abingdon.org.uk/prep 17 SPORT It has been an excellent term for APS in Sport. RUGBY: Given that rugby is the core sport this term, it would only be right to open with the success of the U13 team at our own APS Sevens event. They won all their games on the day, an impressive achievement given the quality of the opposition. Touch rugby was a major feature of our season, partly due to the hard ground at the start of term, but also to the increasing number of pupils committing to play touch as a preferred choice. The U12Cs deserve a special mention as the only rugby team in the school to remain unbeaten for the entire season, a fantastic and well deserved achievement for Year 7 pupils. There were notable successes for all the teams from Year 3 to Year 6, with a particular highlight being the afternoon in November against The Manor School, when all the Year 3 and 4 teams were successful. FOOTBALL: Although autumn is not normally associated with football at APS, two of our biggest sporting achievements have been on the football field. When we pitched our U13 and U11 teams into an IAPS Tournament it was largely as an experiment, although privately we felt we had two teams of great potential. Their subsequent success exceeded IAPS FOOTBALL FINALS Jamie in Year 7 (below) won his first novice pony race at Wolverhampton over the holidays. It is great to see his passion for horses and racing shining through. Toby in Year 6 (right) is now Oxfordshire and South Regional Squash Champion, being nationally ranked no.16 (U11s). SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS OUTSIDE SCHOOL AUTUMN SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS all expectation on the first outing, as both teams attending the regional competitions qualified for the National Competitions. This achievement is particularly special as we are one of the few schools there that were actually in a rugby term rather than a football one, so it is a huge credit to the pupils that they did so well. OTHER SPORTS: We competed well at two swimming galas at St. Hugh’s and The Dragon, winning a number of individual and relay events across all the year groups represented. We also performed brilliantly at the St. Hugh’s Regional Cross Country meeting with our U11s achieving a 2nd and a 3rd place and our U10 and U9 team gaining a 3rd place in their relay event, a superb effort given that we had one of the smallest teams there. We also had three pupils achieve qualification for the National Biathlon Championships next year, another outstanding highlight of the term. Richard Sutton comments, ‘As a relative newcomer to the school, I was genuinely impressed by the sporting achievements of all APS pupils in what has been a hugely successful year. As acting Directors of Sport (until Elliot arrives in January), Hannah and I would like to thank the tireless efforts of all the sports staff in making all this possible. I think 2023 promises to be a really exciting year!’ U8-9 Touch Rugby September v Pinewood
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