Another Successful and
Memorable Year
It has been
another fantastic year of sport at Congleton High School, with success coming
in every sport. Sport continues to go from strength to strength and this year
teams have been entered into over a hundred different leagues and tournaments
in a wide range of sports. What is incredible is the profile of PE and sport at
CHS, over ten percent of Congleton High School students received awards at last
month’s annual Sport Awards Evening and many more participating in school sport
every week.
The sport
that has seen the most success this year is netball. CHS’ netballers have enjoyed
another brilliant year. Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 won their respective leagues and
both the year 7 A and B teams along with the year 8, 9 and under-18 teams were
crowned South Cheshire Champions. Next year, CHS’ netballers will face a
sterner test as they will play in the Macclesfield league for the first time.
In football,
it was the girls that embarked on another gripping cup run. The under-16 girl’s
reached the English Schools’ Cup quarter-final for the second successive year
and they can take huge pride in reaching the last 16 out of 271 schools that
entered in the national competition. The same girls team reached the Cheshire
Cup semi-final. The under 15 girls won the Stoke City FC ‘World Cup’
tournament, which coincided with the recent Women’s World Cup in Canada.
The year 7
boys had a great start to high school football winning the local league whilst
year 8 and year 9 finished runners-up in their respective leagues. Next year
the hope is for the boys to do better in the cup competitions and hopefully win
some more silverware.
Rugby has
not been one of the priority sports at the school over the years however the PE
staff have worked tirelessly to promote rugby as one of the school’s major
sports alongside football recently. Last October, 41 students travelled to France for
the first ever school rugby tour. The students not only had a tour of French
team, Racing Metro 92’s training ground, they also received a private training
session from the Racing academy coaches. The students also played matches
against tough French opposition. The tour was hailed a huge success with the
students building on their love of rugby and planning has already started for
the next one.
The year 7
rugby players did not travel to France but they have made a very promising start
to high school rugby with them winning the A league in the RFU Cheshire
Emerging Schools league. It is hoped that next year will be even better for
rugby with the creation of a rugby league between local schools due to start this
autumn. This will see regular fixtures for the year 7, 8 and 9 rugby teams.
Staying with
the winter sports, there was also success in hockey with both year 8 and year 9
girls winning the South Cheshire League for their age group.
Basketball
has boomed in participation at CHS over the last few years and this year the
year 11 basketball team were crowned South Cheshire Basketball champions and
the Sandbach School’s Partnership winners.
Athletics is
a sport which CHS has done traditionally well in and this year is no different.
There have been a number of impressive individual performances but the
stand-out ones have to be Jonathan Adderley, Josh Robertson and Beth Jones who
represented Cheshire in the Mason Trophy Inter Counties Schools’ Athletics
Championships in Birmingham last month. The school have also done well in the
team events and the year 7 boys won the Sandbach Schools Partnership indoor
athletics championships.
One of the
sports which has proven very popular with students this year has been rounders
with over 100 students attending rounders club every week. Despite only having
leagues and tournaments for girls, many boys have still joined in playing
rounders throughout the summer. There has also been success in the sport with
the year 10’s winning their league as well as being crowned South Cheshire Rounders
Champions.
The 2015
table tennis competition saw a repeat of last year’s final and it was James
Garside who successfully defended his title after holding his nerve in the
deciding game to beat the 2013 winner, Mr de Souza.
CHS’ PE department
have gradually been broadening and extending the number of sports in which
students can participate in. One sport which has been made available for students
to try is indoor rowing and it is a sport that CHS have excelled in again this
year. Five teams qualified for the Cheshire and Warrington School Games after
impressive performances at the Sandbach School Partnership event. CHS took
twenty students to the games and returned with a fantastic twenty medals. They
finished in the top three in all but one of the classifications that they
entered and there were also several individual successes too.
One of the
highlights of the school year has to be the school’s first ever Watersports
Trip. The trip to the Costa Brava in Spain was organised to be inclusive for
all students and to help broaden and extend the number of sports and opportunities
that are on offer to all. 54 students enjoyed the glorious weather and
a wide range of exciting and challenging water sports including paddle
boarding, kayaking, sailing, wet walking and snorkelling. The trip was a great
end to what has been a fantastic year of sport.
Written
by Adam Bailey
