In the same weekend our Table Tennis squads travelled to the English Schools National Championships in Leicester and our acrobatic gymnasts made the journey slightly north of them to the British Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships in Stoke-on-Trent.

 

Two teams competed in the final round of the English Schools table tennis, the Under 13’s and Under 16’s. The U13’s consisted of Baiden Thoroughgood, Mitchell Jones, Danny Lewis and Gene Carr, all of whom performed above expectation narrowly losing out 5-3 to Ernest Bevin College. An amazing achievement considering they have only held a bat for one year.

 

 

The U16’s consisted of Reece Tan, Rhys Thoroughgood, Adam Reed, Tyrone Wells and Zak Zilesnick; such a strong squad in depth, they fulfilled their potential by winning and bringing the National title to The Harefield Academy for the first time. The Junior team have also been placed second in the National Junior League, proof that Table Tennis at The Academy is going from strength to strength.

 

Up the road in Stoke-on-Trent our elite gymnasts had more National Titles in their sights at the Acrobatic Gymnastics British Championships. Senior Womens Group of Claire Thompson (PE technician), Grace Blacklock (Admin), and Robyn Birch (Y11) became Senior British Champions after performing stunning routines to perfection, winning balance, dynamic and combined routines and taking the title for the first time. Katie Smith (Y11) and her respective partners also competed and came second in the same category. Katie was also presented with her Bronze medal from the European Championships as her trio was moved up into 3rd place after a disqualification.

 

 

Connor Bartlett (Y8) and his partner Millie Spalding also wowed the judges and audiences and, with their elegant routines, are now Age Group British Champions, winning their category by a massive margin of 1.6, almost unheard of in gymnastics and proof of their outstanding talent. Such strong performances stand both partnerships in good positions to be selected for this year’s World Championships in the summer.

 

 

There could be even more National success to celebrate in the coming weeks as both the Year 10 and Year 11 football teams are now through to the English Schools FA competition finals, after beating challenging competition from schools and academies up and down the country.

 

It is incredible to see so many of our athletes achieving so much in their sports, proof that their training and hard work pays off.