Week 2 Rugby Report

After the first full week of training, the rugby club took on the challenge of St George’s, Weybridge. The fixture card has been designed to be challenging and this was certainly due to be a baptism of fire. The 1^st and 2^nd XV travelled away and both suffered losses. The 2^nd XV struggled to get a foothold in their game and the opposition was dominant. The first half saw the 1^st XV struggle to get their hands on the ball and some ill-discipline allowed the opposition to spend most of the match camped in the Pangbourne half. The second half saw a more sustained period of pressure but points were not forthcoming. A frustrating afternoon ended 18-7 to a strong opposition.

The U16s and U15As had a mixed afternoon with the A teams both winning convincingly and the B teams suffering losses. The U15As dominated from the first whistle and played as one. The scoreline of 58-0 represents a superb afternoon rugby and, with some players rested soon into the second half, it could have been higher. The U16s continue their good season following their opening run out against Eton. The pack was dominant and some superb interplay led to a number of tries being scored. The 31-17 win was an excellent return on the effort and commitment they have shown during training. Whilst the B teams didn’t win their matches, the U15Bs put up an excellent fight and crossing for the first try of the match in the early minutes of the match gave the opposition a real scare. It was unfortunate that they eventually went down 12-19 but it could have easily been a different story.

For the U14s this was their first real opportunity to represent the College. They did not disappoint and despite the results not going their way, showed incredibly spirit throughout the afternoon. Both A and B teams had moments of excellence and it is important that they harness this as they progress forward in the season.

Finally, the 3^rd XV started their season hosting Radley 6^th XV. Whilst this may appear like a mismatch of teams, the massive number of students available to the Radley Coaches means that this was a competitive fixture.  The rugby played was superb and, despite the physical nature of the sport, was played in excellent spirit. The 3^rd XV crossed the line a number of times and came out eventual winners 29-17.

After a tough weekend, all teams must regroup quickly as we have a double header of derby matches this week. We look forward to hosting Shiplake on Wednesday and Lord Wandsworth on Saturday. Good luck to all our boys!

Week 1 Rugby Report

Ahead of the rugby season and the new term, the U16 and Senior squads enjoyed a couple of days of training at the College with the seniors enjoying a worthwhile tournament at Shiplake College. These gave the boys an opportunity to blow out the summer cobwebs and get some match time under their belt.

The first week saw all teams train with intensity and passion. Particular mention must go to the new Form 3 boys who look like they are going to turn into a couple of formidable U14 teams. On Saturday it was just the seniors and U16s who had training fixtures and we welcomed Eton and Radley to the College. The U16s did well against their Eton counterparts and whilst the result didn't go their way, their coaches, Mr Frost and Mr Cheney were incredibly impressed with their determination and the way they grew into the game.  The same was true for the seconda XV who turned out against a strong Radley 2nd XV. Matching up team for team with schools considerably larger than us is always a challenge but, again, they did well. Leaking a few tries early on was inevitable but they turned it around and the second half was much closer with just one score in it.

The 1st XV hosted both Eton 2nd XV and Radley 1st XV in a triangular tournament. The team stepped up from their preseason form beating Eton 10-0. Radley were a much tougher opponent and it is testament to the high standards shown by the team that they were slightly disappointed with a 7-7 draw. The pack were dominant and the backs showed real class at times. Overall a fantastic afternoon of rugby that bodes well for the term ahead.

Hesperus Start of Term Minutes 2016

Hesperus Muster Minutes

Mr Cheney Welcomes all the boys back to the division.

New staff to the division this term; Mr Codling is Visiting Tutor on Tuesday evenings,

Mr Hobby is Visiting Tutor on Friday evenings and Mr Wynell-Mayow will be tutoring the 3^rd form.

Mr Cheney’s Non-negotiables for the house are as follows:

·         Promptness for lessons, ensure Hesperiods leave the house 5 minutes early.

·         During prep silence is observed and pupils remain in their own cabins.

·         If in house during study time in the day pupils work in cabins quietly. No pupils to be in gun room playing pool, table tennis or watching TV.

·         No Sin Bins or Detentions as this effects our performance in the parade cup.

·         Uniform and dress, black socks, shoes polished, uniform clean, haircuts off the ears and collar and not excessively long on top.

·         Rooms; beds made, bins emptied and bedding changed at least once a week.

Goals for Hesperus this term

1.      Win Parade on the 18^th – All pupils No1s to be brought into college for Monday to be given to Gail to be dry cleaned.

2.      Divisional Music all pupils must commit to rehearsals

3.      Div Rugby later this term

4.      Winning Headmasters cup.

5.      Mr Cheney has set a challenge for all pupils to aim for an effort grade of 3 in all of their subjects.

Upcoming Events:

The house trip next Wednesday is to Banbury for an afternoon of team building. Leave at 13:30 packed lunches provided and we will return around 18:30 and we will have a house BBQ.

Paint ball trip this Sunday please give your name to Mr Cheney if you want to go.

House initiatives

House 100% training lead by Tom Nash

Alternative Wednesday Pizza night boycotting Dominos

House garden and veg patch

Weekend Sunday family trips

Hesperus Promotions 2016-17

Chief Cadet Captain of Hesperus       

Ben Hart

 

Cadet Captain          

Tom Nash, Toby Woollen

 

New Entry CO (Cadet Leaders)   

Charles Riley, Louis Ellis

 

House Academic Scholars (Cadet Leaders)

Chris Batchelor

Oliver Newcombe

 

Form 4 Mentors (Cadet Leaders)

Adam Harris

Rory Findlay

 

Form 5 Mentors (Cadet Leaders)

Angus Findlay

Christopher Heathwood

Hesperus Music Scholar (Cadet Leader)

Andrej Ivanovic

 

Hesperus Events (Cadet Leader)

Will Owen

 

Hesperus International Students (Cadet Leader)

Rylan Li

Hesperus Muster

Hesperus Muster

Praise

• Well done to the 15A and B cricket teams who beat Dauntsey's on Saturday. A special mention to Luca van der Wyck who scored 53.
• Mo Rizwan took 8-17 for Finchamstead on Sunday!
• Well done the boys who had success at Regattas on Saturday and Sunday.
• Good luck to the 1VIII who are qualifying for Henley on Friday.

Notices

• Form 3 have revision during Core Skills.
• Today is Lower 6 interview day - this will be useful preparation for Promotion interviews next week.
• Good luck to Ben, Toby and Will who leave for the D of E Gold Expedition on Thursday.
• We have an Exeat Weekend - we finish at 3pm on Friday.

Merits

The list of pupils who received Merits last week is below.

Flag Awards

This week it is a 2XI Cricket special - well done to these four Hesperoids who travelled a long way to play Dauntsey's on Saturday and in doing so displayed selflessness and integrity: Hugo Dwerryhouse, George Lacey, Ollie Newcombe, Charlie Riley.

Student of the Week

After four years at Pangbourne we are saying goodbye to Hesperus legend, Nathan Wang, on Thursday. He has made huge progress in his time here and we wish him well for his new school in London. We hope Nathan comes back for a parade next year.

Thoughts for the Week

• We discussed the tragic killing of MP Jo Cox last week and the brilliant humanitarian work she dedicated her life to.
• The EU referendum - There will be a discussion in the Gun Room tonight from 8pm about the referendum. We will watch some of the debate on TV (which Ollie Newcombe is attending) and try to make up our minds!

Promotions

Pupils were given a voting slip and asked to nominate their top three candidates for Hesperus Chief next year.

SCH

Merits

Hesperus
	Pupil Name	Year	Merits
	Bowden, Joe	9	2[2]
	Day, Aldwyn	9	4[4]
	Evans, Jake	9	2[2]
	Fitchett, William	9	1[1]
	King, Charlie	9	2[2]
	Morrison, Oliver	9	1[1]
	Nash, Ed	9	2[2]
	Pan, John	9	1[1]
	Dent, Christophe	10	1[1]
	Doyle, Harrison	10	4[4]
	Ellison, Finn	10	1[1]
	Holloway, Sam	10	3[3]
	Pearson, Cameron	10	1[1]
	van der Wyck, Luca	10	1[1]
	White, Nick	10	1[1]
	Winter, Louis	10	3[3]
	Xu, Kenny	10	2[2]
	Li, Rylan	12	1[1]
	Nash, Tom	12	1[1]
			34[34]

Rowing Report

It has been a busy fortnight for the Boat Club. A week ago, our younger crews competed at Marlow Town Regatta, where several finals were reached and a win recorded, in women’s Under 14 quads, our top boys’ quad losing the final to Radley by just a canvas. At Reading Amateur, the Senior girls’ quad beat a Henley Rowing Club crew, only to lose to another Henley crew in the semi-final, who went on to be convincing winners. The boys’ development eight won three races to reach the final of Intermediate 3 eights, were they were outgunned by Groton School, USA. However, the following day, while Groton went on to win Intermediate 2 eights, Pangbourne won a further three races to win Intermediate 3 eights, beating Bedford School in the final. Rory Harris won both Senior and School Junior single sculls to move his status just one point short of Elite, the highest possible.

This weekend, three girls’ crews raced at Henley Women’s Regatta. A development combined Lower Sixth and Form Five four did well in their Under 18 four time trial but did not qualify for the side-by-side racing and neither did our Under 16 four in their time trial, but only narrowly missing out. However, the Senior girls’ quad did qualify and in their heat were involved in the closest race of the day, losing by just 3 feet to a Henley Rowing Club crew, having led them off the start but being almost a length down half-way through the race. The nature of their spirited, narrow loss should give them heart going into the Henley Royal regatta qualifiers on Friday, as it is over a considerably longer course. Also, as a result of the large entry for their event, the Henley Stewards have doubled the number of places in their event from 8 to 16. This gives the girls’ prospects a major boost but they still have to finish in the top seven of thirty seven crews in the time trial.

At Marlow, for their final regatta of the season, the top two boys’ Under 14 quads combined to race in an octuple and take on the big schools at Marlow Regatta. They raced well in their time trial to reach the A Final, where, although they lost to the likes of Radley, St Paul’s and Abingdon, they beat Westminster, one of the current powerhouses of schoolboy rowing and sculling. With Rory now joining the boys’ eight for the first time, the crew did well at Marlow Regatta to be placed half-way in a field of over thirty crews in the time trial for Intermediate 2 eights. This ranked them third of the crews in the C Final, which they duly won, beating three crews that have avoided the qualifiers for Henley but our strengthened eight still not doing enough in the Stewards’ eyes to avoid the time trial themselves. As a result, Rory will be racing twice over the Henley course this coming Friday, there being a record entry of 41 for the Diamond Challenge Sculls, compared to a normal figure of about 17. With thirteen international scullers, including reigning Olympic champion, Mahé Drysdale, given direct entry, Rory faces a time trial comprising 28 scullers with just 3 to qualify. Whatever the outcome, he has the distinction of being the only schoolboy in the event.

Finally, at Thames Valley Park regatta yesterday, crews from our Under 14 and 15 girls’ and Under 15 boys’ squads raced well but did not return with any silverware. Girls’ Under 15 and Under 16 fours were third in their finals, a girls’ Under 14 quad lost to the eventual winners in the semi-final, and a boys’ Under 15 quad came closest, finishing second in the final by just half a length in a very tight race between three good crews.