Match Reports – Week 9

National Prep Schools Cross Country Championships at Malvern College
Result – Boys 2nd, Girls 7th

Malvern College lay out the true definition of a Cross Country course – 2.8km of hills, mud, puddles, twist and turns. Having found it difficult at times to merely walk through the course, the pupils remained focused on the task in hand ready to give it their best shot. Along with the other 188 runners, the U11 girls were off first with Anna coming in 19th, Sophie 32nd, Anusha 62nd and Riah 143rd. Next were the boys, with another 187 runners to join them. First back from BCS was James who came 17th, then Jack 19th, then Remy 26th, then Arjun 73rd. Each runner crossed the line not being able to take another step with absolute exhaustion having given everything for their team. It was worth the exhaustion  – the girls came 7th overall and the boys came 2nd! A truly amazing result considering this is against every Prep school in the country and our training facilities are some of the flattest possible! Very well done everyone!

Mr Melia

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U10A Girls’ House Netball Matches
Result – St Margaret’s 15- 2 St Monica’s
Players of the Match – Mia Sargeant, Tabitha Shaw

This afternoon the U10 girls played for their Houses. As excited as ever, on paper the U10A teams were evenly matched. Playing the adult seven a side version of the game, the U10A girls were raring to go. From the first whistle St Margaret’s took an early lead, very quickly dominating. Playing at pace, St Margaret’s played the ball down the court and into the circle at relative ease. They were able to push the ball into space and anticipated each other’s runs, a testament to how well they know each other on the court. However, this is not to say St Monica’s didn’t fight back, because they did. Within the first five minutes of the game, they scored two goals in quick concession. This gave St Monica’s the confidence they needed. Unfortunately, as they game went on St Monica’s struggled to get the ball into the circle time and time again, which was often frustrating as they had worked so hard to get the interception and work the ball through the court. At half time, I made some changes to St Margaret’s team. Playing the girls out of position. Unfortunately, with this term focusing on BEE Netball, the girls have developed an ability to play in a variety of positions, demonstrating excellent depth to their Netball skills. No matter what combination St Margaret’s played, they worked the ball well as a team and continued to storm into the lead. Having said all this St Monica’s were a real credit to themselves this afternoon, they played hard until the final whistle, never dropping their heads. Well done to every one of you, always a pleasure to watch you girls play!

Mrs Somerville

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U10C Girls’ House Netball Matches
Result – St Monicas 7-2 St Margarets
Players of the Match – Jolin Hu, Neve D’Naute
Kitted out in their house tops, the girls were very excited to play their house matches. Both teams worked hard to pass the ball down the court but Monica’s just seamed to have the edge, moving into space and passing the ball swiftly into the D. Accurate shooting in the third quarter gave Monica’s a strong lead and although Margaret’s came back in the final quarter it was not quite enough. The girls are getting better at holding their space and driving forward for the ball. Great team spirit and sportsmanship was shown by all and the girls thoroughly enjoyed their hot match tea in the dinning room.

Miss Crews

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U8A and U9A Swimming Gala v Warwick 
Result – Friendly so no resultSwimmer of the Gala – Joshua Cotterill
We welcomed some apprehensive faces to the pool for our U8/U9 gala against Warwick this week as our some of our BCS swimmers stepped up to compete for the school for the first time! United in their white BCS squad hats, the determination was well hidden behind the goggles of each of our pupils as the gala got underway. Following a steady warm up the atmosphere was vibrant as we welcomed parents and spectators back to the poolside. Our Year 4 boys set the tone for the afternoon taking 1st and 2nd place in the opening boys 25m freestyle heat. Working through the individual medley races, our BCS swimmers grew in confidence with multiple personal best performances taking place. Despite some fast relay takeovers from Warwick, our BCS swimmers thrived in the pool evident from the finishing cannon which was won by over a length! Swimmer of the Gala was awarded to Joshua Cotterill for some excellent personal best times in his individual 25m backstroke and breaststroke events as well as some superb relay performances!

Miss Mockler

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U9A Netball Tournament: RGS The Grange (A)
Result – 2nd out of 12 teams
Player of the Match – the whole team! 

What a fantastic afternoon of netball! The BCS girls did themselves proud getting better and better each game. Blue Coat were in a group of 6 teams and played their games down on the astro in windy conditions. We started slow and struggled to get the ball in the net but as the games went on we started to shine. The girls began to hold their space and drive forward to receive the ball. Quick passing down court got the ball into the D and when our girls found their eye the goals started popping in. In defence we were hard to pass with Annabel Miller gaining numerous interceptions. We finished second in our group having won 3 and drew 2 games gaining our place in the semi finals against Winterfold who were yet to lose. Again our girls rose to the challenge and played some beautiful netball to win 3-5 and get our spot in the final. The final was against Hereford Cathedral School and there really was nothing between these two sides, both teams showing great athleticism and determination. Special mention goes to Alayna Latif and Esther Sun who really were everywhere. The game was end to end netball and the match finished 4-4 and we were into golden goal extra time. We won the toss and got first centre pass and had our chance to win, unfortunately we were unable to score and on Hereford’s first opportunity on goal they got it into the net to take the victory. A fantastic afternoon, the girls got so much out of the tournament and really did improve every game. Well done girls!

Miss Crews

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U9A, B, C & D Football v RGS The Grange (H)
Result – BCS 0 – 1 RGS
Player of the Match – Rayyan Basu

The U9A team were defeated in unfortunate circumstances due to a deflected goal in a well fought battle versus RGS: The Grange. The team were slow out of the blocks and had to withstand some early pressure but solid defending by Jasper, James, and Rayan kept the opposition out. RGS continued to create chances and were stopped from going up from a magnificent triple save from Rayan who kept out the initial shot and then prevented two rebounds in a remarkable save. The team kept their positions very well and marked their opponents which meant life was difficult for the opposition. The goal came when a deflected shot left the defence and goalkeeper with no chance of stopping the ball going into the net. As the game wore on it became more end to end and open with Freddie making some smart passes and Noah creating some goal scoring opportunities from some good dribbling. Despite that, the equalizer did not come despite a lung-busting run with the ball from Freddie running from one end of the pitch to the other but just dragging the ball wide of the post. A better performance from the team keeping their shape and discipline but now we need to be quicker and look to pass and move the ball on sharper when they have possession of the ball.

Mr Gregory

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U9B Football v RGS The Grange (H)
RGS Won

Plenty of positives came out of todays fixture versus a very strong RGS side which was made up of some very talented individuals. This game saw the BCS pupils have a lot more structure to their game with pupils starting to demonstrate more understanding about their roles and positions they were placed in. As a result, we have moved on from “mob” football and saw individuals starting to grasp the concept of marking a player or an area. RGS utilize their passing and dribbling skills very well moving the ball quickly in all directions. Moving forward, a squad we need to continue to practice our individual skills of controlling the ball, dribbling and pass to complement our new positional understanding. Regardless of the score line we are seeing a progress in the pupils development and understanding of the game.

Mr Melia

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U11B, C & D Football v RGS The Grange
Result – 3-3
Player of the match – Aarya Yallapa

The score line summarized the game nicely today – perfectly even. Additionally, this was a game where I was able to sit back and spectate as the boys were organized and communicated well with each other. This for me is great to see as it shows a depth of learning of their responsibilities and game management. At times, we were able to pass the ball calmly and precisely out from the back using short and long passes effectively. However, RGS were able to capitalize in the moments where we tried to take too many touches of the ball and delayed the pass. Both teams showed aggression and determination to win each ball resulting a fiercely fought game in all aspects of the pitch. However the standout performance was Aarya who brilliantly and bravely put his body on the line to save many of shot which should and could have gone in.

Mr Melia

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U11 D & E Football v RGS The Grange
Result – Devils 4 – 1 RGS, Foxes 1 -4 RGS
Players of the Match – Lucian Lau/James Lawson Bennett

What a difference a few weeks makes. The hard work has really paid off for the Yr 4 Foxes and Devils with both improving hugely on their last showing against RGS. The Foxes were unlucky to lose 4-1 however there were outstanding contributions from James Lawson-Bennett and Myle Faraz. The Devils though were a revelation with outstanding performances across the board. Jerry Kang was outstanding in goal making crucial saves in the first half. Jonathan Nganwa showed great composure on the ball with Joobin Hariri battling in the middle of the park. The star of the show though was Lucian Lau with a superb hat trick including a fantastic free kick. Well done all!!

Mr Protherough

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U11A Boys Football ISFA Tournament: Repton
Result – Won 3 Drew 2 Lost 1

Tournaments can be cruel and this one certainly was for the boys today. Having cruised through the group with 3 wins and 2 draws the boys were knocked out in the semi final against Warwick. The first game was as is often the way a nervy affair against Wolverhampton Grammar School who we have played 3 times and 2 of these have ended in 0-0 draws! The 2nd game was a strange game where the wind played havoc with the ball but we managed to display some fine finishing to defeat Crackley Hall 3-0. The 3rd game against King’s St Alban’s was a one sided affair which we dominated and won 5-0. The toughest game in the group was against Altrincham Prep School who were a good side who took the lead against the run of play. The boys responded magnificently playing their best football of the day to equalize and we should have probably snatched victory. The final group game was against Witham Hall who we played ok against and won comfortably 2-0. Unfortunately we came up against a good Warwick side in the semi who dominated the midfield and with two excellent finishes beat us 2-0 which in truth was a fair reflection of the game. Considering the lack of preparation the boys have done magnificently and in all honestly Fairfield who ended up winning it were fantastic and any team playing them would have struggled. I thought Remy Granger was excellent at the back as was Jonty Scurlock. Rob Miller battled hard in the middle and Arjun Gill found the net numerous times. As a side these lads need to work on their cohesiveness and playing the simple ball – where we came unstuck was when we tried to continually dribble past players in the midfield areas rather than pass and move off the ball. Nevertheless a great effort and another festival where the lads can be proud of their performance, well done.

Mr Protherough/Mr Gregory

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U11A, B, C & D Netball v RGS The Grange 
Results – A’s BCS 15-6 B’s BCS 6-4, C’s BCS 2-3, D’s BCS 3-1
Players of the Match – Susie Tomlinson, Tia Sharma, Isabella G, Jaskiran R

Another opportunity this afternoon for the girls to play some fast paced competitive Netball, playing the adapted version of the game, Bee Netball. The girls are really starting to enjoy rotating around the different positions, they are also showing just how versatile they are as players, which is excellent to see. The girls are demonstrating both excellent attacking and defending skills now which is great to see. They are proving that their hard work is paying off, from team A-D you could really see the girls work hard together working effectively as a team playing the ball up the court and around the circle, no matter what the combinations of players were on court. BCS girls are real fighters, they never give up and this tenacious playing style wins them the ball time and time again! Our footwork across all teams have also improved massively as the term has gone on, which has really tidied up our play, allowing the game to flow. A really pleasing result with all the teams this afternoon, so well done to each and every one of you.

Mrs Somerville and Mrs Bennett

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U11 Stars and Fusion Netball v RGS
Result – Stars 6-10, Fusion 3-4
Players of the Match – Erin Hickebottom, Ruoxi Ma

On both courts BCS got off to a slow start, forgetting their shape and being lazy on the court. Thankfully this changed and there was a dramatic difference in the girls performance in the second half. The girls started driving forward to receive the ball and getting in front of their defender. This allowed the ball to move swiftly down the court and into the shooting circle. We were able to close the gap but unfortunately it was not enough to gain victory. To improve we need to stick tighter in defence and make sure we switch on from the start.

Miss Crews

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U11 Jets Netball v RGS The Grange
Result – BCS 11 – RGS 18
 Player of the Match – Safiya Mughal

It was a very exciting first quarter. The ball was end to end and both teams were scoring, it ended on a 9-9 score. Due to the girls playing 5s netball it meant that the positions were constantly changing each quarter. The girls started to get tired in the next three quarters. They were defending the ball rather than their players which lead to RGS having more opportunity to get the ball into the D and they were converting these opportunities into goals. They BCS girls were determined to fight back and they did score 3 more goals before the end of the game. The girls showed their BCS values and congratulated the other team on a game well played. Well done, girls.

Miss Ryan