June 2010

Year 7 Rugby Team -

They finished the season undefeated and were crowned BANES Champions.

April 2010

Writhlington Tennis Team Win Prestigious Cup

A tennis team from Writhlington School entered the Avon Schools Doubles Tournament in Bristol on Saturday 24th April, the U14 pairing of Tom Hunt and Oliver Beechener had mixed results as did older brother George with partner Guy Solomon. The girls partnership of Alex Hull and Harriet Blacker however showed excellent resilience and beat all the opposition to win the U16 girls Cup outright, said Harriet 'it was a boiling hot day and Alex and I played really well together and we were proud to win as this is the first time the school has entered this tournament, we noticed on the Cup that we are the first State school to ever in this tournament so it makes it extra special to us '.

January 2010

Girls Cricket

England cricketer Caroline Atkins paid a visit to Writhlington School recently as part of the ECB "Chance to Shine" initiative. Caroline first put a group of Year 10 students through a coaching session and then took on an Under 15 squad who will be taking part in the Lady Taviners tournament next month. Hopefully the school will benefit from her expert tuition in their future games.

November 2009

Todd called up for Somerset

Alex Todd has a great opportunity to make his mark in the world of golf. He is the only participant in the pilot scheme between Writhlington School and Farrington Golf Club. The Writhlington - Farrington Golf Academy is funded by the government and is directed at boys or girls studying Post 16 courses at Writhlington. Players need to have a golf handicap of 12 or better for boys or 16 or better for girls with a view to moving them towards a sports career.
Alex is doing a BTEC in Sport and Business Studies at the school four mornings a week and spends the rest of his time being coached, playing and practicing at Farrington Golf Club. His coaching is carried out by lead coach Jon Cowgill together with Farrington Golf Professional Jonathan Lawrence.
'I've always wanted to follow a career in golf and this has been really good for me so far. My goal is to be off a scratch handicap at the end of the 2 years and get my BTEC in Sport. It's good fun and I'm making the most of the one to one coaching and the great practice facilities at Farrington.' said Alex.
Since starting in September he has already reduced his handicap from 6 to 4 and has just received his first call up for the Somerset Under 18 squad.
'Alex has come on really well in the past two months. He works hard and has a fantastic attitude. I'm really pleased we have teamed up with Writhlington to start the academy. There is no doubt that this is a great scheme for anyone wanting to improve their golf and further their education at the same time. I've already had a lot of interest for next September's entry' said Farrington's Director of Golf and Somerset County Coach Jon Cowgill.
For anyone wishing to know more about the Farrington - Writhlington Golf Academy please call Jon Cowgill on 01761 451596 or Paul Comber at Writhlington School on 01761 433581
Pictured: Alex Todd with Farrington Golf Professional Jonathan Lawrence

June 2009

Champions

Congratulations to the Year 9/10 girl's football team who are now the BANES District champions - and they won it on home soil as well.

The tournament was held on the school astro. First match saw us against Wellsway but within a minute after excellent passing and teamwork captain Chloe Rogers opened the scoring. This opened the floodgates and another 4 goals were slotted home in quick succession. The team ran out easy winners by 5 goals to 0.

The next three matches were much closer. Against Oldfield it was very even and the game finished 0 - 0. On to Chew Valley - again Chloe opened the scoring in the first two minutes and for a lot of the match we were 2 - 0 in the lead but the opponents fought back to level the score.

The toughest game followed against Ralph Allen and the match was hard fought. Play was of a very high standard - well linked passing, good control and teamwork. A 0 - 0 result was fair.

It was all to play for in the last game against Somervale. As yet we were unbeaten and it was down to Chloe to open the scoring again in the first minute. Goals then followed thick and fast - many more from Chloe as well as Robyn and Sophie to name but a few! We sailed through winners 12 - 0!

We had done enough - we were the winners.
Congratulations to the squad.
Chloe Rogers (capt)
Jessica Anstice
Molly Haskins
Sophie Regan
Robyn Bish
Georgia Nash
Georgie Hansford
Becky Hawkins

The Cup Double

Well, the girl's have done it again - two weeks running. Two District football tournaments - two winning teams - two sets of BANES champions!

Last week the Year 9/10 girls came first in the District tournament. This week at Wellsway School the Year 7/8 girl's team had the chance to regain the trophy and title that they won last year.

The first match saw a tough draw against Ralph Allen. Quickly however the girls were into their stride finding space and it was Stacey Crouch who opened the scoring. The team went on to win 2 - 0. Great credit must go as well to Sophie Lester who had to make several gallant saves from close range but she was always in the right place at the right time.

There were four matches to go. Writhlington quickly took control in all of them. There was superb passing and teamwork from Stacey Crouch, Jodie Hall and Emma Bowden.
They linked well, showed good touch control and they always looked ready to pounce on the ball and score.

Writhlington swept aside team after team. They beat Somervale 6-0. Chew valley 2-0, Oldfield 1-0 and Hayesfield 2-0.

They had done it again in style.
Congratulations to the squad below;
Year 7 - Emma Bowden
Alice Powney
Rose Lucas
Year 8 - Stacey Crouch
Emma Workman
Jodie Hall
Sophie Lester
Jeinel Ocampo

May 2009

Emma Bowder 7BN Wins Football Medal

Emma Plays for Bath City Girls FC, who won the Wiltshire Under Thirteens League. Emma is a Sriker and scored 23 goals during the season.

County Golf Championships

Writhington School was represented in both the Avon Schools Golf Championship at Chipping Sodbury and the Somerset Schools Golf Championship at Worlebury over the past week.

The Avon Schools Championship took place in torrential conditions, the three boy team of Oli Saunder (82), Martin Lenihan (93) and Liam Copp (86) were well placed on the final leaderboard in the net competition having stood in second place for much of the day.

Saunder and Lenihan, who play their golf at The Mendip Golf Club, together with Copp, a member of both Farrington and Frome Golf Clubs were joined by Gion Carlo Violante and Jack Vowell at Worlebury on Thursday as 123 competitors took part in the Somerset Schools Championship.

Despite performing admirably with Copp (83), Lenihan (86) and Saunder (88), the team just missed out on the overall prize.

Hockey Tournaments

Year 8 Hockey Tournament

Year 8 travelled to Norton Hill for the first stage of this years B&NES tournament.  With Chew Valley late to arrive Writhlington had to watch the first round of matches which probably settled a few nerves. 

Once into action against Somervale we proved our worth with a 1-0 win

Our second game against Norton Hill went in similar fashion this time stunning the opposition with a 3-0 victory.

The final game against Chew saw us fight out a 0-0 draw but as the only team to win two matches outright Writhlington came top of their section and head to the final which will be played next term. A great finish to the Year 8 season.

Year 9 Hockey Tournament

This was the first time the Writhlington team have been able to play the full 11 aside game and so it was with some trepidation that they took to the field.  However, what resulted was a fine display of hockey that many an adult team would have been proud of.  Passing from one to the other with great style Writhlington saw off Somervale 1-0, then Norton Hill similarly 1-0.  The last match was always going to be the toughest against Ralph Allen and when they opened the scoring Writhlington had to up their game.  A quick goal put them level and from then on Writhlington dominated the game and Ralph Allen was unable to get the ball beyond halfway.  However a fine goalkeeping display prevented Writhlington breaking the deadlock and the game closed 1-1.

Writhlington and Ralph Allen tied in 1st place with 13 points apiece; the final placing was determined on goal difference and Writhlington just missed out on the finals by a one goal margin.

This was an excellent display from an inexperienced side and all the girls were a credit to themselves and the school.

April 2009

Writhlington take on Bath Rugby

Bath Youth Rugby under-13s triumphed by two points over Writhlington School.

The rugby coaching programme at Writhlingon has benefited from coaching from Bath Youth this season; with the Saturday morning fixture of the 11th organized to develop the relationship. It turned out to be a tight, competitive affair and saw some of the Bath players playing for their school instead.

Bath opened the scoring when Jones broke through to score the opening try, which was duly converted by the reliable Cook.

Writhlington hit back after a long period of play in the Bath third of the pitch and were rewarded with a try when Blue Fuller picked up the ball from the back of a ruck and his blind side move resulted him in scoring from close range. The try was converted by Perry Lewis with a converted try.

With the momentum behind them Bath scored again through Branagh and Cook added the extras.

Superb play throughout from the likes of Pierkarski kept Writhlington at bay but eventually they went over. Josh Collins evaded six tacklers to sprint home from 60m out. This closed the gap to two points. The touchline conversion was missed leaving Writhlington just two points behind on the final whistle.

Tennis Leaders Award

These Year 11 and 12 students are receiving their certificates for a Tennis Leaders Award. The course was organised by PE department and tutored by Mandy Stonier - Tennis Development Officer. It was a 2 day course introducing the students to the fundamentals of coaching tennis. As part of the qualification they have helped introduce and coach tennis at festivals held at Writhlington Tennis Centre.

March 2009

Runner Up to Sports Teacher of the Year Award

Cathy Price Runner Up to Sports Teacher of the Year Award pictured here with Johnny Fantastic and Matt Blanham from Bath Rugby Club. Taken at the Chairs Community Awards on March 9th.

February 2009

Floor Vault and Trampette Competition

Two Writhlington School pupils entered the Bath Area Floor Vault and Trampette competition on Saturday 28th of February.

Liam Bray in Year 7 won 4 gold medals, one for each individual piece of apparatus and gold overall.

Ben Curd in Year 9 won gold on Trampette and gold overall coming 2nd on Floor and Vault. This is the second consecutive year Ben has won his age group.

Ben Curd said "I like gym because its a great way to get fit and stay healthy. I'm really into 'free running' and gym is a great way to start learning the skills. If you are considering doing gym but think it's just for girls, then think again! The coaches at Writhlington are really good, because they challenge you to go further and go through all the moves with you in detail. I was really surprised when I won the competition in Bath on Saturday, as I had hurt my ankle and knew I wouldn't be able to do some of the harder moves I had learnt."

The boys performed fantastically and were a credit to Writhlington Gymnastic Club.

Erin Slater in Year 7 also competed at the Somerset Schools Trampoline Competition and won gold in her age group

January 2009

Success for Writhlington Trampoline Students

Students from Writhlington Sports Centre raced to the medals tables after taking part in the South West Schools Trampoline Competition held on the 7th of December at The Bristol City Academy. The students representing Writhlington School, St Johns Primary and Royal Junior School Bath came home with a total of 9 medals with 6 of them qualifying for the Southern Zonal Championships which will take place in Sussex in January of next year.

From Writhlington School, Sarah Lanning, Nathan Love and Laura Hill all won Individual silver medals in their categories with Katy Elsam being awarded the first gold medal of the day. Annie Blake of St Johns Primary School in Midsomer Norton was also awarded a silver medal in the under 11girls.There was more success for Writhlington teams who took home gold medals in the under 15 girls and 3rd position in the under 13 girls. Club coach, Melissa Reeves said "I was very proud of all of my students. They performed beautifully. Many have never competed at competition level before so it was a very daunting experience for them. However, they all conquered their nerves and supported each other throughout the day. Well done to them all".

Writhlington Sports centre run classes for children and adults from age 4 onwards. If you would like information about classes and are interested in taking up this sport and many others on offer then please contact the sports centre on 01761 438559.

June 2008

KS3 Games Day

40 students from Years 7 & 8 spent a day at Bath University recently to join all B&NES Schools in a day of sporting activity.

The day was introduced by Olympic athlete, Jason Gardener.  Students had the opportunity to take part in a variety of sports during the day using the excellent facilities that the University had to offer.  Our students took part in lacrosse, orienteering, judo, cricket, athletics, badminton, to name but a few sports.

During the lunch hour many students took part in a 2.5 km fun run with Jason Gardener and also had the opportunity to try out some different sports – rowing was a very popular and competitive choice.

This is the second annual Games Day and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.  Students were exhausted by the end of the day!  They are now looking forward to next year.

Writhlington V Kingsmead in Year 8 Cricket County Cup

A superb bowling and fielding display from Writhlington led to the visitors being bowled out for 74 runs; Hancock was the pick of the bowlers returning with figures of 5 wickets for 9 runs. This equalled the school record. Kingsmead’s bowling attack started aggressively taking the early wickets of Cox and Brain. Gullock showed great maturity to guide his team home with an unbeaten 41. Writhlington passed their total with the loss of just two wickets.

May 2008

We are the Champions

Yes – the GIRLS are the champions – at FOOTBALL.

In fact the Year 7 and 8 GIRLS are the B&NES District Champions.

At the recent district girls football tournament our girls’ team took on and beat everyone.

The first game saw us beat Somervale.

Very comfortably 2 – 0 (goals scored by Stacey Crouch & Jodi Hall)

Then on to St Gregory’s. A strong performance to win 1 – 0 (Stacey Crouch scored again!)

Then onto a tough game but we held Broadlands’ strong team to a 1-1 draw (well done Becky Hawkins who scored)

The game we thought would be our toughest saw a great performance by the girls and we easily won 2-0 (Sophie Regan scored here)

The last game against Wellsway saw us cruise to a 1-0 win (Jodi Hall scored)

Thank you to Dad, Mr Stuart Hall, who came to coach and help the girls as the manager, most of them for his Westfield squad.

The brilliant team were:-

Sophie Regan (Captain), Molly Hoskins, Georgie Hansford, Becky Hawkins, Georgia Nash, Stacey Crouch, Jodi Hall, Emma Workman.

A brilliant squad – a brilliant result

We’ll have to challenge the boys now won’t we Mr Albon!!

Athletics Success

Congratulations to all the athletes who took part in the B&NES Athletics trials held recently at Bath University.

It was a chilly and windy day and tested the athletes to the full.

Athletes who took part were:-

Yr 8 – Junior Athletes

Ryan Strother 100m & 200m – an excellent result in the 200m finishing 4th in 27.22 seconds.

Lucy Tout Shot & discus –well done finishing 6th with a throw of 6.79m

Harriet Blacker Finished 2nd in javelin with 19.95m

Yr 9 – Junior Athletes

Andrew Hicks 100m & Long Jump – Andrew finished 4th in 100m in 12.60 secs

Tom Powney Shot

Chris Buck Long Jump – Finished 1st in jump of 4.55m

Yr 10 – Intermediate Athletes

Kial Swift 1st in shot 10.94m 4th in 100m – 11.46 secs Excellent performance

Danny Mitchell 800m

Tom Clark Long jump

Chris Preston 5th in shot with 9.66 m

As a result Kial Swift – Shot, Chris Buck – Long Jump and Harriet Blacker – Javelin have been selected for the B&NES Athletics team for the Avon School Championships in Yate on June 14th.

Grateful thanks must go to all the helpers on that day:

Mike Gregory – Grandparent who helped

GIRLS HOCKEY

This has been one of Writhlington’s best seasons for some years. No fewer than three teams have reached four separate finals, making for a very hectic end to the season.

YEAR 8

Year 8 reached the finals of the B&NES tournament, losing a very hard game against Wellsway. Despite the defeat there was some fantastic play and the team were a credit to the school and themselves. With more experience this will be a team to watch in the future.

YEAR 9

Year 9 reached the finals of the B&NES league after coming top of their section eventually losing to Ralph Allen 1-0 in the closing minutes of a very close final at Bath University

Year 10

Year 10 had double success reaching the finals of both their league and tournament. They reached these stages without being defeated, an outstanding achievement. Both their finals were played against Wellsway, although we were defeated on both occasions our last game was played with tremendous spirit and determination and looked to be heading for a draw and the dreaded penalty shootout until a late goal put the game out of reach. However a fantastic season for everyone, well done!

January 2008

Year 11 Rugby v Somervale

The Year 11 rugby team went three years undefeated and won the B&NES District title on several occasions. Since then they’ve experienced a change in fortunes, largely due to being unable to train because of school commitments. However, grabbing training sessions here, there and everywhere has made a real difference and special thanks must go to Mr Corbett for giving up his time and getting the forwards ship shape!

Again heavy rain made handling conditions cumbersome and the pitch a real mud bath, so we adapted to a pick and drive strategy. This helped us build the phases and pressurise Somervale whilst reinforcing the basics we’d been working on.

Josh Lifely opened the scoring after securing quick ball from the breakdown only 10 yards out from Somervale’s try line. It’s great to see Josh get some recognition as a lot of his hard work goes unnoticed at the bottom of rucks and mauls.

The forwards practised their lifting in the lineout and found instant success with Alex Robson and Jack Meredith disrupting Somervale’s lineout at every opportunity. Number 8, Grant Silk, capped a man of the match performance by driving over for a hatrick of tries despite the best efforts of the Somervale defence who were literally hanging off him!

Not to be outdone by the forwards, Jordan Rogers scored two tries that would win any try of the year award. The first saw Jordan start the attack by our own try line as he moved the ball through almost every Writhlington player’s hands before returning to Jordan to dive over the try line and touch down, a fantastic team try! The second however, was a truly individual effort, which again started by our own try line. Jordan sprinted past several defenders and chipped the ball over the defensive line and managed to latch on to the ball as it bounced near their try line and dived on it to score almost 80m at the other end (Jonny Wilkinson would have been proud of that one)!

A further try came from Andrew Girvan who enjoyed scoring against his old school and Grant Silk and Ed Dale were in fine form with the boot, converting 4 times to round off a 43 – 0 victory!

Year 9 Rugby

The Year 9 rugby team have remained undefeated in the top B&NES rugby league this season and are waiting on results to see if they are crowned champs for the first time.

The season got off to a “flyer” with an emphatic 53 – 7 win over Beechen Cliff. I’m delighted to see this team finally gel and get the results their hard work and commitment deserve. Led by captain Danny Biggs at fly half, who started many of our attacks, moving the ball through the backs to Charlie Hillman who side stepped through our opponent’s defence to score.

Scrum half Jack Smith was at every breakdown to organise quick ball for Tom Powney to batter their backs with the crash ball, a proposition they didn’t relish, and Tom ran in several tries this way.

Although the backs scored most of the tries, the credit must go to the forwards who were absolutely superb. Led by Connor Ogilvie-Davidson, the pack dominated the scrums and especially recycling and securing the ball in the rucks and mauls.

Sixth Form Football v The Grange

The 6th form were drawn away in the cup to The Grange in Bristol. The game started in our favour as we enjoyed large quantities of possession, especially with Sean Derrick and Luke Ingram enjoying early touches to dominate the midfield. Luke Turvey and Tom Pielesz both had near misses with only 5 mins on the clock. However, it didn’t take long to put this right and two goals from Tom Pielesz and further goals from James Sellick and Luke Ingram ensured we went in to the half-time break 4 – 1 ahead.

In the second half our one touch passing game and early crosses from out wide put our opponents under continued pressure which began to manifest itself with ill-discipline. We converted a penalty and further goals from Pielesz, Sellick and Ingram put the game beyond doubt. The partnership up front between Pielesz and Sellick was a real plus for the team as they were untouchable!

With the game comfortably won, I was willing the final whistle to be blown so we didn’t pick up any unnecessary injuries. Daniel Hunt was pestering me to let him push forward and when I agreed, he netted a scorcher late on from 25 yards with a fierce left foot into the top corner. I’ll never hear the end of that now! We progressed to the next round 9 –1 winners, well done!

Year 10 County Cup Football

The Year 10 football team are on a roll in the County Cup with 2 – 1 wins in both the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

In the second round against Castle School we played some of the most attractive football I’ve seen for a long time. A one-touch passing and moving game plan saw us dominate possession throughout the game.

Despite this, we went behind to the only chance our opponents had in the entire game. Captain Danny Mitchell led by example inspiring his team to up their efforts further and saw Danny Collins cap an individual moment of brilliance as he rounded 4 players to beat the goalkeeper with a left-footed shot.

With confidence rising and the defence looking comfortable, Paddy Cahill was the link, moving the ball into midfield where Jack Nix was a constant threat down the right flank. It was a Nix cross that penetrated Castle’s back four and allowed left-winger Isaac Douglas to attack the back post (P.O.M.O!!!) and volley in the winner!

In the next round the Year 10 football team faced Huish Episcopi away at Langport. Poor weather and a huge bobbly pitch didn’t suit our attractive passing game. However, Chris Preston made a nuisance of himself up front and it was clearly evident that Huish’s defence didn’t relish the challenge of keeping him quiet.

Chris Preston and Boston Wood were superb upfront with their interplay and forced an early corner. Jack Nix was accurate with the delivery and found Preston, who converted, to settle my early nerves!

1-0 at half time and cruising, the defence looked solid with Sean Britten, Tom Clark and Kial Swift putting everything on the line to keep Huish out. Then a momentary lapse of concentration saw our keeper Henry Steeds rounded and we were level. With time running out and the light fading, I was worried we’d let our opponents back into a game we really should have wrapped up in the first half. Again, as in the previous match, up popped Isaac Douglas to smash in another wonder goal from a Jack Nix cross. Well done!

Year 10 Hockey

Writhlington's Year 10 girls have had a highly successful season so far. For the first time the girls’ fixtures have been structured into a league format. Writhlington beat Norton Hill 1-0 and Chew Valley 4-1 to head their half of the league and went through to the play offs against Wellsway. This was a hard fought contest; Wellsway were fortunate to score from a deflection after 10 minutes and then put the pressure on to secure a short corner with only seconds to play. With 10 players on the circle they forced a second goal to put Writhlington very much on the back foot. However the team came out fighting in the second half and came so close to scoring on several occasions. Unfortunately it was just not enough and the game finished in Wellsway’s favour. The team should be proud to finish runners up in this competition and still have a chance to secure a title as they are also through to the finals of the B&NES tournament.

Squad members:

• Sammy Chivers
• Jess Baird
• Sarah Whalley
• Millie Haines
• Tania Walker
• Danielle Raeburn
• Megan Peddle
• Grace Hoskins
• Jess Anstice
• Natasha Dando
• Sophie Hurst
• Sophie Turvey
• Kate Fenna
• Azlee Manley
• Chloe Edgell

September 2007

Writhlington County Cricket Champions!

Writhlington School’s Year 10 cricket team finally played Wells Blue School in the U14 County Cup cricket final which was postponed last term due to rain. Emphatic wins by Writhlington in every round on route to the final was a major boost to the tams confidence.

Captain Tom Clark won the toss & elected to field. This proved the correct choice as he took the early wicket of their highly rated county batsman for only 3 runs in his second over. The bowling display by all the team’s bowlers was particularly impressive and saw them share the wickets: Tom Clark 2, George Tucker 1, Danny Mitchell 2, Kial Swift 1 & Rhys Swift 2.

Writhlington really applied the pressure in the field & helped keep the extras low. Wells struggled to make runs and their innings finished on 78 all out.

Openers George Tucker & Matthew Lock played an array of text book strokes on their way to an excellent partnership of 45 before losing their wickets. In came Tom Clark & Kial Swift who quickly set about getting their eye in and hit several boundaries to bring Writhlington in reach of the target. Only ten runs short, Kial Swift finished the game in style by hitting a six right over the pavilion. Not stopping there, he smashed another six off the next ball to win the game after only 11 over’s.

A great team performance & well deserved county champions!

July 2007

Congratulations…

To Year 9 student Jake Bishop. Following on his athletics success in both the Bath & Wansdyke District Athletics and the Avon County Championships, Jake has been selected to take part in the Pole vault for the county in the English School’s Athletics Championships to be held in Birmingham in July.

Jake achieved not only his personal best but also the English School’s qualifying standard of 2.95m recently at the Avon Championships’.

This is a great achievement and we wish him well in Birmingham.

‘Off the Cuff’

Year 8 students received a surprise visit from the police liaison officer Andy Mugridge and Bath Rugby Club coach Jimmy Deane during their games lesson recently. The ‘Off the Cuff’ visits are taking place in all BANES schools to develop awareness of the role of the police in the community. Students thoroughly enjoyed the rugby skills they were put through.

Students saw the equipment a policeman uses; several students were placed ‘under arrest’ but quickly released. They were surprised how heavy a stab proof vest is.

Thanks to Jimmy and Andy for the very enjoyable visit.

Mini Tennis Success

Writhlington School held its first Mini-Tennis tournament recently. Hopefully this will become an annual event for local primary schools.

The rain held off and conditions were dry as four of our feeder primary schools arrived.

We welcomed:-

• Camerton Primary
• St Marys, Writhlington
• St Marys, Timsbury
• St Nicholas, Radstock

The event was run by Writhlington School Tennis Leaders and Year 10 BTec JSLA students game support.

Well done to our recently qualified tennis leaders:

• Ruby Portaill-Farebrother
• Andrew Girvan
• Tom Smith
• Kingsley Gallagher

They organised and scored with enthusiasm. The competition began with relay races to warm up students. Then it was on to ‘Ups & Downs’ to show control of racket and ball. Finally there was a mini tennis doubles tournament. All students were awarded certificates.

Some great tennis by all. Final results were:

• 1st St Marys, Timsbury
• 2nd St Nicholas
• 3rd St Marys, Writhlington
• 4th Camerton Primary

Well done everyone.

Levo Cup

Holly has been a member of Evolution Trampoline Club for the last 2 years and has just been chosen for the squad to compete in an international competition in Sweden. The competition is called the Levo Cup and involves 9 countries competing in individual & Synchronised trampoline events.

Holly will be required to travel out late in the evening, to be ready for practice sessions on the Friday followed by 2 days of competition. A sightseeing tour has been arranged by the club to take in the sights before returning to the UK. Holly is very excited to be taking part in this international event where there will be participants arriving from all over the world.

“Good luck Holly”.

Pole Vaulting

Jake started pole vaulting in 2004, after attending a summer school sports club at Bath University. Jake has just achieved his personal best vault, at 2.90metres, at Yeovil in June competing as part of the Avon schools championships. This has given him the chance to compete in the English schools finals in Birmingham 12th -14th July.

Jake is ranked 16th in the country for his age group. Jake is a member of the Bristol and West AC. His coach is Christian North who vaults himself and is ranked 6th in the UK this season. Jake’s personal best is 5.30metres. Team manager Simonne Lowrey broke the good news that Jake would be competing in Birmingham.

Jake trains 2-3 times a week at Bath HPC with his four team mates Tony Hillier, Tom Gibson, Holly Savage and Yasmine Dyer.

June 2007

Sports Leaders

A group of Year 11 students have spent the last year working towards their Certificate in Sports Leadership. As part of their course students have had to consider issues such as health and fitness, fair play, show their awareness of local sporting opportunities and give up their own time to help plan and deliver different sports activities.

Practical experience has seen the group organise and run B&NES primary school rounders and netball tournaments. Individuals have also helped coach cricket and martial arts and attend school matches to help PE staff and younger students.

Congratulations to:

• Melissa Vause
• Jenny Dunn
• Catherine Devonshire
• Natasha Devonshire
• Will Brown
• Junior Soper

Next Step Wimbledon!

What an afternoon of tennis. The first BANES Junior Tennis Tournament held at Bath University saw Year 7 student Harriet Blacker and Year 8 student Alex Hull finish as champions in their sections. It was great play by all students who took part.

Harriet and Alex came out as easy winners in their ‘A’ section.

They beat:

Hayesfield 5 – 2
Norton Hill 5 – 1
Somervale 5 – 0
St Marks 5 – 0
Wellsway 5 – 0

Excellent...

In the ‘B’ section Chloe Rogers and Jessica Anstice also gave strong performances, winning 3 of their 5 matches to finish overall third.

In the boy’s ‘A’ competition George Beechener (Year 7) and Keiron Futcher (Year 8) battled hard to win 2 of their 5 matches against at times some very tough opposition.

In the ‘B’ section Callum Jennings (Year 7) Sebastian Nix (Year 7) and Finlay Davey (Year 8) played consistently to win 3 of their 5 matches.

All students have development tennis coaching sessions at Writhlington School.

Whilst the tennis was underway talented athletes – Jade Kendall, Naomi Forsythe, Martin Lenihan, Andrew Hicks and Charlie Hillman from Year 8 were able to attend an athletics master class with top coaches from Bath University.

A great afternoon of sport!

Year 7 Cricket

On the 7th June the Year 7 cricket team, lead by captain David Cox, travelled to Chew Valley for their next league encounter.

We won the toss and elected to put our opponent’s in to bat, which proved a good decision as openers Cox and Brain kept it tight with strict line and length. David Cox was in scintillating form bowling 4 overs, taking 1 wicket for just 2 runs! Then on came Molly Haskins to start a record breaking 4 over spell where she took 4 wickets changed the game.

She would have actually taken 5 but for a dropped catch at square leg! We restricted Chew Valley to just 45 runs. David Cox and Curtis Brain set about chasing the target. Vice captain Curtis got his eye in playing a selection of technically perfect strokes whilst David chose to slog his way to an unbeaten 19 not out. Another impressive 10 wicket victory!

The team chose to dedicate the win to team member Ben Nash who is unfortunately leaving us at the end of the year and will be sorely missed.

Athletics Success

Congratulations to the following students who gave brilliant performances recently at the B&NES District Athletics Championships.

Year 7

Well done to Hanna Regan, a brilliant first attempt at the shot; She threw over 5metres

Year 8

Jade Kendall - 2nd in heats of 100m Jumped 4 in the Long Jump.

Naomi Forsythe - Cleared 1.15m in the High Jump.

Andrew Hicks - 6th in the 100m finals.

Martin Lenihan - 2nd of Year 8 800m runners.

Year 9

Kyle Swift - 2nd in 100m final.

Danny Mitchell - 9th in 800m.

Jake Bishop - 1.50m personal best in High Jump.

Tom Clarke - 4th in the Long Jump with 4.88m.

Chris Preston - 2nd in the Shot

Some excellent performances by all.

Congratulations to Kyle Swift – 100m and to Jake Bishop – Pole Vault, both of whom have been selected to represent BANES in the Avon Athletics District Championships.

Cricket Reports

The Year 9 cricket team made another impressive start to their league defence as they bid to take the B&NES league for the third successive year. After winning the toss & electing to field, we struck early with captain Tom Clark bowling out Norton Hill’s opener with the first ball of the game. Our bowling was the most impressive I’ve seen for years. George Tucker quickly found his range & swung the ball well to take two quick wickets , before Tom Clark struck again. After 8 overs Norton Hill had lost 4 wickets for only------ runs. Then came Henry Steeds who bowled 4 overs for a mere 2 runs, taking 4 wickets and narrowly missed out on a hatrick! Then just when Norton Hill thought it couldn’t get any worse, Matthew Lock bowled another wicket maiden & Nathan Hall capped off an excellent bowling display taking the final wicket. Norton Hill were resticted to just 18 runs off the bat & it didn’t take George Tucker & Rhys Swift long to knock up the runs for a Writhlington Win.

Don’t forget to watch the sports notice boards to keep track of the outstanding batting & bowling displays on Writhlington’s Cricket Honours Board.

Cricket County Cup Drama

In the County Cup the Year 9 team progressed through to the next round with a dramatic bowl off (equivalent to a penalty shoot out in football). Play was stopped due to torrential rain so we were forced into a bowl off. We were trailing throughout the 3 rounds & risked going out. It came to the last bowler, Danny Mitchell, who had to hit the stumps to keep us in the competition & force a sudden death play off. He overcame the pressure to take out the middle stump! In the sudden death play off Matthew Lock hit the stumps to seal victory.

May 2007

Writhlington School Hockey 5 v Kier Western 5

Writhlington School played host to a carefully selected hockey team from Kier Western on Tuesday. The event was held to celebrate the very generous sponsorship from the company, who have provided shirts, skirts, socks and goalkeeping smocks for two teams; in all a magnificent donation of over £1,500. Guests were invited from Kier Western, the school governors and senior staff in order to cheer on their respective teams plus Robin Paternoster from Harris Sports who supplied the kit.

Students were selected from across the age ranges to represent those who will benefit from the donation and an indoor 6 aside match was closely contested. Writhlington went into the lead early on and by half time held a 2-1 advantage. Kier then got into their stride as they remembered long lost skills from their school days and realised that they needed to be a little more competitive and with only two minutes on the clock the score was 5-4 in their favour. Luckily with pride at stake the Writhlington sided managed to level the score with literally seconds to spare.

Afterwards Councillor Mrs Phyllis Gay presented a Kier Western trophy to the home team and players and guests enjoyed a small buffet which was served by year 11 Hospitality and Catering students. This was a thoroughly enjoyable occasion for both teams and it is hoped that this could become a regular event.

April 2007

B&NES Hockey Final

Writhlington Year 8 hockey team reached the final of this year's B&NES tournament by winning the preliminary section held at Norton Hill school earlier in March.
The team drew 0-0 with Ralph Allen, beat Norton Hill 1-0 and beat Chew Valley 1-0 to lead their section with 13 points.

The final against Hayesfield was held at St. Gregory's on a glorious sunny afternoon. The team got off to a bad start with Hayesfield taking the lead within the opening minutes; fortunately they soon settled into their rhythm to equalise with a goal from Jess Anstice. The game was very even with both sides battling it out with great enthusiasm. Writhlington left it late to make sure of the game, but two more goals from Jess put the result beyond doubt with the final score in 3-1in Writhlington's favour.

Many thanks to Kier Western who provided sponsorship for new team kit, this was a fitting outing for the new look. Hopefully the new kit will ensure equal success in the future.

February 2007

Year 7 Netball Win

Year 7 and 8 students took on Chew Valley at home recently. The Year 8 played first and played brilliantly up to half time when the score was even. They lost the lead just after half time when Chew scored 3 quick goals but the Year 8 team never gave up. The final score was 9 - 14.

The Year 7 team then came on the field and straight away took control. With sound play by the shooters they took control and were 3 goals up and in front at half time. There was a tense start to the second half as Writhlington dropped a gear and Chew fought back to level the score. The Year 7 team held their nerve and kept scoring to creep ahead finishing worthy winners worthy a score of 8 - 6

Well done to team members;

• Molly Haskins                      Jennifer Morgan                   Bethan Lewis
• Alina Game                          Hannah Regan                      Katie Elsen
• Sophie Regan                       Robyn Bishop

February 2007

Cricket and Soccer Success by Year 7 girls

Congratulations go to Year 7 student Molly Haskins who has just been selected to be a member of the Somerset under 13s cricket squad. She is also a member of “Bath Ladies Cricket Team”.

Molly recently attended trials in Taunton and has just heard of her success. She has played cricket for several years and practices weekly in the nets at school. She has Already she has participated in Somerset squad coaching sessions held  at Writhlington; so she was able to practice on home territory.

We are looking forwards to her playing for the school team in the summer and be there cheering her on.

Molly is also captain of the year 7 netball team.

One of her team mates also needs congratulations. Well done to Sophie Regan who has been selected to train with Bristol City at their school of excellence coaching sessions. Yet another talented Year 7 pupil!

Sophie and Mollie are also members of the first successful team that recently won the lunchtime 5 – a – side girl’s football tournament.

October 2006

Rugby Coaching

Friday afternoons will not seem the same for the girls of Year 9 during their games lessons.

For the last six weeks they have been working with Bath Rugby development coach Kevin Moggridge.He has led them through an introduction to both the playing of tag rugby and the basics of tackling ready for full contact rugby.

The girls have thoroughly enjoyed their sessions even when they have been challenged to playing in heavy rain. No - that did not deter them one bit, in fact most of them said that was the best session of all.

Students were offered the coaching sessions following on from the success at the end of the summer term when the P.E. department entered a team into the Bath Rugby Girls Tag rugby competition. At its first attempt the Writhlington team made up of students from years 8, 9, and 10 came out the winners.

Term two this year will see another group of Year 9 students given the chance to have their turn to learn about rugby. We will bring you news and pictures of the action later.

Grateful thanks to both Bath Rugby Club and development coach Kevin Moggridge for the opportunity and the good quality coaching. The first group of students have thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the next batch is raring to go.

VIEW THE PHOTO ALBUM

October 2006

A Safe Pair of Hands!

Congratulations to Matthew Brinkworth who has finally been selected to play for the Somerset County cricket team. His performances over the summer term for both the school and his club sides have impressed everyone.

Matthew was able to produce his consistently high form during the trials and was told news whilst at the home of cricket: Lord’s! A really big well done!

October 2006

Sports leaders

Year 11 students are training to become Junior Sports Leaders recently volunteered to assist with the Primary Schools basketball tournament held at Writhlington. 

• Luke Turvey
• Natasha Devonshire
• Catherine Devonshire
• Jenny Dunn

gave up nearly 3 hours of their time acting as referees and scorers for this successful event

June 2006

WRITHLINGTON YOUNG SPORTS AMBASSADOR

Congratulations to Year 11 student Ruby Farebrother–Portaill who has been selected to represent B&NES and the Oldfield School Sports Partnership as a Young Ambassador for a year. Her role commences in June.

Schools throughout B&NES were asked to nominate students who are gifted and talented in sport who would like to take on this prestigious role.

So what will this role involve?

During her year Ruby will:

• Give presentations to schools on the Olympic/Paralympic idea and act as a role model to others.

• Provide a voice for young people to build on the excitement about staging the Olympic Games.

• Encourage schools to organise sports festivals.

• Act as a role model to promote the benefits of sport and the Olympics/Paralympics.

Ruby is a talented tennis player and has represented B&NES in trials for the South West Youth Games in cricket, a multi–talented young lady.

Ruby had to be interviewed for the role and impressed the selector with both her sporting ability and her confidence and maturity for one so young. Ruby is used to giving presentations in her role as a member of the school council at Writhlington.

We wish her well and will keep you posted on her busy year ahead. She starts in June after her GCSE exams with a conference in Taunton

May 2006

TOUCH DOWN FOR GIRLS

A great opportunity was available for girls from the start of the summer term.

Bath Rugby Club are visited the school every Wednesday in April and May to coach girls in tag rugby.

Girls from Year 7 – 10 are having the opportunity to take advantage of specialist coaching sessions offered by the club to introduce them to this exciting sport.

The girls are thoroughly enjoying the opportunity. This is just one of the coaching opportunities available to students. Why not come along and join us on Wednesdays from 3.30 – 4.30. See Mrs Price for details.