Upton House Sport

Rugby with Zinzan

Our Form 3 boys were treated to an afternoon of learning from Zinzan Brooke, former All Blacks Rugby World Cup winning star, who visited Upton to share his insights into the world of rugby and pass on some of his exceptional expertise to our budding rugby stars. He went through a series of drills designed to work on ball handling skills, support to the ball carrier as well as developing try-scoring techniques. His wealth of knowledge was so evident to the boys and they were glued to his every word and so incredibly focused. The intensity of their play throughout the session grew and their love and enjoyment for the game was nurtured as well. What an incredible afternoon and something that the boys were so lucky to have as part of their rugby term.

Match Tea

A highlight of any fixture afternoon is match tea. The thought of having some delicious and nutritious food after playing a sports fixture is at the forefront of every sporting Uptonian’s mind as well as their visiting counterparts. Parents, children and visiting staff alike are invited into the dining room for some wonderful cake and tea or coffee, to mingle and discuss the sporting endeavours they have just witnessed. The kitchen staff are hard at work preparing hours before the fixtures to ensure the children have hot food, especially after a winter fixture, as well as refreshments to replenish their energy levels. Always immaculately presented, Upton match teas are renowned on the circuit!

IAPS Netball

After weeks of training, a select group of Form 5 and Form 6 girls travelled to Wellington College to participate in the IAPS Netball qualifiers on Wednesday 22nd February. Following an extremely competitive group stage, Upton progressed to the Plate Competition. An impressive victory against Piper’s Corner Prep School in the quarter-finals saw Upton take on Dragon School in the semi-finals. With the game in the balance, Upton managed to score quick points to provide a victory and take them through to the Plate Final against St Hugh’s. An incredibly tight game saw drama at the end with Upton scoring a late point and St Hugh’s narrowly missing a last-minute chance to draw, therefore meaning Upton House won the Plate Competition and took home the gold medals! Such an incredible performance all round!

Saturday Netball Tournament

Upton have participated in a number of Saturday tournaments including the Form 5 Netball tournament at St George’s Ascot. Ten of the most prestigious Prep Schools took part and Upton performed superbly. This tournament provided a fantastic start to the netball term and gave an insight into tournament play. Seven of our Form 5 girls participated, each rotating positions to get a good understanding, and they had the chance to put into practice all of the hard work they had been putting in on the practice courts. Some excellent shooting, great defensive play as well as combinations up the court provided great moments for Upton throughout the tournament and the confidence of all the girls grew as the games progressed.

IAPS Swimming

Monday 27th February saw the IAPS Swimming Qualifiers take place with twelve Upton swimmers competing. This was the first year that Upton had male swimmers take part and they, along with their female counterparts, swam incredibly well in their qualifying heats to try and progress to the National Finals at the London Aquatic Centre. Upton represented in all disciplines including front crawl, back stroke, breast stroke and butterfly as well as teams taking part in medley relays. A number of participants swam their personal bests and produced excellent times and are now eagerly awaiting the results in early May.

Forms 5 and 6 Cross Country

Oratory School in Reading hosted a Prep School’s Cross Country event on Thursday 2nd March to which Upton took an excited group of runners. Five Form 5 children and four Form 6 children took on the gruelling 3.5 kilometre course winding through the school’s grounds, encountering different terrains of gravel, mud and grass as well as steep hills and dips that challenged their running. Great performances all round, including one of our Form 6 girls who finished 5th overall in a competition of over 50 runners.