George Rounce (11S): Cycling for London
Posted 1 March 2012
George Rounce (11S) is a member of London Dynamo Cycle Club and has been cycling for nearly two years. He regularly competes and trains over distances in excess of 70 miles around the Surrey Hills and Windsor. With over 1000 miles completed over the summer holidays and 550 miles during the Christmas holidays, George is in great form for the forthcoming race season. He has already placed 4th in his first road race of the youth calendar at Hillingdon Cycle Circuit in west London.
In September 2011, George competed in the London Duathlon (5km run followed by 10km cycle followed by 5km run) and came 4th out of 50 competitors in the U18s category, achieving the fastest time overall for the cycling section. In the adult category, George came 19th out of 400 participants with a finishing time of 1hr 10mins for the whole event. “I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to try the ultra distance [20km run, 80km cycle, 10km run] next year when I will really be able to settle into a rhythm and hopefully post a speedy time,” says George.
Unfortunately, last season George had to pull out of the qualifications for the London Youth Games and missed a number of races, including the road cycling race, which is his favourite discipline. This was a huge disappointment for George as his team went on to win the overall cup. However, he hopes to compete and take a leading role in the 2012 Youth Games development squad.
“I am really looking forward to the Olympics in a few months time so that I can see the cycling at its best – racing on the roads that I train on every week. I have already cycled the route and it was great fun! I hope we can cheer home a British winner!”
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Milly MacKenzie (8V): Goalie for Middlesex U12 Hockey Champions
Posted 14 September 2011
Milly MacKenzie (8V) has been playing hockey at Teddington Hockey Club since the age of 7. For the last couple of years she has played the position of goalie and had a fantastic season last year. Milly was part of the U12 girls team that became Middlesex U12 Champions; for the whole championships they scored 22 goals and only conceded one.
Halfway through the season Milly was asked to represent her county, Middlesex, in the team above her year group (U13 Bs), and played some difficult matches in extremely cold weather! As a result of this, Milly was encouraged to try out for her borough team. She was successful at the trials and was asked to play goalie for the Richmond Borough team in July at the London Youth Games for children under 14 years – Europe’s largest annual youth sports event with 32 boroughs taking part. Milly’s team came 9th after competing at Redbridge and then Crystal Palace with Richmond Borough winning the Youth Games Championships overall.
After a fantastic season, Milly went on to receive the U12 Team Player award at Teddington Hockey Club’s annual prize giving. She is now looking forward to a new season and new challenges.
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Toby Harland (11R) Wins Surrey U17s Badminton Title
Posted 12 July 2011
Year 11R pupil Toby Harland is this season’s Surrey U17s Singles and Doubles Badminton champion.
He has represented Surrey for the past five years and, on occasions, has represented the Wimbledon Racquets and Fitness Club at senior level. The club is a high performance centre with which HSW has a strong affiliation.
Toby began his badminton career at the age of 11 on a CenterParcs holiday, when his racket skills were spotted by Badminton Coach, Stuart Wardell.
Last week Toby played No.1 for Merton Youth Team in the London Youth Games, in which Merton was victorious.
Hall School Wimbledon wishes Toby all the best for the future and hopes that his badminton success continues.
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Chloe-Poppy Halliday (9T): On the Road to Wimbledon
Posted 7 July 2011
On 15th August 2011, the HSBC Road To Wimbledon 14 & Under National Challenge officially gets underway, and all Hall School Wimbledon eyes will be on our Year 9T pupil Chloe-Poppy Halliday.
Following the Championships, Wimbledon invites the best of Britain’s 14 and under tennis players who make it through their local Stage One competition, and qualify via the County Finals, to play in the National Finals at the home of the worlds premier tennis tournament.
Chloe-Poppy, who is currently ranked 15th in Great Britain for her age category (14 and under) qualified for the Road to Wimbledon Challenge after winning the Surrey County Finals; she is currently ranked number two in Surrey (14 and under category).
Chloe-Poppy began her tennis career at Hall School Wimbledon when Head Coach of the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative (WJTI) visited the school to promote the WJTI for local juniors to attend sessions at the All England Club. Chloe continues to play at Westside Tennis Club in Wimbledon Village under the coaching supervision of Alison Taylor, the wife of former British Wimbledon semi-finalist Roger Taylor.
Chloe-Poppy and her family would be delighted to hear from any companies or organisations interested in sponsoring her.
Good luck Chloe-Poppy!
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A Successful Term on the Rounders Pitch
Posted 7 July 2011
Hall School Wimbledon is delighted to report a successful term on the Rounders pitch for the Junior School girls. Our Year 3Z children made an excellent start to competing in rounders matches winning against Parkgate House, Surbiton Girls Prep and Prospect House, and only narrowly losing to The Old Vicarage.
Year 4Y played well in their friendly matches but excelled themselves at the Small Schools Tournament, where they won the silver medal in the Plate competition.
Unfortunately Year 5X’s exam week clashed with their tournament, but the A team was successful against Harrodian winning 20 – 7.5 and the B team’s best performance was against Newton Prep where they beat their opposition 9.5 – 8 in a very close match.
The Year 6W girls saved their best sporting performances for their last term at Beavers Holt – winning matches against Parkgate House, Finton House and The Harrodian, and being proud holders of the gold medal in the Plate competition at their Small Schools tournament.
Well done to all the girls this term and a big thank you to friends and family who supported them.
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Luca Ashby-Hammond (5X) Wins Best Goalkeeper Award
Posted 24 June 2011
Luca Ashby-Hammond (5X) was recently awarded the ‘Best Goalkeeper’ trophy, playing for Fulham FC Academy at the U10s Junior Cup in Germany. Despite starting out as a successful striker on the pitch, Luca moved to the position of goalkeeper last year and hasn’t looked back. “Peter Schmeichel is my idol,” he claims.
Luca began his football career at the age of six playing for his local club, Kew Park Rangers, and it wasn’t long before his talent on the football pitch was recognised. He has been part of Fulham FC Academy for nearly three years now, and his involvement has already taken him to Guernsey, France and Germany. A recent tournament in Brittany saw Fulham finish 2nd out of 48 teams competing.
Not only a star on the football pitch, Luca has recently been selected to play county cricket for Surrey U10s. Hall School Wimbledon wishes him the best of luck in his first match against Hampshire next week.
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Alfie Cunnington (6W) Completes Great Eastern ½ Mile Swim
Posted 22 June 2011
On 11th June 2011, Alfie Cunnington (6W) braved the cold, murky waters of Alton Water Reservoir near Ipswich to complete the Great Eastern ½ Mile Swim. Despite being the youngest swimmer to participate and complete the course, Alfie came 36th out of 111 with a most impressive time of 16 minutes and 8 seconds.
“It was a piece of cake,” said Alfie, “I just wish they would let me do the mile – but I have to wait until I turn 16!”
A keen swimmer since the age of two, Alfie is currently a member of the Wimbledon Dolphins Swimming Club (Seniors Section). He trains twice a week and regularly represents the club in galas for both the freestyle and backstroke Under 13 events.
The next open water event in Alfie’s calendar is the ‘Swim Round the Pier’ race in which he will swim a 1km circuit of the West Pier in Brighton. Once again, he will be the youngest participant…good luck Alfie!