Somerhill’s sporting calendar is well underway with boys’ football tournaments and matches, as well as girls’ hockey matches. For some, it was their first time playing a match, and the excitement was clear to see; well done to all our pupils and their coaches for working hard in lessons to help prepare them for the first set of fixtures. Our U11 A, U11 D and U11 E boys football teams finished runners-up in their respective tournaments on Wednesday 11th September. Our U10 E team won their cup competition, with our other U10 E team sharing the Plate competition.

On Friday 13th September, our U11 A football team competed in the ISFA Regional 7s Tournament at Ardingly School. They started with a defeat in the first group game, losing narrowly 2-1 to Cumnor House, Croydon, but bounced back brilliantly to win the next five games, taking us to the final with scorelines of 3-0, 8-0, 8-0, 3-0 and 2-0. In the final, we came up against a very strong Royal Russell team, and as a result, our boys finished runners-up. Due to this fantastic achievement, the team qualified for the national finals in May, held at St. George’s Park (England’s training ground). This is the first time a team from Somerhill has qualified, and we wish them the best of luck in May.

On Saturday 14th September, our U11 A and U11 B five-a-side teams headed to St. Michael’s for a tournament. Both teams played exceptionally well. Our A team won every game until the final, where they were defeated on ‘golden goal’, but another exceptional morning’s football saw them finish as tournament runners-up. Our B team went one better and won every game throughout the tournament, including the final and came away as cup winners! Thank you to Mr Walker and Mr Watkins for coaching them so brilliantly on the day!

Our girls have yet to participate in any tournaments, but our regular matches are in full swing. Our U10s played Radnor House, with our A and B teams winning and C and D teams drawing. Our U9 B and C teams took on Russell House, and both won. All U8 girls played their first hockey match against Sutton Valance with the A team losing but B, C and D teams winning. With just one defeat across the opening set of fixtures, what a fantastic start for our girls’ hockey teams.