Sports

U13 Regional Hockey Tournament

On Saturday 24th April the OHS U13 hockey team set off for our Regional Mini Hockey Festival at Surbiton hockey club.

Our first match in the group stages was against Godolphin & Latymer, a team we knew nothing about. We were on the sand based pitch, which was a lot slower than what we were used to playing on. None the less we had a lot of possession of the ball, and lots of shots on goal. However we didn't quiet manage to put the ball in the back of the net, and so the match was a draw at 0-0.

Our second game was against The Abbey School, and it was on the water base pitch, which suited our fast style of play. With a goal from captain Georgia Perkins we had our first win of the tournament.

Our last game in our group stages was back on the sand based pitch, against Kingtson Grammar School, who have won the national title many times and they turned out to be a much tougher opposition. We rose to the challenge, but Kingston were better in front of goal and a 3-0 win for Kingston did not flatter them.

Despite the defeat we had done enough to end up runners up in our group, and were through to the last eight in the Super Group Stages.. We were to play the winners and runners up of group K. Our first match was against St Andrews. Again we stepped up our game and had a very hard but even match. We had a lot of possession which resulted in chances in front of goal being created but some very good goal-keeping at both ends resulted in a 0-0 draw. Our next match was against Ventnor from the Isle of Wight, back on the water based pitch. Again we worked harder, and with a break from Georgia Perkins who put the ball past the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead. We kept the high standard up, with some fantastic defending from Isabella Hobbs and Tash Bashir, who managed to keep the oppositions shots minimal. A drive up the pitch from Georgia Perkins, who hit the ball past the goalkeeper, meant that we were 2-0 up. We just needed one more goal to get through to the semi final. Ventnor School attacked down the pitch, and with a great clearance from Hester Leyser (our goal keeper) meant we had a counter attack, with Jenny Dingwall sprinting with the ball up the right wing; she crossed the ball to Emily Black, who kept calm and scored our final goal. We had our third goal and were through to the semi finals!

Our semi final match was against eventual winners St Georges. We had a good start, and matched their fast style of play but they took an early lead.. OHS fought back, and with a cross from Jenny Dingwall to Emily Black, who again scored a great goal to draw things level at 1-1. From then on we found ourselves defending quiet a lot, but with some excellent saves from Hester Leyser we managed to keep the score even. Some more passing sequences from St. Georges saw us 1-3 down. For the next couple of minutes we had a lot more possession, and things were a lot more positive. St Georges used their last spur of energy to score one last goal, and the match was over at 1-4.

We now had one last match against Kingston, who we had met in the earlier stages. We put a lot more pressure on the ball, meaning we had a lot more possession. Again we had some great defending, but one time the ball got past our defence and into the goal. A cross from Olivia Batho to Georgia Perkins at the other end however, who hit the ball past the goalkeeper made the score even. From then on it was an even game, with some great attacking and defending from OHS. At the end of the match it was still 1-1, so we played a 5 minutes golden goal, and at the end of that the score was the same. So it went to penalty strokes.

Georgia Perkins, Isabella Hobbs and Jenny Dingwall were the chosen three; we won the toss and chose to go first. At the end of the strokes the score was still even, with one goal from each team. In the sudden death round all three girls pushed the ball past the goal keeper, as did the three from Kingston. In the final round a great save from the Kingston goalkeeper meant that sadly it was all over.

We were still extremely happy with our result, coming 4th in the whole of the South Region is a great achievement. Congratulations to everyone who played, and thank you to our coach Mrs Irvine and to Mrs. Hook for her support throughout the day.

U12 XI Oxfordshire Hockey Tournament

On Thursday 18th March the U12 Hockey team played in the Oxfordshire Tournament. There were 4 teams, Cokethorpe, Tudor Hall, Headington and OHS.

First up was Cokethorpe. We started with a strong attack which eventually resulted in a goal from captain Beth Nagle (7S). Unfortunately we conceded a goal in the dying seconds leaving the result 1-1. Next was Tudor Hall. Again we attacked and scored with a well worked goal starting in midfield, great passing ensured it reached Rowan White (7H) who fired it in. Concerted pressure gave us a short corner which Olivia Batho (7S) converted. Tudor Hall managed to get one back but we won 2-1. Our final match was against big rivals Headington. They kept up a sustained attack but our defence was outstanding, with numerous saves from Megan Magrosky (7O) in goal. Headington somehow managed to get a short corner in the last minute of the game. All of the Headington team were in the D but we managed to clear it, leaving the score 0-0. Headington won overall, but our team claimed runners up. The team would like to say a big thank you to our coach Mrs Irvine, umpire Mr Irvine and team manager Beth Warne (11S).

Written by Beth Nagle (7S) (Captain)

Megan Magrosky (7O), Lizzie Robbins (7S), Isabel Key (7H), Rosie Payton (7S), Katherine Klemperer (7H), Matilda Coughlan (7S), Becky Hodges (7G), Scarlett Shepherd-Grewar (7O), Olivia Batho (7S), Anna Lingard-Bright (7H), Rowan White (7H), Alice Gant (7S), Esmie Carpenter (7G), Alina Khan (7G), Lily Hawkes (7O), Beth Nagle (7S)

U15 Oxfordshire County Hockey Tournament

On the 11th March the U15XI hockey team waited patiently ready for their county tournament at Bloxham School. Although having won the tournament for the last 3 years the team was anxious having lost two key players to illness and injury. As with the G.D.S.T Hockey Rally we were the first to arrive and we were warmed up and ready for our first match vs. Headington. After an early goal from Player of the Tournament Georgina Todd (10O) the team were working well together, however an equalizer from Headington left us with a draw at half-time. An early goal from Headington in the second half left the score line to 2-1 at full time. After a quick turn around the team was back on the pitch ready to play Tudor Hall School. Again an early goal from Tilly Vaughan-Fowler (10O) saw us take the lead. The team were playing a good passing game around the opposition, however an unlucky goal from the Tudor Hall captain left the score line at 1-1 at half time. After an early goal from Tudor Hall in the second half, Oxford were fighting for another goal, which unfortunately did not come, leaving the score line at 1-2 to Tudor Hall. Determined to do well in the final match the team took to the pitch for the final time. Oxford played some great hockey throughout the game with two goals from Georgia Cahill (10S) and a goal apiece from Daisy Richards (10O) and Jess Oakhill (9O). After finishing third overall in the tournament the Oxford U15XI went back to the minibus and although they were back in time for their last two lessons had a great day.

Written by Molly Warne (10S) (Captain)

GDST U15 Hockey Rally

On the 25th March the U15XI journeyed a great distance to St. Edward's school for the annual U15 G.D.S.T Hockey Tournament. We were first to arrive after our 5 minute journey down the road, and were ready to start the day. The team feeling apprehensive began to set up for our first match vs. Bath. After playing some brilliant hockey we had our first win of the day with two great goals. A small break to refuel and we were back on the pitch again, this time against Nottingham. Although the standard of Oxford High's hockey was very good it was not enough to hold back the Nottingham team who scored early on in the match leaving the score line 0-1. Our next match was against Newcastle and again the score line showed a 0-1 loss to Oxford High School. Determined not to let it happen again the U15XI team lined up for their final group match against Howells. A great goal left us in the lead and Charlotte Burrows (10H) was on the attack again, however her great run was thwarted by the aggression of the Howells' goalkeeper who left Charlotte being taken off the pitch injured. Determined not to let Howells score, the team worked well together to keep our 1-0 lead.

The final whistle went and the team began the wait for the points to be counted and the results to be announced: Because Oxford and Newcastle had finished on equal points the team to go through to the quarter finals was going to be decided on penalty strokes. After the first round of strokes we were still neck and neck thanks to brilliant goal keeping from Grace McInerny (10S) and two successful strokes from Tilly Vaughan-Fowler (10O) and Molly Warne (10S). It then progressed to sudden death and with two strokes from Tilly Vaughan-Fowler (10O) again and Caitlin Bailey Williams (9S) meant Oxford High School was going through to the quarter-finals. We played Croydon, however no goals were scored by either team which meant that we were back to penalty strokes. Having gone straight to sudden death, Tilly Vaughan-Fowler (10O) stepped up after a cracking save from Grace McInerny (10S) and scored meaning OHS were going to the Semi-finals. We came up against an extremely strong team from Ipswich and unfortunately were 0-3 down when the final whistle went, however not before a final short corner was given. The first strike being saved by the Ipswich goalkeeper left a scramble on the goal line and a goal from Captain Molly Warne (10S) for Oxford, breaking Ipswich's clean sheet. Having come 3rd overall in the tournament the Oxford U15XI were very happy with the end result.

Written by Molly Warne (10S) (Captain)

U12 VII Netball Tournament

On the afternoon of Tuesday 9th March the U12A and U12B Netball Teams competed in the U12 County Netball Tournament. The A team's first match was against the Manor School, the outcome of which was a 4-2 win for us. Then the A team played St. Helens and St. Katharine's, which we won 2-0. Next we had to play Headington B, which we knew would be a tougher match. Luckily, we managed to up our game, and beat them a good 6-2. After a break we then took on Kingham Hill, whom we beat a satisfying 11-0. Straight afterwards, we had the toughest game yet, against Headington A. Both sides played very well, but Headington managed to come out on top by 5 goals to 2.

Having been defeated only once, we moved onto the Semi-Finals, against the Dragon School. After a nail-biting game the score was 3-3, so we moved onto extra time. Both teams played much better than earlier, and were playing very well. Just near the end of extra time, Lydia Stanier (7H) managed to score, and it was this which got us through to the final.

Again, we had to play Headington A. Having already lost to them we knew it would be very tough, but we did not let it get to us. We started out very well, and soon we had a lead, but with 5 seconds remaining on the clock, Headington scored to equalised. Again, we were into extra time, This time however, our team was starting to tire, and Headington managed to pull ahead by one goal. Then in the second half of the extra time, Headington scored again, meaning they won the extra time 3-1, and so the competition.

Both of the OHS teams played very well, with the B team just missing out on the Semi Finals.

Written by Katherine Klemperer (7H)

U13 XI Oxfordshire Hockey Tournament

On Wednesday 24th February the U13 hockey team set off to St Edward's for the Oxfordshire Tournament. We had high hopes for this year's tournament, and went in feeling confident and ready to win our matches. As the teams arrived we really started to think about our first match, against our toughest opposition, Headington. The match was very even, both teams taking their time to wake up a bit. Unfortunately Headington managed this before us, and led us to concede our only goal of the tournament.

The defeat made us more determined to win our next game, against Tudor Hall, who are an equally strong side. As we settled into our stride, we became more confident, and started to pass the ball around the pitch more and we had a lot more possession. All of this led to our first win, which made the team more relaxed. Our next three matches, against St Helen's, Rye St Antony and Our Lady's, all ended up in three fantastic wins, due to the fact that we kept the high intensity going throughout all of them.

Overall we came second (a big improvement from last year!) and scored the highest number of goals (18) in the whole tournament. Even though we didn't win, we showed some very high standards of play, and played some of our best hockey of the season.

Written by Georgia Perkins (8O) (Captain)

U13 Netball Tournament Match Report

After a victorious win at the Ashfold Tournament the U13 Netball Team were definitely feeling pressured to win the County Tournament. We were nervous, excited and ready to play. Our first match was against Our Ladies Abingdon. We started off badly in the first half only managing to get a two goal lead. We were determined to play our best netball in the second half, we definitely did not play to our best potential but we did play much better and we managed to win 8 - 6. Not as confident as we would have liked we headed into our second match against Lord Williams. We knew they were a tough side from previous encounters. Our lack of confidence could be sensed from miles away. But thanks to some great cheering from the side line we managed to come up trumps, winning 12 - 2. Our next match was against King Alfred's, we had never played against them before so we had no idea what to expect. Luckily we played some good netball to win 14 - 3. We had two more matches in our section so we knew we had to win one more match to go through. We faced John Mason School; the last time we had played them was at last year's County Tournament and they were a tough side, luckily we managed to win 11 - 5. We were filled with joy as we knew we were through to the semi-finals. Our final match in our section was against Tudor Hall, this was the toughest match of our day so far. Only recently we had played them in the County Hockey Tournament and if they are as good at netball as they were at hockey then we needed to up our game. Luckily we didn't face our team's most common difficulty with Tudor Hall and we won 9 - 4.

In the Semi-Finals we were set to face our respected rivals Headington. This was the match we were most nervous about. Recently we had lost to them in a friendly match so we were determined to win. It was a very intense match indeed and we were triumphant. We managed to win 10-8.

We progressed into the Final, where we were to meet Our Ladies Abingdon again. We came into the game over-confident as we had beaten them earlier on in the day; that was our mistake as it affected our game play. We kept making silly mistakes and after the 20 minute match it was a draw. The decision was made that we had to play two extra minutes each way. After the four minutes of extra time, unluckily the ball was at their end. The rules were if it was a draw after extra time then whoever scores the next goal wins. The ball was in their 'D' so we knew there was nothing we could do.

Unfortunately we did not win the tournament but we were runners up and I know we made ourselves and our school proud. There is always next year.

Oxfordshire Cross Country - Congratulations

Congratulations to Beth Warne (11S) who is a key member of the Oxfordshire Cross Country Team which competed in the National Championships in March. This team of Oxfordshire runners did exceptionally well and for the first time ever won the Brown Trophy for the best performance as a team.

The U13 Ashfold Tournament

We were approaching the tournament as we do for everything else, confident and determined to win. But we were all definitely feeling the heat, especially after seeing the rest of the teams warm up. It was very cold and slippery on court but that would definitely not stand as an excuse to let our standard of play fall. We knew we were in a tough section so we decided to take it one game at a time. Our first match was against Akeley Wood; we were excited and very nervous at the same time. We got off to a slow start and by the time we started getting into the flow it was half time. We eventually won the match 12-0. We went on to play our second match against Lord Williams’s with great confidence; our aim was to play our best from the very beginning and believe me it isn’t as easy as it sounds. We did manage to win the match. We knew that we only needed to win one more match to get into the semi-finals so we were incredibly excited and hyped up. Unfortunately seven incredibly hyped up girls does not make for the best netball, but in the second half we got our act together and we managed to win the match. We wanted to get a full house so that meant we had to win the final match in our group and that was against Waddesdon. We had never played against this team so we had no idea how they played but we went with our minds set on the prize and we came up triumphant winning 10-0. We were all very happy with our play especially our individual defence, as we did not let any goals in for the first four matches. We were all waiting to see who we would be playing in the semi-finals. and we were to meet the reigning champions Ashfold school themselves. We were nervous as we had heard how well they could play. We came in for our team talk and with new found confidence we swapped sides and started to play. The end result came up in our favour and we managed to win 10-4. Off we headed to the final against the strong Spratton Hall. The match was close, we were missing one of our players. We scored and they scored and this repeated itself until one of our players intercepted the ball and we managed to use it to get ourselves one goal up. Then the whistle went for full time, never have I been so glad for a netball match to finish. This did mean we were the winners. Not only did we get an incredibly shiny trophy for our merits but we won the best defenders award and our reward was a brand new match ball. It was a great end to a great day.

Written by Charithra Chandran (8O)
(Captain)

U15 VII GDST Netball Tournament

Very early on Wednesday 3rd February, the U15 netball team travelled to Bromley High School in Kent for the GDST Trust Rally. In the group stage, OHS were up against some strong competition, with their first match against Wimbledon. It was a slow start resulting in a 5-9 loss but all was forgotten when they next played Notting Hill, who they beat 10-8. The toughest game of the group stage was against Sheffield which was extremely close (and needless to say nerve-wracking for the substitutes!) which ended in a well deserved 7-5 win for Oxford. Some many needed goals were scored during the last game of the morning versus Blackheath, which was won 21-0.

Once all of the group matches had been played, Oxford was announced the winner of their group (on goal difference) and then went on to play in the main draw, for the GDST Cup. Bromley was the next match with another win, after extra time, of 11 goals to 9. Having got into the semi-finals, OHS were up against Newcastle, a notoriously good team. It was a tough match with everyone playing to their best ability but in the end Oxford missed out on the final and were beaten by Newcastle 12-6. It was an enjoyable day, despite the cold weather, with a high standard of netball and a great result of 3rd out of 22 teams from the U15 netballers.

Written by Georgia Cahill (10S)
(Captain)

U15 VII Netball County Tournament

On Monday 16th November, the U15 VII travelled to St. Helen's and St. Katherine's for the annual county netball tournament. They won their group by winning their first three matches against St, Edward's, Tudor Hall B and King Alfred's and then drawing against Lord William's. In the semi-finals versus Tudor Hall A, they won 7-5 and later in the final, went on to face St. Edward's again and emeged as county champions after beating them 8-5. It was an excellent day with high quality netball and good effort on behalf of both the OHS A and B teams.

U16 XI Regional Hockey Success

After a fantastic victory in the Oxfordshire County Tournament the Oxford High School U16XI arrived at Wellington College for the heats of their Regional tournament with a fair amount of trepidation in their hearts. These events, known throughout the school for their stiff competition, had rarely ever produced a qualification place for the next stage however this time we were ready to turn that conception on its head.

However, in our first match we came up against the toughest opposition of the day and went down 3-0 despite playing some very good hockey. However determined to still get that second qualifying place we went on to win out next match 1-0 and lined up to face local rivals Stowe School in the third game. After a goal from the opposition quickly following half time a late show of composure and mental strength was needed and a promising attack lead to a stunning short corner conversion to bring things level. With three matches to go we were all aware that to go through to the semi-final stage we needed to win each one and that there were no second chances. However the pressure did not get to the team and we managed to come out of the next two matches with 1-0 wins. Our last match of the day was one of toughest with the fatigue really taking its toll but a truly stunning, last minute run by Charlotte Burrows (10H) put us in the lead and with the final whistle we knew we had a place in the regional finals.

The following Wednesday we once again travelled to Wellington College to face an opposition we knew to be well drilled and fearsome. St George’s were a very strong team and though we lost we learnt a great. So with our heads held high we returned to Oxford High School knowing we had played to the best of our ability and represented the school and ourselves well.

Written by Beth Warne (11S) Captain.

1st VII Netball Win

Congratulations to the 1st VII Netball team who won the GDST Plate.

On a cold and blustery day in Nottingham there were wins against Shrewsbury, Belvedere, Northampton, Sutton, Sydenham, Portsmouth and in the final, Heathfield.

The team were as follows:
THALIA ILSEN NUNN
SOPHIE STOWELL
HELEN MORGAN
MADELENE BANGHAM
RACHEL BLAKEY
JESSICA CREAK
ALICE VAUGHAN FOWLER
BRYONY O’NEILL
ALEX BRODEY
ISOBEL KNAPP (Captain)

1st XI GDST Trust Hockey Rally - 8th October 2009

A very early morning (which was actually only 8’oclock!) saw the bleary eyed 1st XI team travel to Tilsley Park for the GDST Hockey Tournament that they will be unlikely to forget.

The early games saw Oxford High School in the group stages with four games of 12 minutes and despite drawing the first game against Newcastle the side went on to beat Sutton, Howells ands Nottingham and in winning the last game topped the group.

In the Quarter-Final Oxford High School beat Northampton on penalty strokes after the game finished 1-1 (Beth Warne) and when Rosie Nagle had scored her flick for Oxford, goal keeper Rachel Spiro saved the next Northampton stroke to send Oxford High School into the semi-finals against Bromley.

In the semi-final Oxford played their best hockey of the day and early pressure resulted in Oxford scoring two early goals and despite a late consolation from Bromley Oxford did not let them back into the game and went into the final against an impressive Wimbledon side.

In the final, once again Oxford got off to a good start and took the lead when a cross to the top of the ‘D’ was put home but it was Wimbledon who had the better of the later stages of the first half and only some excellent defending from Rachel Blakey stopped Wimbledon from grabbing an equaliser.

However, in the second half Wimbledon scored straight away after a goal mouth scramble and then with time running out Oxford forced a short corner and after the initial shot had been saved Izzy Craft was on hand to lob the ball over the keeper and into the back of the net.

Wimbledon had time for one more attack but the Oxford defence stood firm and took the title.

Congratulations go to everyone on a tremendous victory.

Esmie Warne (Captain)

U16 Oxfordshire County Tournament

On Tuesday 20th October the Oxford High School U16 hockey team set off to Cokethorpe for their Oxfordshire County Tournament. In the first group match Oxford High beat Rye St. Antony with goals from Beth Warne (4), Charlotte Burrows (1) and Ellie Gilje (1).

Our next game was against St Edwards, our well respected rivals and once more the team rose to the occasion magnificently. With some fantastic defending from Faye Culpin and Imogen Vessey we were able to see off their early attacks and with Charlotte Burrow’s amazing shot into the top corner of the goal we had the lead going into half time. With great composure on the post Alex Brodey made the score 2-0 and a further short corner strike from Beth Warne made the final score a 3-0 victory.

As we went into our next match against Tudor Hall we were very nervous as we knew this to be our main opposition in the Tournament. Despite some fantastic saves from goalkeeper Lucy McIvor and great clearances we went 2-0 down by half time. Though a strong strike from Charlotte Burrows put us back in the game a late goal from Tudor put the final score at a 3-1 defeat.

Despite this we were still through to the semi-finals and we drew against the hosting team, Cokethorpe. With great pressure form Ema Stojanovic and Molly Warne we were able to keep the ball within their D for the majority of the match with Ellie Alberts opening the scoring with a great strike followed by two more extraordinary goals from Charlotte Burrows and finishing with a goal from Beth Warne to make it 4-0.

We were through to the final to face Tudor Hall, the team we had lost to in the group stages. Determined to make sure this was not a repeat of the morning’s encounter we went out extremely strong and Gabi Mabon found Charlotte Burrows in the ‘D’ and her shot made it 1-0 to Oxford. With Beth Warne converting another short corner we went into half time with a 2-0 lead.

However in the second half Tudor came out with a vengeance and despite some extraordinary defending from Franny Hurden at the back the score became level at 2-2 with only ten minutes to play. Rosie Van Oss saved shots again and again to keep them from taking the lead and with only 5 minutes left to play we broke into attack and won a short corner. A fantastic push out from Charlotte Hobbs went to Beth Warne at the top of the D who slipped the ball to Charlotte Burrows on her right. She hit it hard back to Hobbs on the post who coolly touched it into the back of the net. With very little time left to play there was nothing Tudor Hall could do and Oxford High School was crowned Oxfordshire County Champions.

Congratulations to everyone who played and a massive thank you to our coach Mrs Irvine.

Match Report by Beth Warne (captain)

Junior Golf

Imogen Vessey in 11H is a keen member of the Oxfordshire Girls’ Golf squad, and a junior member of the Chipping Norton golf team. Earlier in September she was part of the team which won the Oxfordshire League North Division for the second year in a row. They will go forward to play the South Division’s winning team, in a bid to retain the Oxfordshire title. Congratulations to Imogen.

Congratulations to our Tennis Players

Congratulations to Olivia Jagger (8H), Jess Oakhill (9O), Bea Beckerman (9O), Georgia Perkins (8O) and Sophie McIvor (9O) (U14 V1) and to Georgina Todd (10O), Charlotte Burrows (10H), Nell Boxall (11G) Hattie Freeman (11S) and Georgia Stevenson (11O), (U16 V1), Oxfordshire Champions in both age groups, for beating Bedford High School, Bedfordshire Champions, in the Regional knock out stages of the AEGON Team Tennis Schools National Competition.