HALF-TERM REVIEW- September-October

Half-Term Ends With Even More Success

It has been yet another successful week for Congleton High School’s sports teams to conclude what has been a great start to the academic year.

CHS’ netballers continued to impress, following five wins out of six last week across all years, the under-18 girl’s were crowned South Cheshire Champions on Tuesday.  

South Cheshire Netball Champions
Phoebe Plant, Charlotte Ingle, Nina Bennett, Ella Baskerville, Hannah Tatton, Lucy Vaughton,
Emma Ingle, Whitney Plant and Sophie Mullins.

The girls were deserved winners having played to an exceptionally high standard through the tournament, winning all of their games. During the tournament, other schools commented on how well they played, showing excellent skill and team spirit. CHS PE teacher, Mrs Henderson said, “The girls have put in a lot of hard work over the months and have been totally committed to training and, because of this they really have been able to reap the rewards. We are so proud of them and their success”.

It has also been a good start to the year in football too. Not only have year 7 won their respective league they have also made it through to round three of the ESFA boy’s cup. The under-16 girls’ team have also endured a cup run this half-term, with them reaching round four of the ESFA school’s cup also. There have also been stand-out results across every year.

Perhaps the highlight of the half-term has been the school’s first ever rugby tour. Over 40 students travelled to France, where they took part in training sessions as well as matches. The tour was a total success with the students building on their love for the sport and hopefully will inspire more people to get their boots and gum shield.

The combined year 9 and 10 boys rugby team finished the memorable half-term off with a convincing 30-0 victory over All Hallows' this week.

I am sure this half-term will set the tone for the rest of the year with success coming in every sport. The one thing that has really impressed be over recent weeks is the high turnout for extra-curricular activities.  

Written by Adam Bailey

INTERVIEW- ANN BRIGHTWELL: 50 YEARS ON

ANN BRIGHTWELL: 50 YEARS ON

20^th October 1964 Ann Packer became the first British woman to win an Olympic Games gold medal on the track.

Today it s fifty years to the day since Ann’s landmark moment in Tokyo and I was lucky enough to interview her earlier this month about where her passion for athletics started to the despair and jubilation of the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo to retiring straight after the Tokyo Games. She also explains the work she has done in recent years inspiring people to get ‘active’ in the local area.

If you have not seen the 800m final, which saw her win gold, then it is well worth a watch. Ann was sixth at 400m, third at 600m and then finally took the lead in the home straight.

What makes it even more astonishing is the 800m final was her sixth race in as many days with her also competing in the 400m in the same Olympics. The 400m was her favoured event but she finished second, despite breaking the British and European record in the final. Ann could have so easily given up after the “depths of despair” of finishing second in the 400m but she didn’t. If she had done that, then she would not be sitting talking to me with a gold medal around her neck.

Sport in 1964 was completely different than nowadays. Perhaps the biggest difference is that athletes were amateurs. Robbie and Ann both had day jobs. Ann was a PE teacher and Robbie was a maths, geography and PE teacher. They both got up early to train before teaching, they then gave up their lunch time to train and after school they also trained. They did all this but got no income from their athletics career.

Robbie was more interested in football than athletics when he was younger however after being injured he focused on athletics, having impressed in competitions. Like Robbie, Ann tried different sports as a child, she was a keen hockey, tennis, netball player but she took athletics more seriously because she was good at it. She said she took it a “step at a time” and received lots of support and then aspired to win a gold medal and compete at an Olympic Games.

Ann hadn’t even considered the 800m before somebody suggested it to her prior to the 1964 Olympic Games as she thought she could make it as a sprinter. However, she said she wasn’t good enough to make an Olympic final as a sprinter. Therefore, she says that whilst you are young keep an open mind when competing in sport and try as many sports as possible. Chances are doing different sports will improve your ability at a specific sport as Ann’s sprinting training was perhaps the main reason why she won gold in the 800m as well as her determination.

When she met Robbie she realised that she was not doing enough to push herself, something she says is very important to becoming a successful athlete.

Ann thinks that the talent in athletics in Britain “is there” and that it is “coming back” and that Britain are actually on the “brink” of a “golden age” of athletes. Could you be part of this golden age?

Ann believes that in order to make a success of whatever you choose to aim for in your life you have to be “brave” and “resilient” and “just persevere” because for much of the time things do not go your way. “If you get beaten in sport you have to be able to pick yourself up again and start again. And when something knocks you back you just have to “keep on going” and not give up.

Over recent years the pair have encouraged more people to be “active” after they released some alarming statistics earlier this year, saying that 12,000 people in Congleton alone could be obese. The problem is not only on a local scale though it is on a national and international level, something which Robbie says will have “huge implications” on us [the young people of Britain] in the future. Robbie describes it as the “biggest public health crisis the nation has every faced.” He goes onto say that people are extremely worried about the latest Ebola outbreak but in fact ten times as many people in Britain alone die because of obesity in 12 months and another 30,000 have died because of a lack of fitness. Because of this he says that it will bring the National Health Service [NHS] “to its knees”, so much so that by 2030 there may not even be an NHS. £16 billion a year is spent by the NHS just on solving the problem of obesity and lack of fitness. The only way Robbie says it can be tackled is by tackling the causes- lack of exercise.

ANN’S GOLDEN TIPS

• Set your sight.
• You need to be brave enough to overcome obstacles, staying “brave and resilient.”
• You need to exploit your ability.
• And you have to accept the setbacks and most importantly NEVER GIVE UP.

You can hear my full exclusive interview with Ann and Robbie here.

Written by Adam Bailey

WEEKLY ROUND-UP 13TH-17TH OCTOBER

News in Brief- Mon 13^th October to Fri 17^th October

Last week was a busy and successful five days for Congleton High School’s PE department.

CHS' Year 7 Football Team crowned South Cheshire Champions

In football, year 7 boys’ 3-2 victory against Holmes Chapel saw CHS crowned South Cheshire League title winners. Their focus is now on the ESFA boy’s under-12 Playstation schools cup with them at home to Sandbach in round three.

The under-16 girl’s team are also flying the CHS flag in the national competition. They are through to the last 64 in the country after a hard-fought 4-3 win away at Astley Sport College last week, thanks to a Lucy Wright hat-trick and a goal from Poppy Jones. The girls now face a home tie against Anthony Gell School from Amber Valley in round four.

CHS offers a wide range of extra-curricular activities including netball and hockey. It was a great week for CHS’ netballers with them recording five wins out of possible six. There was further success in hockey on Thursday with CHS winning all but one of their games.

Let's hope for more of the same this week.

Written by Adam Bailey

RUGBY TOUR 2014 INTERVIEWS

To hear Mr French, Mr de Souza and Mr Cross discuss the recent rugby tour to France click here.

RUGBY TOUR TO FRANCE- September

Inaugural Rugby Tour a Big Hit

Last week saw over 40 students and staff travel to France for Congleton High School’s first ever rugby tour. Rugby has not been one of the priority sports at the school over the years. However, since Mr de Souza and Mr Cross arrived at the school they have worked tirelessly to push Rugby as one of the major school sports alongside football. The students have all loved the sport in the last couple of years and have won many games against local schools.

As a reward for the recent successes and number of students attending the extra-curricular Rugby club, Mr de Souza decided to organise the first Rugby tour. With long term plans to take the Rugby teams to the Southern Hemisphere the short term tour destination was chosen, France.
 

With 41 students on the tour, the students and staff set off on Thursday evening (after the Open Evening). The students had been learning French through the Memrise app and website which Mr Cross had organised, so they were ready and raring to put it into practice.
 

The coach journey was entertaining with all students singing traditional rugby songs along with more current chart songs. When the group finally arrived at CREPS sports complex they had a quick turnaround to eat lunch and drop off their bags before heading over to the fantastic French team Racing Metro 92 training ground. The students received a private training session from the Racing academy coaches. The coaches were very impressed with the handling skills of the CHS students.
 

After the training session the students received a once in a lifetime opportunity to view the training ground of a professional rugby club’s training ground. They got a tour of the site and saw the daily routines for International rugby stars like Jonny Sexton and Jamie Roberts. The facilities were second to none and the fitness room was as big as the school sports hall.
 

After the tour of the training ground the students headed back to their accommodation for dinner and team meeting.
 

The next day after a continental breakfast the students all turned up in their new training tops for a group run with the staff, the run included an army style sing-along. After the run, the students were split into four groups and received a well prepared and organised specific sessions from each teacher. The students trained extremely hard and were extremely vocal, with a new found confidence. The students then were split into forwards and backs, the forwards went over with Mr French and Mr Warren to work on hitting the breakdown, the teachers were very impressed with the intensity of the rucking. The backs went over with Mr de Souza and Mr Cross to work on set moves which looked fantastic with all students having a specific role.

After lunch the squad headed East of Paris to their first fixture against club side Noisy Le Sec. With the younger squad up first the older group watched from the sideline. The group looked surprisingly unorganised during the warm up but after some strong words from the teachers they got their heads focussed on the game. The game was end to end with the home side going ahead scoring two tries in the first half. The teachers all gave a team talk to try to inspire the group, this worked with George Johnson scoring two tries and converting both as well. The game could have gone either way but unfortunately for CHS the home side managed to score the winning try 5 minutes before the end. Up next was the older team. The first 5 minutes were ferocious with both teams making some fantastic tackles. Unfortunately an injury to Sam Cosgrove, who was playing at fly half, interrupted CHS’s attacking and defensive play. The club opposition in the end proved too strong for the CHS school team and went on to win scoring five tries. One student, Will ‘Boots’ Cooper came off the pitch saying ‘It was the hardest but best game he’d ever played in’. After the game both squads received refreshments from the home side and had a presentation from the President of Noisy Le Sec. Man of the match awards went to George Johnson and James Goodwin. Both captains, Harper Whitehead and Lewis Halliday also received caps from the home side. All students battled like warriors and all the teachers were immensely proud of their teams.

The next day the students had an early start to their second fixture against Soissy Rugby Club. Both teams would be playing at the same time so the teachers had to split off with two teams. The younger squad started extremely well causing the home team all sorts of defensive problems but couldn’t get the first try. Sadly the game had to be cancelled 18 minutes in as Congleton student Will Dinnis was caught unbalanced and an opposing player falling on top of him. This resulting in Will breaking his leg, paramedics were at the scene within 10 minutes and doctors from the local hospital also arriving. Both sets of players gave Will an emotional ‘guard of honour’ as he left for the hospital with Mr Warren where he needed surgery on his leg.
 

The older group performed superbly with Mr Cross very impressed with the breakdown work and strength in the tackles. Again they came up against a very strong club side and lost the fixture but they gave everything they had to make it hard for the opposition.

After the game the squad went on a trip around Paris where they got to buy souvenirs and have photos with the iconic French landmarks such as the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower.

That evening the boys had an awards evening where they received prizes for their performances during the tour, with Brad Oliver deservedly scooping the most prestigious award of ‘Best Tourer’.

Overall the tour was a total success with the students building on their love of the fantastic sport, and with the Rugby World Cup in England next year the tour has just inspired more students at Congleton High School to get their boots and gum shield on to get involved in the sport.

Interviews to follow.

 

 

 

YEAR 7 v Ormiston (ESFA Cup)- 7th October

Year 7 Destroy Ormiston 14-1

Year 7 travelled to Ormiston Horizon Academy tonight (Tuesday 7^th October) in round two of the ESFA under 12 Playstation 9-a-side Schools’ Cup.

 

Team line up.                                                                              
Gk:Jacob
RB:ru   Cb:sam   Cb:Noah    Lb:zac
Rw:will   Cm:mikey   Cm:Owen     Lw:matt
              St:Tom       St:Brandon

Subs.
Kai
Kieran
Ben

It was a fast pace game from the minute the referee blew the whistle with Tom V scoring within two minutes of the kick-off. This was to be the benchmark of the game with CHS controlling the match, scoring goal after goal. Matt, Mikey, Brandon, Kieran, Kai and Owen all getting their names on the score sheet.

CHS’ goalkeeper, Jacob Herd made a great penalty save but was cheated of a clean sheet by an Ormiston goal. Zac, Noah, Sam and Ru were top class in defence while Will and Matt provided great pace and ball skill to feed to their team mates. It was an excellent result for CHS with the win making it three matches unbeaten for year 7 plus the added bonus of no cards given to any players.

The 14-1 victory books CHS’ place in the draw for round three.

 Written by Man of the Match Will Parrish.

YEAR 9, 10 AND 11 v SHAVINGTON- 2nd October

Year 11 See Off Shavington

Year 11 had high expectations going into their home match against Shavington tonight, with CHS winning both home fixtures comfortably last season. CHS scored six goals in each of the meetings last season, winning 6-0 and 6-2. CHS were hoping for a similar score line today but manager Mr Donnelly wanted to see a better first half than in the first meeting between the pair last season, when his team were trailing 2-1 at half-time. Mr Donnelly would have been pleased with CHS’ first half performance this time with CHS leading 4-0 at half-time.

It was a much better start by CHS with them controlling the match from the kick-off and they found themselves 3-0 up inside 10 minutes.

Reece Carbutt opened the scoring after five minutes directly from the first corner of the match with his set-piece curling over the goalkeeper into the net.

Less than a minute later, CHS doubled their lead. Morgan Bratt beat the offside trap getting in behind the defence to the left of centre before calmly placing the ball across the goalkeeper and into the bottom right corner.

Two minutes later it was 3-0. Reece Carbutt added his second of the match with a superb solo goal. He picked the ball up just outside the area on the right before driving into the box.  He then, from an acute angle, volleyed the ball into the roof of the net, the goalkeeper had no chance.

CHS had to wait until two minutes before half-time to add their fourth goal. A CHS throw-in midway into Shavington’s half was flicked on by a CHS player to Morgan Bratt. Bratt received the ball on the edge of the area before turning and half-volleying the ball towards the goal. Shavington’s goalkeeper got down low on his goal line but his hands could not prevent Bratt’s shot from finding the net.

Congleton had been clinical in front of goal with them scoring with all of their shots on target in the first-half.

Half-time- Congleton 4-0 Shavington

There was no need for Mr Donnelly to change things this time around at half-time with his side four goals to the good. Shavington didn’t have a shot on target in the first half.  

Year 11 form tutor and Kidsgrove Athletic fan, Mr Hickton took over the helm at the beginning of the second-half from Mr Donnelly. Mr Hickton brought a new way of managing to the touchline with a cup of tea in hand- I can see Premier League managers following the trend set by Mr Hickton in the future! He was ably assisted by year 11 Guidance team leader, Mrs Airey.

CHS had a big chance to make it 5-0, four minutes into the second-half, when a long ball was played forward into the Shavington box. Shavington’s goalkeeper came to get the ball in his area but the ball bounced over his head. A CHS player judged the ball’s bounce and headed the ball goal wards. It looked like it was going to be CHS’ fifth goal however luckily for Shavington a defender came across to clear the ball from on the goal line. The goalkeeper recovered in time to claim the ball from the clearance.

Mr Hickton decided to “swap” (as he put it) some players midway through the second-half.  Not long after, Reece Carbutt, looking to complete his hat-trick, saw his powerful, driven shot saved low by the goalkeeper.

Shavington started to come into the game and a few minutes after Carbutt’s strike their striker’s shot from the left side of the area went a few yards wide of the far post.

It wasn’t long before Shavington pulled a goal back when they broke clear of CHS’ defence. CHS goalkeeper, Jake Duckworth, who hadn’t had to do much in the match, came off his goal line but the Shavington player slid the ball beyond Duckworth and into the bottom far corner.

Shavington continued to apply the pressure and a second goal quickly followed. Shavington’s striker battled Jack Appleton for the ball; the striker turned the CHS defender before putting the ball across Jake Duckworth and into the bottom right corner.

CHS continued to look for a fifth goal but Congleton’s player's powerful shot was turned around the post by Shavington’s goalkeeper with one minute left

Full-time- Congleton 4-2 Shavington

Mr Hickton regularly watches Port Vale when he cannot watch Kidsgrove and when asked if he would be applying for the Port Vale job he replied “I have turned it down for now as I want to concentrate on getting year 11 excellent results in their exams.” However, you can never rule anything out in football so watch this space!

A much depleted year 10 side were also in action against Shavington tonight unfortunately they lost 2-1 despite Ramtin Musah equalising after using his strength to break through on goal before placing his shot in the  bottom corner.

Written by Adam Bailey