Instead, the senior boys faced an intense NFL combine style workout competition that tested their speed, agility, power and acceleration; all combined with a great soundtrack. The boys competed hard against their own year groups, with James taking top of the podium in Year 6, Felix in Year 7 and Johnny in Year 8.

🏉 A round up of the boys’ matches…

  • Both Year 5 teams played tag rugby matches against Copthorne. Although it took a while for the teams to readapt to tag, once they got into the swing of things the ball was moved quickly and they were able to demonstrate some fantastic agility and spatial awareness. Thomas held his position brilliantly in space, allowing for some try scoring passes to take place.
  • Year 4 also participated in tag games, winning one and losing one both by 1 try! Theo W was able to attack space in a strong Copthorne team superbly, whilst Edward excelled with his well timed tagging.
  • Year 3 played two closely matched games against Copthorne in  the warmth of the sports hall, winning both games also by a single try. Oscar showed great resilience, determination and teamwork, encouraging his teammates to get into the right defensive positions when out of possession. Everyone worked superbly together, offering great support for offloading. In his debut game for Pennthorpe, Will got stuck right in with some confident tagging, direct runs and scoring lots of tries!

All the netball went ahead as planned, with the 1sts and 2nds travelling away to Lancing Prep.

🏐 And the girl’s matches:

  • The 2nds had a slow start against a reasonable Lancing team, who had a strong central player that dominated the court. The team grew into the game but unfortunately it was too far gone, despite some lovely well worked goals. Abbie showed fantastic effort, working hard all over the pitch and showing brilliant confidence in her game play. The 1sts gave a dominant display resulting in a very convincing victory, playing with confidence all over the pitch. Zahira showed great sportsmanship by playing for both teams when numbers were low, influencing both games positively.
  • Year 5 and 6 were at home against a mixture of Lancing teams. The girls improved throughout the afternoon when finding space and making passes, with all Pennthorpe teams winning at least one of their matches. Aurelie was on top form, making intelligent movements and strong interceptions, whilst Lucy made great use of space, moving the ball quickly to her teammates to drive the ball forward.
  • Year 3 and 4 travelled away on a very, very cold afternoon to Cottesmore. Despite the freezing conditions, the girls fought hard, defending well and building on their training of being more confident moving towards the ball. Annabelle gave a determined performance, battling for every ball and driving her team forward. Year 4 were brilliant in supporting their younger teammates, offering plenty of encouragement and direction. Arabella demonstrated superb leadership within her team, ensuring everyone was involved and keeping spirits high.

🏊‍♂️ On Tuesday, Pennthorpe took an U9, U11 & U13 boys/girls swimming team to King Edwards School to compete in the annual gala. Pupils were selected on the merit of their excellent performance in the House Gala in October. Both teams finished 3rd overall which was a simply fantastic achievement – the competition from Barrow Hills, Aldro and Amesbury was very tough and our children had to dig deep at times to push for glory. Well done to all swimmers and yet another excellent sporting performance.