Marlborough St Mary’s pupils have participated in a huge variety of sports and competitions this summer and achieved success on so many different levels. The girls are Wiltshire Girls County Cricket champs and at Wiltshire and Swindon School Games County Finals the Quad Kids(athletics) team were crowned county champs. As well as school and county competitions pupils have been given the opportunity to try many different sports such as hula hooping, archery, water polo and even quidditch! Pupils also participated in a sponsored run, raising £3,490.10, which will be spent on sports equipment for the school.
PE Coach, Kirsty Miles, said, “For me, it’s about giving children the opportunity to try something new or enjoy something they already love. It was lovely to see so many children smile whilst taking part in sports day and the sponsored run. Sports week was about inclusivity and fun for all the children taking part. I am extremely proud of every child who has represented Marlborough St Mary’s at the County Finals this year, showing great teamwork, determination and respect to their teammates and their opponents. To be at so many County Finals just shows how hard the children work and enjoy representing our school.”
Kirsty Miles told Marlborough.news, “Earlier in June a fantastic Sports Week was held, starting with a visit from professional cricketer, Xara Jetley from New Zealand, who ran a cricket session for Year 2. There was handball, tennis skills with Neil from Marlborough Tennis Club, dodgeball skills with James and Year 4 even created their own cricket circuit to pass on their cricket skills to Reception and Year 1. Year 6 kept cool in the hot weather with a wonderful morning playing water polo at Marlborough College.
Sports Day then arrived and we all survived the heat with KS2 in the morning taking part in an inclusive carousel of activities followed by some very competitive running races. KS1 then had their turn in the afternoon to enjoy their sports day with just as much fun had by all, including the parents in the parents’ race!
The week ended with a visit from professional footballer Mia Adaway from Portsmouth City Ladies, who helped do a football skill session with each class. The children really enjoyed having the opportunity to ask Mia questions and see her football skills. In the afternoon all the children participated in a sponsored run which has so far raised a huge £3,490.10. Thank you for all the support from the parents, family, friends and the local community who sponsored one or more of our children. The money will be spent on sports equipment for the school.
Sporting participation has also extended beyond the gates of Marlborough St Mary’s with teams qualifying for the County Finals in cricket, kurling, tri golf, dodgeball and athletics (Quadkids). After achieving 1st and 2nd place in the Marlborough Cricket Cluster Festival, the 1st placed Year 5 boys’ team travelled to the County Finals where they finished a respectable 4th place, narrowly missing out on 3rd place with the last ball.
Oak Class headed to Devizes to complete in the Kurling County Final. Both teams showed great teamwork, performing some great shots to finish 3rd and 4th in their groups.
Next it was the turn of the girls’ County Cricket Final. During the day, Marlborough St Mary’s won 4 games, and lost 1, taking them to a nail-biting final that did not disappoint. With Marlborough St Mary’s needing 8 runs to win in the last over, the girls showed great determination and held their nerve to complete the job. Marlborough St Mary’s were crowned Girls’ County Champions!
The 4th of July saw Marlborough St Mary’s travel to Dauntsey’s School for the Wiltshire and Swindon School Games County Finals to compete in Dodgeball, Tri Golf and Quad Kids (athletics).
Our Dodgeball team started really well with 3 wins and 1 draw but unfortunately, they lost their last, putting them in the bronze medal play off in which they were narrowly defeated. Izzy said “it was very active and I liked it because it was so much fun”
On a very wet and windy day the Tri Golfers kept control of the ball while putting and chipping to accumulate a grand score of 839 points. This fantastic effort earned the team silver medals. Harry said, ‘It was a really fun day playing lots of different games of golf. We worked really well as team, encouraging each other.’
Meanwhile the team of Quad kids sprinted as fast as they could over 60m, showed great skill throwing a vortex, powered through the long jump and demonstrated fantastic grit to run 600m in horrible conditions. After each child had competed in all four events their scores were converted into points and their efforts were rewarded with Marlborough St Mary’s crowned County Champions, receiving gold medals and the County Shield. Reggie said, ‘Firstly I would like to say what a great event it is to be part of. The helpers were nice and the people running it were really fun. It was amazing to win and the feeling when walking onto the stage and everyone is cheering is out of this world.’
As if all this was not enough, we even had some children attend a Physical Activity Festival, which introduced the children to new sports such as hula hooping, archery and Quidditch!”
St John’s Academy principals meet to ensure smooth handover
