One of the joys of a return to a normal school routine post Covid has been the ability for us to return to a full programme of sport for all pupils at College.

Throughout the academic year we have been delighted to support pupils actively engaging in 19 different sports. This year alone 166 teams have represented College in 1,033 fixtures and sporting events; figures that highlight the breadth of sporting opportunity on offer to pupils of all ages and ability levels.

The aim of the sports programme at College is to engage with all pupils, to inspire them to enjoy physical activity and where a combination of environment, coaching and ability meets desire, to ultimately excel in their chosen activity/ activities.

To engage, enjoy and excel is a formula that we hope stays with all pupils long after they’ve left College and that sport and activity supports a happy and healthy future for all.

Over the course of the year, we have seen some fantastic individual and team performances at the highest levels both within our school fixture programme and at a wider representative level. The following reports will be a testament to these efforts and a tribute to the members of the Sports Department, visiting coaches, mentors and common room members who have supported their journey so far.

We are extremely grateful to all those who have contributed to the sporting sphere at College and who will continue to do so for many years to come.

Mr Ben Marsden, Director of Sport

Talented Athlete Programme

Mr Nick Runciman

This year has seen Talented Athlete Programme (TAP) members rejuvenated with a renewed sense of purpose, as normality resumed post Covid. The sporting world opened its doors to opposition fixtures and external organisations began lifting their regulations. TAP members got back to doing what they do best and have absolutely thrived, whether that be in the school setting during sporting fixtures, developing their strength and conditioning in our twice weekly sessions and/or competing externally.

TAP values continue to be at the fore of the athletes’ intentions. They should be proud of the professionalism, commitment, and positive work ethic continuously on display. The creation of a ‘team mantra’ during their sessions was so rewarding to witness and all members set standards and expectations for others to emulate.

There have been many notable achievements:

• In hockey there has been the ongoing selection of Tilly Wood representing Hockey Wales U18s Girls and Harvey Sullivan being capped for Hockey Wales U18s Boys. Isy
  Y attended the England regional performance centre and Min Fletcher and Erin Darbin made up part of the Cheltenham Hocky Club’s U16s indoor and outdoor squads that reached national finals.
• In rugby Will Gilderson gained selection for the England U18s, and he also represented Gloucester U18s in the academy league, alongside Tom Riman
  and Heath Gwilliam.
• Tom Unsworth and Fred Barter both represented Gloucester U16s; the latter also gaining exposure to the Welsh Exiles in games against the Welsh regions.
• In the polo world Jemima Walker travelled to Argentina representing England for the first Women’s World Cup. Jemima subsequently played for the England Senior Ladies’ team against America in London. England won with Jemima, the youngest on the field, scoring a goal.
• Abigail Frankham competed in her first international show jumping competition at Chepstow in the bronze tour, Lily Nicholson competed in eventing at the open novice level and
• Ellie Savage participated in the British eventing jump training championship.
• In netball, Fenella Clayton was part of the Seven Stars ‘Nova’ pathway, gaining selection for the U17 team and the U18 summer programme.
• On the racing track Joshua Poulain has been competing in the MX5 Supercup competition and has his sights on the upcoming Ginetta G55 GT4 Supercup . Josh will be racing for
• Motus One. Evie Poulain is competing in the British Kart Championships for the second successive year, making hugely positive strides.
• We also welcomed the successful Fourth Form members who joined the programme for the Summer Term, gaining exposure before this coming year.

Finally, a gracious thank you must go to the departing Upper Sixth, for their sporting contributions during their time at College and we all hope they will continue to inspire the next generation of Cheltonians beyond College.

Cricket

Girls

Miss Katie Brooking

It has been an amazing term for girls’ cricket!

An influx in numbers this year has given girls’ cricket at College the buzz it deserves. We have had a mixture of girls participating this year from complete novices to a few girls with experience having formerly played at either their prep school or at outside clubs.

The rapid progress the girls have made this year alone has been outstanding and every single player is now playing, or at least training, using a hard ball.

This year we managed to field three teams, a 1st XI, an U15A and an U14A team, with around 45 girls representing College. The future is certainly looking bright with Third Form providing 50% of the entire College participants. A range of 13 fixtures were played across year groups against both school and club sides.

The girls had a busier second half of term which included some extra fixtures as well as House Pots. This girls’ inter House cricket competition was the first of its kind and proved to be a great success. It was played on a beautiful Thursday afternoon with the players taking to The Prep fields in an eight-a-side tournament. The matches were all played in great spirit, with Ashmead victorious after narrowly beating Chandos by 10 runs in a very closely fought final.

The 1st XI was led by captain Daisy White alongside her co- captain Isy Y. The 1st XI squad included girls from a variety of years, from Third Form up to Lower Sixth. A highlight for our first XI this year was the inaugural match on Speech Day against Cheltenham Cricket Club. The day was filled with a fantastic display of cricket with the teams so evenly matched that the result came down to the very last ball. Unfortunately, it was a loss for College, but it was definitely a day to remember for the girls and their ever-supportive parents.

Overall, it was a wonderful season for girls’ cricket and we are already looking forward to even greater development next year.

Boys

Mr Matt Coley, Director of Cricket

The 2022 season was a very successful one for the Club, with some fine weather enabling 120 fixtures to be played. Unusually for a British summer only one weekend was affected by the rain! Thirteen boys’ sides and three girls’ sides played regularly throughout the term with very nearly 200 pupils playing some form of competitive cricket. A highlight of the term has been the growing numbers of girls taking up the game. For the first time we were able to field three sides, all playing hard ball cricket.

The 1st XI enjoyed wins against Free Foresters Cricket Club, Monmouth School, King’s Worcester and King’s School Gloucester. A dominant performance against Rugby School ended in a draw with the opposition batting for the final 15 overs of the game with all 10 of our fielders around the bat. Unfortunately, the final two wickets eluded us. Individual batting highlights included a fine 113 from Ollie McGrath and 89 from Gus Carini-Roberts against Free Foresters CC, 90 from Oliver Elliott against the University of Exeter 3rd XI, 95 from Gus Carini-Roberts vs Charlton Kings U23s and 89 from Joseph Tagg against Clifton College.

On the bowling side Joseph Coley, in his first season of bowling left arm spin, took 31 wickets at an average of 19.97, with the highlight being 5 for 38 from 20 overs against Rugby School. Isaac Tagg also performed well taking 21 wickets at an average of 23.33. Once again, a number of younger players have gained valuable experience playing for the XI with Oscar Moore playing up for eight matches and scoring an excellent 45 not out against Eton College 1st XI in a T20 fixture.

We celebrate too having players in the Gloucestershire Cricket Elite Player Pathway and boys and girls in various county performance and development squads.

Full Colours: Eddie Buttress and Oliver Elliott
Half Colours: Harry Dawson, Isaac Tagg, Joseph Tagg, Raife Hackett, Joseph Coley, Gus Carini-Roberts and Ollie McGrath

T20

We have continued with the T20 programme on Friday evenings with six fixtures being played. These have been largely U17 sides, allowing some younger cricketers to play alongside more established members of our 1st XI squad. The Hundred Ball Festival also continued to be a great success for the Yearlings’ A squad, this year playing host to Radley College and Malvern College.

Our 2nd XI and 3rd XI teams have played throughout the term with a number of Upper Sixth and Fifth Form pupils balancing their academic endeavours with some competitive cricket. Between them they played 15 fixtures, winning 7 and losing 8. The Lower College side enjoyed a good deal of success.

In the Junior Colts age group, the A team lost narrowly to Winchester and Rugby School but had strong wins against Bradfield College, Bloxham and King’s Worcester. The B and C teams enjoyed a number of victories against some of our toughest opponents, with the Cs winning 5 of their 6 fixtures. A particular highlight for the JCB team was Ronan Thrussell smashing 103 from 46 balls!

The pick of our age groups this year had to be the Yearlings sides. All four Yearlings sides enjoyed winning seasons, taking some notable scalps along the way. The A team were winners of the U14 John Harvey Cup, with wins against Radley, Bradfield, Winchester College and St Edward’s School, Oxford. They were also successful at the Haileybury U14 Festival, beating the hosts and Stowe School.

Individual highlights included Hector McPherson scoring 74 and 71 against Winchester and Radley respectively, Jack Savage taking 5 stumpings and a catch against Rugby School, Frederick Hill 4 for 33 against Winchester and Max Davidson 3 for 10 against St Edward’s School, Oxford. The Yearlings’ B team won 9 out of 11 fixtures and the Yearlings’ C team won 7 from 9, which included a hat trick from Noah Holder. We also fielded a Yearlings’ D side who won 2 of their 4 games.

Hockey

Mr Gwyn Williams, Director of Hockey

Girls

It was fantastic to have the girls back out on the astro and able to fulfil a season of fixtures. Sport creates those unique learning experiences, cultivates friendships, makes memories and allows the opportunity for the girls to be challenged and showcase their skill sets.

This season we were able to field a Yearlings’ D team, bringing our total number of teams up to 13 with around 200 girls representing College at hockey. The Club managed to complete 116 matches; the teams secured 54 wins and 14 draws and scored 253 goals in the process. This resulted in 59% of all matches ending as a positive result for the Club. In House Pots Chandos won the seniors whilst Queen’s took the honours in the juniors.

The fixture blocks produced some amazing team performances across the varying year groups. Of the 10 games with Clifton College, College managed five wins and two draws. In the five matches against Cheltenham Ladies’ College, College won all five whilst the block with Malvern College produced four wins out of five games.

The final fixture of the term was with St Edward’s School, Oxford and was a lovely end to the season for the teams as the club managed to win seven out of the 10 matches.

The 1st XI was led by co-captains Tilly Wood and Alice Vyvyan-Robinson and the season consisted of wins over King’s College, Taunton, Cheltenham Ladies’ College and St Edward’s School, Oxford and credible draws with Bradfield College, Marlborough College and Bristol Grammar School.

The XI also had a good cup run, exiting in the fourth round of the national cup. A special mention goes to Alice as this was her fourth season playing for the XI, whilst Tilly was selected to represent Wales U18s.

In indoor hockey we were able to field three teams this year. The U18 girls indoor team secured a place at the west finals, and for the first time we had U18 boys’ and U16 girls’ teams involved in county rounds. This valuable experience bodes well for the future of indoor hockey in our programme.

Colts B, led by Miss Samantha Cook, enjoyed a tremendous season, remaining unbeaten in all eight fixtures and scoring 27 goals in the process. The Yearlings’ A team became county winners progressing to west finals and in their season. They managed six wins, two losses and amassed 44 goals in the process. The future bodes well for hockey at College.

There have been some notable performances from our players involved with their own clubs outside College. Erin Darbin, Leni Kam and Min Fletcher were part of Cheltenham Hockey Club’s U16s indoor squad that qualified for national finals.

This group with the addition of Matilda Makin and Sky Jameison then proceeded to finish third in the national outdoor competition at U16 level. At U18 level, Isy Y and Bhavishya Gem were involved in getting to a national semi final for Cheltenham Hockey Club. Isy Y, Tilda Barter and Maddie Archer are involved in England hockey performance centres, with Isy moving up to England Hockey’s Diploma in Sporting Excellence programme.

Full Colours: Tilly Wood, Honor Huggett, Gabriella Bifulco, Alice Vyvyan-Robinson (Re-award)
Half Colours: Matilda Kitson, Leni Kam, Isy Y
Player of the Year: Honor Huggett
Players’ Player: Leni Kam
Club Players of the Year: Tilly Wood and Alice Vyvyan-Robinson

Boys

A hockey astro can often be seen as a theatre of dreams encapsulating all manner of drama, and the boys’ 1st XI have certainly experienced their fair share of emotions throughout the term, playing some superb hockey along the way under the captaincy of Jack Wheeler.

The term started well with wins against King’s School, Gloucester, Marlborough College and Malvern College. The rest of the term saw some tight games with a mixed bag
of results, which unfortunately saw the XI losing out by the odd goal in a few games and draws in their matches with St Edward’s School, Oxford and King’s College, Taunton.

The Club as a whole has performed considerably well. Of the 90 matches played, 50% were either a draw or a win for College teams. Both the Junior Colts’ B (JCB) and C teams only managed to lose one of their eight matches all term. The JCB team under the guidance of Mr James Coull also secured a runners up spot in their ISHL league. The Junior Colts as a year group certainly performed. Of their 25 games the three teams won or drew 18 of them scoring 49 goals along the way. The U14 team became county champions and went onto west finals. Southwood won the senior House Pots trophy, whilst the junior House Pots was split by year group. Two closely fought competitions saw Leconfield take the Yearlings title whilst Newick House took the Junior Colts one. Within the fixtures there were two notable blocks. Of the nine fixtures against St Edward’s College won five and drew three, whilst in the 11 fixtures with Marlborough, College won four and drew four.

Our Cheltonians have also been involved in a variety of representative hockey achievements. Harvey Sullivan represented Wales U18s in the Easter test series against Scotland. Closer to home, Mickey Stranack, Raife Hackett and Ed Carter have been a part of Cheltenham Hockey Club U18s squad that reached the semi finals at a national club level.

Full Colours: Jack Wheeler, Raife Hackett, Harvey Sullivan Half Colours: Oliver Elliott, Ollie McGrath, Harry Dawson, Arthur Eynon, Jaden Somen
Player of the Year: Ollie McGrath
Players’ Player: Raife Hackett
Club Players of the Year: Jack Wheeler and Arthur Eynon

Netball

Miss Samantha Cook, Director of Netball

After two years of uncertainty and no external fixtures, it was great to finally have a full term of netball with no interruption. It was fantastic to be able to field seven senior and 10 junior teams from the outset in the very first fixture against Bradfield College. The girls were provided with a wealth of opportunity to play netball competitively over the course of the term, as well as develop their skills and play House competitions against their peers.

Over the course of the season the girls played in over 119 matches, winning more than 60% of these, with several narrow losses across all age groups, which could have gone either way. Within the season there were some fixtures that were highlights, including against Cheltenham Ladies’ College, losing only one match across both junior and senior level, and against Wycliffe College, again losing only one match out of the 10 played. Miss Hannah Maclean’s U15C team had a particularly great start to their first netball season at College after not playing last year due to the pandemic. They won all seven games, making them undefeated and Team of the Year, with a cracking 27-8 win over local rivals Dean Close School.

College started with a tough fixture against Bradfield which was a huge test, where all 17 teams fought hard and learned a lot that they then took into their next match against Dean Close, only losing two games across the Club.

There were some fantastic performances for the second team and U15D in our completive block fixture against St Edward’s School, Oxford; both teams won their matches by 20 goals.
Tudor Hall School followed which saw our U14B team step up to play their U14A team, narrowly missing out on the win by just seven goals. It was a standout performance from Lucia Hargitay who worked vigorously to intercept the ball and stop their goals from being scored.

The games came thick and fast after Exeat with Cheltenham Ladies’ College and Redmaids’ High School where there were some standout performances from the U14A team. They won their game against Redmaids’ by one goal in the final minutes of the game. It was a game they knew was going to be a tough ask but they showed real grit and resilience for the entire 48 minutes. A special mention to captain Maddie Archer who worked tirelessly in the middle to provide a strong connection in attack and relentless play in defence.

Returning for the second half of the season, we got stuck into House Pots which was once again held on Saturday and was a huge success. It allowed everyone to support their Houses across both the junior and senior competitions throughout the day.

The matches were played in great spirit and enjoyment. It was fantastic to see a handful of seniors step back onto the netball court for the first time since Third Form. Winners of the junior competition were Westal and winners for the senior competition were College Lawn.

After a week’s training under their belt post half term, the 1st VII faced Malvern College in the annual charity match which was a fantastic showcase of skill, flare and versatility. With such depth in the squad, changes were made every quarter to allow for change of style to keep Malvern one step behind. Between Honor Huggett, Poppy Dillon and Eliana Hale in the shooting circle and Fenella Clayton and Matilda Kitson in defence, College was untouchable and ran away with an impressive 45-19 win.
The school raised over £2,000 towards our chosen charity, Active Sport.

Fixtures did not stop there, with block matches against Wycliffe College and Bloxham School. The 5th VII and 6th VII had some well fought matches against Marlborough College, Clifton College and Rugby School; sadly losing out in these despite their efforts.

The U15A team finished the season with their best performance yet, narrowly losing to Bloxham by just five goals. Due to injury, Alice Dawson stepped back into the shooting circle with ease, closely supported by teammate Gabriella Watson.

There were also some fantastic individual achievements this year, with Fenella Clayton not only being an integral part of the 1st VII and vice captain, but also performing outside of College, representing the U17 Severn Stars team, competing against a number of other national franchises around the country on a weekly basis.
Finally, the netball coaching team has been instrumental in the development of the Club and have helped to create the best environment possible for the girls to develop and thrive within. It has been a very enjoyable season watching the pupils back playing netball.

Full Colours: Honor Huggett and Fenella Clayton
Half Colours: Gabriella Bifulco, Matilda Kitson, Lily Crowther, Eliana Hale, and Poppy Dillon

Rowing

Mr Jed Greenhouse and Mr Nicholas Moffatt

The squad was able to work hard and develop technique during what turned out to be the best January for several years for river conditions and weather. Third Form crews rowed in octos and quads, Fourth Form as quads, and Fifth and Sixth Form as a mix of small boats and a boys’ sweep eight. The boys were really committed to the sweep eight project, land training well when the river was in flood after half term.

Hampton Head was a good kick off for both senior boys and girls to get back into racing again. Avon Head saw us field the largest number of pupils racing in some time and credit goes to everyone for making the most of this long day with many racing twice. It was a fantastic atmosphere and good to see parents on the riverbank.

Some illness in the senior boys’ group meant that sadly we couldn’t float our first eight for the famous Schools’ Head of the River competition. The senior girls took on the junior Sculling Head at Eton Dorney and performed admirably in this national event. Our junior boys and girls also competed, learning a huge amount and all enjoyed the day, despite a lot of rain! At least the water conditions were great as it wasn’t windy!

At Easter, College headed to their training camp at the National Water Sports Centre at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham which proved a successful week away with progression coming from all pupils even with the often- temperamental weather.

College started off the summer regatta season at Shrewsbury and what a start! With entries into 11 different categories, 32 College pupils participated with nine pupils coming away with podium finishes: Henry Cane, followed by Annabel Cane and Matthew Albutt in their singles and continuing with the senior girls’ double consisting of Alice Vyvyan-Robinson and Maria Cowing and the senior boys’ coxless quad of Heath Gwilliam, Harry Garbutt, Christian Hindmarch and Toby Emerson. The charismatic environment was a perfect way to introduce our Boat Club newbies to the exciting world of racing.

Following that success at Shrewsbury, the rowers headed to Bridgnorth Regatta in June where College faced committed clubs, schools and university rowers, including Clifton College, Cheltenham Ladies’ College and the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick. With many racing for the first time, College was proud of their performances with Matthew Albutt winning in an all-College final for the J18 sculls.

Although losing in the final, our four J15 quads had their first wins in a heat with Andrew Li’s boat beating both Clifton by five lengths and Sam Streatfield’s College quad by a length and a half. They eventually lost in the finals to Northwich Rowing Club after an hour parked sitting in the sun weeding lilies on the town bank – their singular major achievement here being to keep Alfie Cox OUT of The Severn and IN the quad!

The senior girls’ double, Maria Cowing and Alice Vyvyan- Robinson were prepped and ready to go for Henley Women’s in June. They put in a solid time trial and only just missed out on qualifying. We’re looking forward to seeing what these two will do at uni!

For our J14 boys and girls, Stratford was their first event where they raced in quads. Both won their initial heats to compete in finals. The boys (Johnny Cheung, Thomas Hillman-Cooper, Felix Duggan, Henry Harris, and Charles Maynell) beat Evesham Rowing Club categorically only to lose in their final against King’s Worcester in the last quarter. The girls’ quad (Marina Mack, Lily Ropner, Kitty Furneaux, Sarah Anstey and Emily Shaw) won their first heat by almost a third of the distance of the course.

They lost their final to King’s Worcester after putting up a sterling performance.

College arranged for The Prep to have a mini regatta at the College Boathouse in Tewkesbury which turned out to be a great success. Parents came along and watched as all 28 pupils raced each other in crew boats showing off their newfound and very proficient rowing skills.

This rowing season has been full of first times, wins, losses and experiences and we are looking forward to this coming year when we can continue to build on our already strong foundations from 2022.

Rugby

Mr Olly Morgan, Director of Rugby

There was plenty of excitement and anticipation ahead of the rugby season, arguably more than previous years mainly down to fact that competitive rugby had not graced our fields for 18 months. With pre-season numbers as high as they have ever been, it was clear the pupils couldn’t wait to represent the school.

The competitive block with Monmouth School were their first competitive matches for the U15s and U14s.

It was great to be off the mark with some fantastic performances. Marlborough College soon followed which saw 15 teams in action whether that be full contact, an adaptive version or touch. In total 300 pupils represented the school. The 1st XV retained the Parry Combe Cup, winning 22-12 and our U14 E touch team had a thrilling 30-30 draw!
After Exeat the games kept coming with Clifton College and St Edward’s School, Oxford where there were some notable performances from our 2nd XV, Colts A/B and Junior Colts A/B/C teams. It was evident the players were now comfortable and the foundations were in place to approach the second half of term with plenty of confidence.

After the half term break, the 1st XV performed well competing for the first time at the St Joseph’s national festival amongst the best rugby playing schools in the country.

Returning for the second half of the season it got even harder with our full block against Millfield School. Special mention must go to the Junior Colts’ teams with a clean sweep and Mr Tom Lambert’s first ever win against the school from Somerset!

The charity game at Kingsholm against Sir Thomas Rich’s School was a special spectacle. With the whole school supporting from the stands and at home via the live stream, College’s strong community really came though.

Finally, it was great to witness the improvement across the players in our final blocks with Sherborne School and Rugby School where there were some brilliant last minute scores and very close games across the board. It was a fitting way to finish what had been a very enjoyable season but none more so than to have pupils back playing rugby.

Individually it was great to see a large proportion of Lower College pupils still immersed in the community; playing club rugby and a select few within the Gloucester Developing Players Programme set up.

Congratulations go to Will Gilderson, who is involved with the England U18 squad, and Tom Riman and Heath Gwilliam who are involved with the Gloucester U18s Academy League. David Gamble, Tom Unsworth and Fred Barter continued to make steady progress with the Gloucester U16s squad.

The pathway to professional contracts remains strong and it’s really pleasing to see Will Gilderson and Tom Riman rewarded for their hard work to be given professional contracts with Gloucester Rugby. They join OCs Tom Stanton (H, 2018), Louis Hillman-Cooper (S, 2020), Seb Blake (BH, 2020), Jack Clement (S, 2019) and Ollie Thorley (BH, 2015) who are currently in the squad. We all look forward to following Will and Tom’s careers with interest.

Huge thanks as always to the coaches, referees, parents, grounds team, catering, matrons and health centre staff for their care and attention throughout the season. Most importantly well done to all the pupils who engaged, enjoyed and ultimately excelled across the term.

Full Colours: Leo Jamous, Finlay Hurst, Eddie Buttress, Ross Broughton-Johnson, Temwani Banda and Will Gilderson
Half Colours: Heath Gwilliam, Ollie McGrath, Guy Thomas and Joseph Maguire

Sevens

Sevens was eagerly anticipated with many tournaments throughout the term for the U14s, U16s and U18s culminating in the widely recognised Rosslyn Park Sevens.

With training throughout the week, the boys were well equipped with all the tactical knowledge and excited to get going in the first tournament at Shiplake College for the U18s, Clifton College with the U16s and Dean Close School for the U14s. All three tournaments were successful in their own way but particular mention goes to the U14s who reached the final narrowly losing in the last play of the game.

Various competitions then followed after half term for a number of teams and the U16s showed their ability by reaching the semi final of the West of England Sevens.

Rosslyn Park was the final hurdle and all three teams gave a very good account of themselves in what is widely recognised as the most competitive tournament in the country. Wins against Radley College and Hampton School for the U18s, Shrewsbury School and Llandovery College for the U16s and Colchester Royal Grammar School for the U14s, stood out across the week. However, in the final game the boys just came up short which was felt by many after all the hard work that had gone in across the season. It was however a great learning tool for the younger generation and something they can all take forward to next season.

Tennis

Mr Timothy Lang

Having had a rather fragmented season last year due to Covid, it was important for the Club to get back to the normality of a comprehensive fixture list full of variety and healthy competition. Many of College’s team tennis players worked incredibly hard throughout the winter using their lunch times to improve their technique and fitness in the winter tennis programme, co-ordinated by Mr Chris Warner. On many a rain-soaked lunchtime they would brave the cold to make the necessary gains ahead of the Summer Term and a new tennis season.

On arrival back to College after the Easter break, the pupils were thrust straight into selection trials ahead of matches on the first Saturday of the Summer Term. It was clear that we had great strength in depth and many girls and boys in contention for places in the match day teams. Our first match against Tudor Hall School was a great success with all but two of our teams returning convincing wins. The boys showed good determination at their away fixture at Rendcomb College, where they too brought home the spoils. The season was up and running in a successful manner.

As the term progressed and training became more strategic; we were able to fine tune the combinations of doubles pairings and plan accordingly for the challenges that opposition schools would throw at us. The girls and the boys met these challenges with great maturity and drive and would rarely turn up to training or fixtures undercooked.

It is this commitment to the detail that really spurred the teams on throughout the week and gave them the best opportunity to be competitive when the match day arrived.
By the end of the season the score card for the whole Club made for extremely pleasing reading with four of our teams remaining unbeaten for the entire season, and an overall win percentage of 68% having been successful in 51 out 77 matches across the term. This is a fantastic set of results for a talented and dedicated set of pupils who have given their all for College tennis.

It is important to recognise the efforts of all the staff that have worked tirelessly to help the pupils improve, and of course accompany them to matches both home and away. There were some long away trips that demand many hours from pupils and staff alike, so a big thank you for all your efforts in this regard. Mr Chris Warner, our professional coach, deserves high praise for his unwavering appetite for coaching come wind, rain, or shine, and for his support for the pupils throughout the whole year in the winter and spring programmes.

Lastly, a huge thank you to those pupils who are sadly departing this year. It was lovely to see such commitment from the Upper Sixth students in matches despite the obvious pressure of exams looming over their heads. To reward many of them with Full Colours was a real honour and they should be extremely proud of their commitment and dedication to the Club right from when they joined back in Third Form. It is this long-term reliability that has driven the Club forwards and set the standard for those in years below them.

Next season is set to be yet another competitive term for this focused group of young tennis players. We will all look forward to dusting the rackets off for yet another year of tennis.

Badminton

Mr Sol Griffiths and Dr Luke Davidson

It has been another positive year for badminton with large numbers of players maintained across all three terms.

We have been as competitive as ever with high win percentages for both boys’ and girls’ teams. Despite a couple of losses before Christmas we managed to avenge our defeats with strong wins against Bromsgrove School and Stowe School.

The strength of College badminton is shown by the emergence of Matthew Sun, Travis Ip, Isaac Wong, Yoyo Fong and Rex Yeung who all gained a place in the Gloucestershire Under 18 county squad, this being our highest number of players ever to do so. We also had a first with Rex representing Gloucestershire at senior level, an incredible achievement for someone of his age.

Badminton would not have been as successful without the leadership shown by our captains Travis Ip (Club), Isaac Wong (boys’ 1st) and Emma Chan (girls’ 1st).

Basketball

Mr Michael Higgins

The Club was happy to return to play but, still experiencing interruptions due to Covid, there were not as many wins as we would have liked. That said, we very much enjoyed training as a team and our four matches against Wycliffe College, St Peter’s Roman Catholic High School, Gloucester and the two against Marlborough College. The victory over Wycliffe was especially sweet!

The Club welcomed two notable additions: Raphael Fan and Harvey Sullivan and captain William Wong should be congratulated for leading the team so well and clinching the coveted title of Highest Scorer.

Big thanks go to our outgoing teammates who have shown such commitment and spirit in their time in the Club: William Wong, William Yang, Elian Jorand, Sean Kim, Alvin Xiao, Jasper Chiang and Leonid Zhuravlev. As you leave College, we wish you all the best of luck on and off the court. We’d like you to know that with Charlie Chu keen
to get the women’s game up and running and Jerry Cai and Curtis Pang continuing from Third and Fourth Form, the future for basketball looks bright at College; what a splendid legacy to leave behind!

Equestrian

Mrs Jenny O’Bryan

Equestrian Sport has gone from strength to strength this year with our weekly Monday training sessions at Rectory Farm paying dividends for all. The highlight of the year was at the Royal Windsor Horse Show where our relatively young team of Ellie Savage, Alice Tomblin, Daphne Garbutt and India Trounson came an amazing fourth place, each jumping hard fought clear rounds despite the distracting crowds and military displays. They acquitted themselves so well in such a cauldron of pressure no doubt aided by the glorious picnic lunch with family and friends under the shadow of Windsor Castle next to the Thames!

In British eventing Mahony Knight has been flying; she achieved a top 20 place overall in the under 21 category last season and represented the central region in the National Youth Championships. OC Ibble Watson (Ch, 2021) was selected to represent GB as part of the European young rider team which this year was held in the UK and locally at Hartpury.

In British Dressage, Sofia Games was selected to represent GB in the pony dressage team; a huge accolade especially for one so young. Fellow Lower College rider Eve McCoy has also been blazing a successful trail nationally in show jumping.

In the Spring Term College ran two days of eventer challenge competitions at Rectory Farm which was very well supported and resulted in our teams qualifying for the Hicktstead championships at both 95cm and 105cm level. Ellie Savage, Alice Tomblin, Daphne Garbutt and India Trounson made the long journey down to Hickstead (south of Gatwick). Alice Tomblin came a fabulous fifth place.

Several riders continue to benefit away from the saddle from the College Talented Athlete Programme with all round body-conditioning work; the benefits of which are well known.

Thank you to all of the parents for your continued support which enables our pupils to achieve so much and most importantly to enjoy their horses.

STOP PRESS

Enormous congratulations to OC Ibble Watson (Ch, 2021) who won a Gold medal representing Great Britain in the European Young Rider Championships. It was wonderful to be able to witness this as it was held locally at Hartpury where I was fortunate enough to be invited to write for international dressage judges and fence judge on this prestigious occasion. I now have lots of tips for our College riders for this coming year!

Football

Mr Lucas Slowik

It was another fantastic season for the Club. We had five teams compete in what was the most successful season to date. We also had the return of the Girls XI which was brilliant to see.

This year saw the very first OC vs Cheltenham XI game which was played on the historic College Field. It was a well contested game which saw the OCs take the win late on in the final minutes.

Lastly, we introduced for the first time football Half and Full Colours which was a huge moment in the Club’s continued legacy at College. It has been a real pleasure growing Football over the past four years and I have no doubts it will continue to grow and will go on to great success in the future.

Full Colours: Eddie Buttress, Finlay Hurst, Elian Jorand, Tom Peck.
Half Colours: Tash Munjanganja, Austin Thrussell, Edoardo Viva Simond

Fitness and Yoga

Mrs Rebecca Faulkner

This year has seen Girls’ Fitness move forward in leaps and bounds. The number in sign-ups has increased, and the girls have wholeheartedly embraced their training sessions. This enthusiasm and energy has been led by Mrs Amber Inker, our new lead instructor who is amongst many things a Level 3 Personal Trainer, RYT200 Yoga Alliance Teacher and STOTT certified Pilates Reformer Instructor!

With a new order of yoga mats the girls have enjoyed discovering the practice of yoga for both physical and mental wellbeing. Learning the importance of both movement and breath to delve deeper into the understanding of acceptance and self care.

Using combinations of body weight and resistance bands to strengthen and build lean muscle, along with bouts of cardiovascular training and some gymnastics too, each Girls’ Fitness session is varied and constantly engaging, allowing the girls to learn and develop the skills and understanding of safe and efficient movement for a healthy body and happy mind.

Golf

Mr Jonathan Mace

It has been another enjoyable year of golf with excellent wins over Malvern College and Dean Close School early in the Autumn Term setting the tone for the year ahead. Excellent progress was made in the HMC foursomes competition with the team narrowly losing the regional semi final against a very strong Bromsgrove School side.

Upper Sixth golfers represented College at the OC Autumn Meeting at Denham GC and a closely fought match between College and the OCs followed in November at Cleeve Hill GC.

Both days were hugely enjoyable, and I would like to thank the Old Cheltonian Golf Society for their warm hospitality.

The team, including all the outgoing Upper Sixth golfers, should be applauded for playing the game in a fine and supportive spirit with a real sense of camaraderie. They were ably led by Ned Scudamore.

Motor Sports

Evie Poulain continues to take British Karting by storm.

Her 2022 campaign started incredibly when she finished thirteenth in the first round from a grid of 64 drivers.

In the second round of the British Kart Championships at Larkhall in Scotland, Evie fought through the pack after being taken out of the race to climb to 20th from the 58 drivers on the grid. Evie moved to Warden Law in Newcastle for the third round of the BKC in July. In the early club rounds leading up to this point Evie finished second and second in the Mansell club competitions and fourth in the Kimbolton Club Cup with various other great drives to date.

Evie is supported by local and national businesses, BAM based in Cheltenham, Porsche Main Dealers in Tewkesbury, F45 Gyms in Cheltenham plus IT4Starters.

Josh Poulain has now secured a motorsport enthusiast sponsor in Touchstone Education that will allow him to make the transition from karts to cars. He has been competing in the MX5 Supercup Competition with the first two rounds at Silverstone and Anglesey where he was competing at Best in Class.

He has also been testing the Praga R1 and Ginetta G55 GT classes, whilst now setting his sights at competing in the Ginetta G55 GT4 Supercup.

In Josh’s first round in the G55 at Oulton Park he set a P1 in Qualifying, P1 in Race 1 and fastest lap, a fantastic start to the series. His next rounds took him to Knockhill in Scotland in July and on to Snetterton, Thruxton, Brand Hatch and Silverstone.

Polo

Mr Robin Eddie

This year we have continued to see keen new polo players join sessions. We have welcomed William White, Matilda Makin, Jemima Beazley, Rex Knight, George Lawson, George Duff, Oscar Fuery and Johannes VB. It has been particularly impressive at how quickly these players have progressed. I look forward to seeing what they can achieve in the coming years.

College As (Jemima Walker, George Tomblin and George Copcutt) competed in the intermediate category at the Schools and University Polo Association (SUPA) indoor arena tournament. They played incredibly well however fell short of a trophy.

College Bs (Oscar Fuery, Holly Bullock and George Lawson) competed in the novice category. After several decisive victories, they narrowly missed out on a trophy, finishing in second place.

We had phenomenal success in the Summer Term at the next SUPA tournament. College As (Jemima Walker, George Copcutt, Robbie Slatter and George Tomblin) won the entire tournament, beating Harrow School in a knockout competition to reach the final. In the final match against Radley College, College really stepped it up and put on a rather impressive show. It was also televised on Polo TV! College Bs (Holly Bullock, Oscar Fuery, Jemima Beazley and George Duff ) came second in their division.
Well done to all who have taken part this year!

Rackets

Mr Matt Coley

The return of the National Schools competition contributed to very busy Autumn and Spring Terms for the Club. Once again, the Club increased its numbers with over 100 players on our one court, far surpassing a number of two-court schools.

The boys endured a tricky Autumn Term with captain Anay Shah, Robbie Slatter, Theo Nicholson, Freddie Sanders and Max Kwintner* all having the opportunity to play at 1st Pair. During the Spring Term Robbie and Max cemented their places in the 1st Pair, going on to win six matches on the bounce including impressive wins away at Malvern College and Marlborough College. We hope that Robbie and Max can build on this foundation and continue to improve next year. In December, Robbie also managed a very creditable run to the semi final of the Renny Cup. The Junior Colts, led by Archie Searson and Spencer Moore, put in some creditable performances with Archie reaching the last eight of the Jim Dear Cup. With seven different players representing College at Yearlings’ A with some good results, the future looks promising.

Led superbly by captain Alice Vyvyan-Robinson and partner Tilly Wood the girls had another strong season, culminating in both being awarded their Full Colours. Highlights included Alice and Tilly finishing runners up in the U18 Robin Geffen Cup in December before beating the winning Wellington Pair at Wellington College in March, Katie Baker and Mary Leslie winning the U16 Alex Brodien Cup with some superb play and Alice and Katie finishing runners up in the U18 Judy Angus Cup and U16 Beryl Danby Cup respectively in March.

The 2nd Pair, chiefly consisting of Lily Sutton and Isy Y were unbeaten throughout the season in school matches, as were the Junior Colt A pair of Isla-Rose Elliman and Melissa Watson. Tilly Coley, Maddie Archer and Poppy Baker were all impressive in representing College at Queen’s as Yearlings with Tilly and Maddie beating Junior Colt players to qualify in December whilst Tilly and Poppy played superbly to qualify for the main draw of the U16 singles in March. We thank the departing Upper Sixth for their support of tournaments within and outside College and look forward to seeing Alice, Tilly, Lily and Lottie Davis serving up in the future!

Domestically, Robbie Slatter won the College singles Bridgeman Cup whilst Westal won the M.P Briers girls’ House cup and Christowe won the K.A.C House Doubles Cup for the first time! The continued support of the leaders of other College sports continues to be integral to our success and we thank them for their flexibility and understanding. Finally, a huge thank you must go to the outstanding coaching team of Professionals, Mr Mark Briers, and Assistant Professional, Mr Rob Horn, for their tireless work on the court throughout the year, without which the Club would be much poorer.

Full Colours: Alice Vyvyan-Robinson and Tilly Wood

* Denotes playing up

Shooting

Mr Chris Reid

It has been good to see a return to our regular clays fixture list.

The Club has been excellently led this year by co-captains Sofia Capelastegui and Carson Mak and in recognition of their excellent leadership as well as their resilience and skill at shooting they were awarded their Full Colours.

In the first competition of the season for the Marlborough Challenge the girls’ A team won, with Nicole Sze coming second in the individual and the boys’ A team coming ninth. At the Millfield Invitational the girls’ team came second with Lottie Ladds third in the individual with the boys’ A team coming ninth and the boys’ B team thirteenth.

During the second half of the season the new boys’ squad continued to hone their skills at both the Harrow Fido May, Cheltenham Challenge and Independent Schools. At Harrow School the team came ninth with Charlie Worrall coming sixth in the individual. In the Cheltenham Challenge the team came sixth.

The most pleasing result was at the Independent Schools where the team secured a top 10 finish from a field of over 30 independent school teams.

The girls picked up where they left off in the Autumn Term, coming third at Harrow with Nicole Sze coming second in the individual. The girls’ team came fourth in the

Cheltenham Challenge with Sofia Capelastegui coming second and Nicole Sze coming third in the individual.

Recognition must also be given to Charlie Worrall, Matthew Rosenfeld, Charlie Froud, Lottie Ladds, Nicole Sze and Lisa Mbithi.

The final competition of the season was the College High and Novice Gun Competition. It was keenly fought across two rounds with the eventual winners being Sofia Capelastegui Girls’ High Gun, Charlie Worrall Boys’ High Gun and Hilbert Liu Novice Gun.

Full Colours: Sofia Capelastegui and Carson Mak
Half Colours: Charlie Worrall, Matthew Rosenfeld, Charlie Froud, Lottie Ladds, Nicole Sze and Lisa Mbithi

Squash

Mr Jamie Diamond

It’s been a good year for squash with everyone delighted to get back on the courts and to play competitive fixtures. We played regular matches for both boys and girls all of whom represented the Club well. Across the genders, College was successful in 40% of our fixtures with brilliant progression and development from every player.

It has been fantastic to see increased numbers joining the Club with brilliant enthusiasm and commitment to the game. Thanks must go to all the pupils for all of their hard work and to Mr Robert Shepherd, Mr Mark Toseland and all of the academic staff for their excellent coaching and management during fixtures and games sessions.

Swimming

Mrs Zoe La Valette-Cooper

As the year progressed, swimming was able to get back to competing both internally and externally. We hosted Marlborough College in January, with College winning in both the girls’ and boys’ events, by four points and nine points respectively. Building on this, in March, we were able to take teams to the National Schools Swimming event at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. We had a very young squad but there were some excellent times recorded and our boys’ team of Felix Duggan, Matthew Wright, Jude Richardson and Terry Han came eighth in the final of the medley relay, which is an excellent achievement. The boys broke the College record in this event, which is one of 13 College records that have fallen this year, reflecting the talent that we have in swimming.

This year also saw Cheltenham Ladies’ College introduce a new trophy called the Cheltenham Challenge Cup. This is a two-leg event had Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Dean Close School and College participating. It was a lovely event, with a varied programme and College were runners up to Cheltenham Ladies’ College.

Congratulations go to Newick House and Chandos, who won the senior swimming House Pots this year and to Chandos and Boyne House, who won the junior events. Well done to Chandos for achieving the elusive double.

Thanks as always go to our coach Mr Andy Osborne, who is such a fantastic asset to the swimming programme at College and The Prep.

Ultimate Frisbee

After attending a series of national trials, Cody Watts was selected to be part of the Team GB Under 17 squad to compete at the Junior Ultimate Championships in Poland in August. Cody formed part of the team’s defensive line and competed against 18 teams from all over the world such as USA, New Zealand, Slovakia and Sweden.