technical difficulty with the equipment but that didn’t stop them from racing all the way and finishing strong in true Pangbourne style!

The Michaelmas term has proved to be a real springboard for the coming season and I am very excited to see what our pupils are capable of in the coming season.

Race podium places

Wallingford Small Boats Head

Open Quad - win J18 Double Scull - win

Reading Small Boats

J18 Double Scull – win J18 Double Scull – second Intermediate Quad - third