Netball

Sherborne and Bradford Tournament

The 1st team made their way to Bradfield College on Saturday to compete in the annual netball tournament. Across the afternoon, we picked up wins against Marlborough, Bradfield College, Pangbourne, Brighton College and had close contests with Wellington College, Teddies and St Mary’s Ascot. It was a great opportunity to get all players out on court and really cement a number of combinations within the team. The whole day was a real team effort, with particularly impressive performances from Sophia S, Hettie L and Dom H who caused carnage in the defensive end throughout the afternoon. The team now look forward to putting out another set of impressive performances in the Seaford College tournament at the weekend.

Earlier in the week, the 1st team travelled to Sherborne for what was set to be an exciting game! Despite Sherborne’s tall and rangy defensive unit, Canford were patient and smart, allowing them to work the ball to Issy and Melisa, who shot fantastically all game. Dom H was once again pivotal in both turning over ball and helping to bring it through court to our attackers. The game finished with a 27-15 win and a real team effort with all squad members contributing to the victory.

2nds v Sherborne

On Saturday Senior 2nds went up against Sherborne 2nds in a tightly fought match. This was a tightly fought match all the way with Allegra, Matilda, Lara and Eliza holding up a strong defence, gain essential turnovers that allowed Canford a continual lead throughout the game. The effective mid court of Ruby, Kiera and Millie ensured possession with some great feeds to the shooters Georgia, Jess and Melisa allowing us to hold to our lead throughout the match. As a result, Canford were able to secure a victory of 37-32. A well fought game and a huge thank you to the U16A players for stepping up and supporting the 2nds.

3rds v Sherborne

The match against Sherborne was a close call. With the team still finding their rhythm we ended the first quarter 6-5 to Sherborne but brought it back to win 28-24. The defence was on point with Maddie S, Poppy S and Ntemi N getting lots of intercepts and Millie J playing both GK and GS. Player of the match went to Anna L who scored some spectacular goals and was supported by the other shooters, Olive S and Olivia F. Overall, it was a great game of netball with the mid-court players, Hatty F, Grace CW, Paige M and Delilah R working hard to get the balls to the shooters.

4ths v Sherborne

W19-7

The 4s enjoyed another convincing victory, this time against Sherborne Girls. With a shooter-heavy squad, we were lucky to have the ballast of two exceptional U16A defenders, Kate the Keeper and Connie the Wing Defender, who worked with Captain Alice (GD) like a well-oiled machine. Their energy, timing and communication were impressive to watch as they frustrated the attacking opposition again and again. Our centre court players impressed with their fitness levels, keeping the energy high right through the final quarter. Occasionally, adrenaline-fuelled lobs were thrown wide (or long) of the mark, and we tended to try and match the rapid play of the opposition, resulting in untidy, sometimes mistimed play. However, as we have come to expect, our shooters were on impressive form and special mention must go Grace N for an astonishing long shot that pummelled in from the edge of the circle – she was justly named player’s player. Some work to do on timing and positioning, but all in all,

the girls worked together to produce another strong performance.

5ths v Sherborne

Saturday saw the return of the mighty fifths. As ever complications quickly arose but they were no match for the fifth team, taking down the tennis net strung across our court in record time. Once bibbed a tense game began ending the first quarter at 6 all but by the third quarter we were ahead. Going into the final quarter we had to swap out our most “vertically blessed” goal shooter for one of “less altitude”. Following some substitutions, we adapted our tactics for working the D and after 10 minutes of fantastic play from the team we secured our win.

Players of the match - Evie L and Marisa

U14A v Sherborne

Wonderful to see this team back on the court after what feels like a long break. Once we arrived, we headed towards the outside courts and were quickly diverted indoors, much to the team's delight. With a thorough warm up completed to get rid of the half term cobwebs, the team looked ready to go to battle. Our shooters, Jossie H and Zana S were in top form, slotting the ball through the net with confidence. Athletically we looked powerful and full of energy, thanks to the efforts being applied in the strength and conditioning gym! At half time the team had a comfortable lead. Mary B worked her socks off in defense along with Violet R who linked brilliantly from defense to attack. Amber B provided the shooting circle with feeds under the post and Rosie D had her ‘C’ chasing her round the court. A great team performance, well done.

Result: 43-13 win

Players’ Player : Lexi B

MVP: Mary B and Lexi B

U14B v Sherborne

On Saturday Canford pulled through a great match against Sherborne. The first quarter we were very tight in scores the ball going from one end to the other. There were brilliant interceptions from Kitty, Georgie and Mimi, but after we lost the first quarter we didn’t give up. In the second quarter there was amazing shooting by Georgia and Alexandra, at the end of the second quarter they had the lead by just one goal. We had a team chat, we gained back hope and had magic sweets. The Canford girls came back on the court with power and confidence. Canford made an amazing comeback, we were up 3 goals at the end of the third quarter, we had a confidence boost by Mrs Byng and walked on the court ready to rumble. In the last quarter there was brilliant play by Maisy, Jas and Sophie holding the middle of the court together but sadly they won with a tight score 22-18. Players of the match was Maisy and Kitty.

Report by Georgie W-J

U14C v Sherborne

The U14C team had a well contested game at the weekend against Sherborne school. It was a real team effort with all players contributing to the scoreline, both through goals and some fantastic turnovers in the defensive end. Amelie H was brilliant in the middle, controlling the pace of the game. Despite their best efforts, the team finished with a 13-29 loss, but had a great time regardless! They look ahead to their next game this week versus Marlborough.

U15A v Sherborne and PEDSSA

The U15As were on top form in a match against Sherborne. Canford had a strong start managing a lead in the first quarter. Sherborne's attack fought hard and kept on the pressure, but Canford's strong defensive network repeatedly made the interceptions and got the ball back down the court. With the whole team playing at their best Canford's lead only increased even while having some key players missing and smiles were on faces when the final whistle blew. Players of the match were given to Bella J and Maria J.

The U15s also had a very successful start to the week at the U15 PEDSSA tournament. The team were undefeated the whole afternoon which saw them crowned as district champions! They now look forward to representing Poole and East Dorset at the County finals on Thursday 7th March.

U15B v Sherborne

The U15Bs faced off against Sherborne under the leadership of captain Lily. The first quarter saw a closely contested battle, with Canford finishing slightly ahead at 6-5. The intensity continued into the second quarter, with Canford maintaining their lead at 13-10. However, it was in the second half that Canford's superior fitness and skills came to the forefront, allowing them to pull away. The third quarter concluded with Canford extending their lead to 20-13, ultimately sealing their victory with a final score of 31-16. Sherborne acknowledged outstanding performances from Canford players Josie and Esme, who were rightfully crowned Players of the Match. Canford's teamwork, resilience, and individual brilliance were key factors in securing this well-deserved triumph.

U15C vs Marlborough

W 17-8

This week the mighty C's travelled to Sherborne. On a Sunny cold day, with girls ready for some netball action after a very good week of training. In the first quarter Sherborne raced to a 3-0 lead, only for us to wake up and win the quarter 6-3. They had some very tall girls in their team who they rotated around for the next few quarters. 2nd quarter was 3-2 to us, in a very closely fought contest in the middle 3rd. The girls kept working hard, desperately trying to maintain possession and work the ball down to the goal third, ended in 3-3. Heading in to the final one the girls were tired after not much scoring means lots of netball played in all of the quarters. We finished 3-0 in the final quarter as we kept it simple and kept possession as much as we could. Credit to all the players in the first quarter, if it wasn't for their sheer determination this match could have been very different.

POM - C.Gata

Hockey

Tuesday 20th February

1st XI v King’s Bruton (U19 ISHC R3) Canford 1 – 1 KSB. (KSB won 2-1 aps)

Almost immediately from the half term restart, we played King’s Bruton in the last 16 of the U19 ISHC competition. Having beaten them in a very good performance a couple of weeks earlier in the National Cup, our biggest obstacle was potential complacency. In fairness, we controlled the first half and scored in the 10th minute when Sam W kept his composure to fire past the keeper after fine approach play by Olly P and Leo V. The second half started in the same mould, but without us extending our lead. As the game wore on, King’s Bruton gained more possession and more territory, as we were unable to get hold of the ball or keep it for long enough periods. Eventually, that pressure told, when having made several saves, Tom B was finally beaten with a deflection at the far post with just five minutes remaining. Alas, the game was decided by a penalty shootout – with 3 penalty strokes per side. Leo V scored, as did Bruton, but Dill H’s and Ed SB’s efforts were saved, which meant Bruton secured the win, 2-1 in the shootout. We still have the EH U18 National Cup to focus on. (MDC)

Thursday 22nd February

2nd XI v Dauntsey’s 3rd XI – won 4-2

Definitely one of our less enthusiastic games with a slight lack of energy brought about by the Upper Sixth being in the middle of mocks. Despite this we came out on top with some fine goals from Adam and Jack who scored a brace each. (George J-J - captain)

U16A v Dauntsey’s 2nd XI – lost 6-1

Travelling away from the balmy Dorset Riviera towards the north pole ensured that we were to play this game in a -2C wind chill and stinging horizontal rain. Despite some nice short passing and linking play in the first half the conditions clearly hampered the desire of our midfield to track back, and skilful teamwork on the part of our opponents saw them go a worthy 3 goals up by half time. Unfortunately, in the second half we let our generosity get the better of ourselves and continually passed the ball to their forwards while also relentlessly attempting to run through Dauntsey’s sticks further up field. The lesson of the day was that a determination to play proper passing hockey will be the key to future development - when we transferred the ball with simple and straightforward patterns we scored; but sadly it took until the last 5 minutes to realise this coaching dream. (RMBS)

U14 Tier 1 Plate Round 3 vs Millfield – lost 6-3

The U14A Boys’ next match was Round 3 of the Tier 1 Plate against Millfield away. In some very icy conditions and at times a little bit of hail, we played another tough match against Millfield. A match which kept the crowd very entertained. We started the match well and had a lot of possession in the beginning. A lapse in concentration and Millfield pounced to score 2 quick goals. We then kept on pushing and earned a short corner right at the end of the half, which we gladly scored from through Ivo R, making the half time score 2-1 and everything to play for. Some much needed refreshments and we were back out again. We were slow this time to start and Millfield came out firing. They scored 3 goals to make it 5-1 with 15 minutes to play. To our credit we found a 2nd and 3rd goals (Toby R and Tommy G) quickly and made the score 5-3 with still at least 10 minutes to go. We kept pushing hard for more and made their keeper make some really good saves to keep the score as it was. We played our best hockey in the last 15 minutes giving it everything we had, and the boys can be proud of themselves for their effort. We continued to push for another goal, and this led to Millfield having a break way and with us been short of players at the back, they managed to sneak in another goal making the final score 6-3 to them. A really good effort from all the boys. Tommy G, Oscar T-E and Toby R been the standout players. (GJD)

‘Friday Night Lights’

1st XI v KES – won 4-1

In a carnival style atmosphere with Archie L orchestrating the tunes and noise pitch side, the 1st XI were in good spirits to enjoy a slightly different approach to the standard block fixture, with a Friday Night match up v KES. The boys didn’t disappoint the adoring crowd, with Leo V, Massimo B and an outrageous diving backhand effort from captain Dill H firing us into a 3-0 half time lead. Guy M, excellent throughout the game, also smashed another in soon after the restart, as the boys enjoyed playing freely and with much greater composure and quality than we had managed in the second half a few days earlier. We missed a couple of open goals as we had chances to extend our lead, with KES scoring a late consolation, but in truth, we dominated and were good value for a comfortable 4-1 win. The parents, players and coaches then shared a lovely post-match curry at Wimborne Tandoori (many thanks to the parents for organising) to round off the week and occasion in style. Well done all. (MDC)

Saturday 24th February

2nd XI v KES 2nd XI – won 10-2

One of our most successful games ever! We had them on the back foot from the start with an early goal 3 minutes into the game, followed up by another 1 minute later. Our high press was very effective at turning ball over. Our passing was also excellent and enabled the ball to work its way up the pitch quickly, under control and setting Xan free to score five goals. Ross showed his excellent teamsmanship by not scoring any goals but assisting in four of them. Well done to Isaac who manage to maintain focus for the entire game even though the ball rarely troubled him.

Great game boys! (George J-J - captain)

U16A v KES 3rd XI – won 3-1

The U16s were away at KES and, during the warm-up, the heavens opened and made the surface easier to pass on but more difficult to maintain grip. The team played some lovely hockey for the first 5 minutes and KES hardly touched the ball as we passed it across the pitch from side to side and up and down the line. However, we seemed to get bored of this and reverted to how we have played all season with players trying to beat 2 or 3 opposition rather than beating 1 and then passing it. A very direct style of play for 20 minutes allowed KES into the game and Charlie A made a quite remarkable quintuplet of saves, all within 15 seconds. We did manage to score 2 goals in the half but were lucky not to concede. After some strong words at half-time we played much better in the second half and had 6 or 7 very good chances to score but took none of them. The quality of the hockey was much improved, and the players realised that if they didn’t always crash it up the middle, and passed it square and wide as well, the direct ball was much more likely to work. We started to commit more and more players forward and were hit on the break, with about 5 mins to go, when KES scored a 4 on 1 (still not sure where all the defenders had gone). Despite being 2-1 up we carried on attacking in numbers, nearly gifted KES an equaliser, but ended up scoring with the last play of the game after an outrageous aerial from Gabe found Toby at the far post. Final score 3-1. (GRS)

U15A v KES – lost 6-2

The U15A suffered defeat to an organised KES side. Two unforced errors saw us concede a 0-2 deficit and left us chasing the game. By the time we found a structure that suited us we were 6-1 down. We grew back into the game and forged several opportunities but were not able to claw back the score line. Final score 2-6. (JEA)

U15B v KES – drew 1-1

After an excellent training session on Thursday and key players returning to fitness, the U15B’s finally produced a performance to be really proud of. With four across the midfield we were able to ‘hold the line’ - the boys were formidable and won countless turn over balls in the midfield and were much the better side during the first half. We were tenacious on the break and made up for any lack of stick skills with our blistering pace. The only negative was that we were not able to convert our short corners or open play attacks. Gil S eventually broke the deadlock and Canford were ahead for the first time in several matches. It was frustrating that with 10 minute to go our concentration dipped and gaps opened allowing KES to steal a goal. Last year Canford took a heavy defeat against KES and so 1-1 is a result to be proud of. Lev R and Seb C both had good games in midfield. Ariche B also had a good game at right wingback. Our thanks also go to Otis I for stepping in as keeper. Roll on Millfield next week. (CHJ)

U14A 0-5 KES

We set off on another coach trip, this time heading to Southampton to take on KES.

The boys were keen to bounce back after the Thursday defeat. It was however to be a match we didn’t pitch up for. After a slow start we began to keep the ball and after some really good inter play we had 2 good chances to score but unfortunately were not able to finish. KES then took control and scored 2 goals in quick succession making the half time score 2-0 to KES. The first 10 minutes of the 2nd half had the spectators on their toes as the match went from end to end with both teams not been able to capitalize. KES, finally scored a 3rd goal and as Canford pushed players forward to find a goal, KES moved the ball quickly on a very wet surface and caught Canford and were able to score another 2 goals making the final score 5-0 to KES. A tough day on the field but lots of lessons learnt for sure. (GJD)

U14B 0-1 KES

Canford put in a resilient display against a strong KES team on Saturday. In a game dominated by both defensives they were few real chances for either team.

KES took advantage to score a well finished shot from a loose ball in the Canford D midway through the first half and this proved to be the only goal of the game.

A few noteworthy performances - Lucca R had an excellent debut for the Bs - working hard up front. Joe Firth put a strong performance in the midfield linking up well with Luke R and creating a few chances in a difficult game. Overall players of the match were Oscar B who put in a commanding performance in the defence and goalkeeper Issac V who read the game superbly and made several important saves and impressive interceptions. Another solid performance from the U14 Bs who continue to develop their skills and teamwork. (Dean D– Coach)

U14C v KES – lost 0-4

The mighty U14Cs battled hard and played some nice hockey, but unfortunately finished second best to a well organised KES side.

This week sees the 1st XI in EH Tier 2 National Cup action against Blundell’s where we will look to book our place in the quarter finals, before a block fixture versus Millfield on Saturday.

Cricket – Girls U15 Indoor County Cup (Group Stage)

Our squad of 9 girls comfortably got through the group stage of the U15’s indoor County cup. We are a very strong bowling unit this season and this showed in the wins against LEAF Academy, bowling them out for 35 and chasing it down for 1 wicket. Then restricting a strong Parkstone Grammar to 41 for 4 off 8 we chased it down comfortably to progress to the finals day on the 13th March.

Congratulations to all the girls that played.

Caitlin W, Maria J, Celyn H, Ruby H, Alice L, Tilda M, Lexi B, Sophie M, Mary B,

Rugby

Canford VII – Collegiate

The Canford 1st VII squad travelled to Bristol on Sunday, looking to build upon their plate victory at South Coast VII’s with adding more silverware at Collegiate.

The day started with the boys playing Christ College Brecon, a historically strong opponent. The boys stepped up right from the off, a scrum off the left wing was played to Jasper B who powered over the Brecon defence before being brought down. Tele O cleared out and Ed T played the ball away quickly to Johnny W, the ball was flung wide and eventually reached the speedster Jansci M in space. Jansci eased around the Brecon defence and dotted down to get Canford on the board. Canford quickly doubled their lead as Jimmy J powered his way through the oppositions defence and won the race to the line. Canford immediately extended their lead, utilising their defence to pressure the Welsh school into passing the ball into touch. Then quick thinking from Jasper and Ed saw a lineout taking quickly and the ball moved to Tele O, who beat his man on the outside and dotted down under the posts, 17-0 at half time. The second half was a more tame affair, Christ College dotted down late on in the corner to reduce the deficit to 12 before Jansci demonstrated more speed on the outside to give Canford a bonus point win, 22-5 in their first game.

The boys struggled to hit their top gear in the next game, which would ultimately cost them a place in the cup competition. King’s College Taunton would take the spoils winning 15-12 but two brilliant solo tries from Jansci and Tele showed when the boys allowed their danger players to get the ball in space, they would be difficult to stop. Both players beating a player and dotting down from 80 metres out. In the final minute, Canford would have the ball in the Taunton 22, with Taunton down to 6, however, poor clear out techniques would see Taunton steal the ball. Jansci did an incredible job in tracking back to make a try saving tackle, followed by Jimmy, the boys’ effort could not be denied, but they needed to play with a bit more conviction in their attack actions.

Their final group game was Bristol Grammar School and the boys saw them off in a professional manor. Ivor R opened the scoring with a superb support line and Will F got himself a couple of scores in a similar manner.

This victory sent the boys into the plate competition to face Taunton School. The boys once again, saw their opposition off in a professional manner. The boys controlled the game, a few moments almost let Taunton back into the game but the Canford attack was prolific and always kept the boys a couple of scores in front. The pick of tries came from Jasper B. The ball was played out wide to Jansci who beat his man and was brought down just outside the 22, the ball was recycled quickly and moved wide to Jasper B who used Tele O on the outside as a decoy before stepping in, beating his man and sliding in under the posts.

In the Plate final the boys faced Exeter School. The boys started the game having to dig deep and defend hard, as Exeter put a lot of pressure on, spending the first 2 minutes in our 22 with the ball. The boys managed to get a moment respite, getting the ball out of our 22 but a momentary lapse in concentration and judgement saw us jump in when we did not need to and Exeter scored in the corner to go 5-0 up. The boys got themselves back in front though, stealing a scrum and moving the ball wide to Tele O who spun his man and raced in from the halfway line. Ed T added the extras and the boys were up 7-5. The second half was a cagey affair, the boys defended well but could not get a sustained period with the ball. Then, with the clock running down, Exeter dropped the ball on halfway, as they stopped, our boys kept going, moving the ball to width, Jasper received the ball once again with Tele on his outside, and once again used Tele as a decoy to slice through the defence and score under the posts, 14-5. Exeter would score in the final play but it was too little too late as the boys gathered their second piece of silverware of the term.

The boys can be extremely proud of their efforts this weekend and head to Rosslyn with some momentum behind them, hoping they can achieve something special as a group.

Rowing

Captain’s 12 Hour Ergo fundraiser

25th February 2024

In all a very successful day with over 40 pupils, friends and parents competing in our 12 Hour Ergo.

The morning started of bright and early at 7am with Jack B, Dan C and of course Mr Dryden all ready and raring to go!

The morning smoothly progressed with metres being made at an eye watering speed with great efforts from Shells all the way through to OC’s. We even had a surprise visit from Mr Vessey who contributed 30 minutes’ worth of extra minutes!

At 2 o’clock there was a big push and an incredible amount of support and this led to a great turn out for the 100m sprint challenge with many taking part laying down impressive times, and some even joining for a full 30 minutes to help boost the overall distance.

The metres carried on being made throughout the afternoon all the way to 7pm when Mr Tyndall, Archie J and Clem W polished off the erg bringing our total to 492,029m, smashing our goal of 450,000m by 42,000m! Which was a great achievement from all who took part.

Thank you to the catering team for the ‘round the clock’ food and drink, and to Mr Dryden, Dan C and Mia U. for organising plus Rowena Gaston and Rachael Daniel in Development for their invaluable input.

A big well done to Will F who contributed the most metres, an impressive 28,700m! So too Dan C who won the 100m challenge with a time of 15.4 seconds.

Total metres:

492029m / 450000m

The total metres include all scheduled ergs, the 100m challenge, and all extra minutes rowed.

The Senior team contributed the most metres:

158429m

Very closely followed by the Masters team:

157568m

And lastly the juniors with a still very impressive 142116m.

Basketball

Canford Towers v Sherborne

As always the Towers provided the spectators with a large amount of entertainment as they won a pulsating clash with our friends from Sherborne. That, however, far from tells the full story of a high scoring encounter which saw both sides have their moments.

A fast start by Canford saw us jump out to an early 10 point lead as brothers Adomas B and Matas B got the team moving. Sherborne were however particularly strong on the fast break and by the end of the quarter the lead was at just three 18-15. The home team picked up its defence in the 2nd quarter with Henry H winning rebounds regularly at both ends extending the lead to 8 points at the half time break (31-23). The 3rd quarter saw probably the best quarter of Basketball seen at Canford for many a year with both teams seemingly unable to miss. The Towers rattled up 27 points (Sherborne 22) including 6 three pointers to further extend the gap as the boys’ confidence continued to grow and the bench also played its part to bring the score to 58-45 with just 15 minutes to go. Those who regularly watch the Towers, however, know that there is no such thing as an easy win! Although the lead looked big both Adomas B and Henry H fouled out early in the 4th quarter and the points started to dry up at the attacking end. At the same time Sherborne upped the pace and their no 2 continued to score heavily. As the clock ran down, the gap closed and with seconds to go and the ball in Sherborne hands the lead was just 3. The Sherborne No 2 got his hands on the ball and sent up a speculative shot from near the half court line and the whole sports centre held their breath. Was it to be a draw? Not quite as the ball bounced clear off the ring as the hooter sounded and the Towers held on for a 67-64 win.

An excellent game that both teams will take a lot from. Adomas B was the Towers top scorer with 22 points including six 3-pointers, closely followed by his brother Matas with 13 and Henry H also with 13. It has been great to see the improvement in the boys throughout the year and we look forward to our next fixture back at the Sports centre against Winchester on 7th March.

Squash

Squash v Clayesmore – Thursday 22nd February

Justin W lost to Charles R: 0/3
Josh S lost to James K: 1/3
George M lost to Sam T: 2/3
William G lost to Peter U: 0/3
Shay G lost to Gus W: 0/3
Teddy M lost to Demetrie: 0/3
Hugo M lost to Luke F: 0/3
Felix D lost to Rory M: 0/3
Harry B lost to Robbie G: 0/3
Dila A lost to Bet G: 2/3

Final Result: Canford 0 – Clayesmore 10

All put in a fantastic effort with many Fourth Form involved in this match, but Clayesmore brought across an experienced group of players who just proved to have the edge. It was great to see a number getting their first outing for the school. Two players to note were Josh, who is continuing to make big strides forward and nicked a game against an older and solid opponent. George M has to be player of the day with a marathon match that could have gone either way. George has proved himself a valuable asset to the team and all that extra training is starting to really pay dividends.

Real Tennis

Real Tennis National School Doubles – Sunday 26th February

This was a long, gruelling day involving each pair with 6 matches. The final result was in doubt until the penultimate match when Radley 1 (Cordle/Bullough-Tait) showed a little more stamina than Canford 1 (Parkin/Seabrook) to notch their 6th win for a full house. Oratory (Zhu/Connolly) were also in the hunt and might well have won the day but for 2 nailbiters, losing 4/5 to both Radley 1 & Radley 2 (Moffett/Phillips) – both with match points due to the cut-throat 40-40 in operation. Radley 1 came from 3/4 down and saved match points in both the last 2 games, producing a couple of nick serves at the perfect moments.

Radley 2 lost only to Radley 1, despite a succession of really close matches while Radley 3 (Rose/Easton) played some really competitive tennis, especially when losing by only 3/5 or 4/5 to all the top 4 pairs.

Holyport College, inexperienced if enthusiastic, did well to beat Canford 2 (Grant/Brown) in their only win and were very welcome visitors from the only school without a court.

The competitive nature of the day was shown by the very few matches won 5/1 or 5/0. Most could easily have swung the other way and improvement all-round was apparent across the board.

This completes the schools’ doubles schedule, with U13s, U14s, U16s and Senior events featuring a total of 80 players.

Well done to both the Canford pairs – 1st: George S and Tom P, 2nd: Rory B and Otto G.

Both pairs performed admirably and lots to take away from the day. George and Tom had their chances to sneak into 2nd place but a point here and they’re against Radley 2 and Oratory 1 proved to be vital. Amazing day though, well done.

Real Tennis vs. The Hyde (Away) – Sunday 26th February

Dr Neill took four players (Justin W, Nat H, Tom and Hector C) away to The Hyde in Bridport. This is an annual home and away match against their members and great for many of the pupils to experience a new court.

They played in pairs, first a singles each and then a doubles. All the training appeared to pay off and Canford came out on top 5-1!

Player of the day goes to Nat H, first taste of a new court and ending with two big wins!

Badminton

On 24th Feb Canford hosted Sherborne School's 1sts. A total of 16 singles games and 15 doubles were played, with Canford winning the tournament overall, although it was a closer and more challenging event than Canford's squad, captained by Summer H, have faced for some time. Lucas S, Elvis K and James Y deserve recognition for their performances, whilst player of the match goes to Cameron C for his 5 undefeated games in both singles and doubles.

As ever, the atmosphere was friendly, welcoming and supportive.

Football

Gents’ X1 v Blandford School

The lead changed hands 4 times in an intriguing and close encounter on a 4G pitch with a strong wind blowing. Fine finishes from Kiran Amy and Tom C with good saves from Luca A and Gabriel V kept Canford in the game but ultimately the 3 -2 defeat was probably a fair reflection with Canford not perhaps taking enough advantage of having the elements in their favour in the first half? Man of the match goes to Adrian Chan for his endless energy level and effort.

Players of the Match: Ciaran A, Adrian C

Cross Country

Sherborne Trophy

On Saturday Canford’s runners were blessed with a glimpse of spring with wall to wall bright sunshine and dry breezy conditions at the expansive grounds of Sherborne Castle. Pupils ran a course through the luxurious estate with deer and sheep grazing nearby, and halfway around the circuit runners headed up to a high point of the grounds with a steep muddy descent back down. Many runners in each race reappeared back at the start-finish line covered head-to-toe in thick mud, including our own Captain Abi. So many of our runners ran well; Jemima, Iris, Freya, Henry, Alex J, and the consistency seen in the Inter boys category meant that Canford were victorious in the team event! This was the last race of the season where runners do not run as a relay team and the Clayesmore and Canford Relays remain to top the season off.

Results (Individual):

Inter Girls: Iris J 4th, Freya 7th

Inter Boys: Ethan C 4th, Santi S 8th, Henry L 10th, Alex F 11th, Josh S 13th, Tito B 15th, Alex J 16th, Harry J 19th

Senior Girls: Abi C 4th, Jemima C 6th

Inter Boys team category – 1st

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• Sport folder on the parent portal https://portal.canford.com
• On the desktop version of the dedicated sports portal www.canfordsports.com.

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