Netball players Jess, Josie and Alice have all been selected for the U13 Berkshire County Netball Team. Congratulations to the three of them, who are pictured here with Vitality Netball Superleague player and Head of Netball at Gordon's, Nicole Humphrys.
Two plate wins for our U18s 7s teams playing in the Eltham College Festival and the Middlesex 7s and a quarter final place for the U16s at the Surrey Schools 7s yesterday. Congratulations to all those taking part.
A reserve at last year’s World Kayaking Championships, this year, Gordon’s Sixth Form student Sienna Edwards has now made the team and will compete for the GB Freestyle Kayaking team in the World Championships in America later this year.
Terrifying to watch, but lasting only 45 seconds, freestyle kayaking involves twisting and turning under and over whitewater. Freestyle kayakers are awarded points for the different rotations they perform, along with spins, somersaults and cartwheels. Propelling their kayak out of the water results in the most points. Among the tricks Sienna has mastered are spinning 360 degrees, and air screws.
“You do need some flexibility. Not as much as gymnastics but it is helpful” says Sienna.
She starts learning new tricks on dry land, breaking them down into smaller parts before putting them all together and taking to the water. Each new trick varies in the length of time it takes to learn but Sienna is constantly learning new ones and improving on those already in her repertoire.
The news of her selection for the ICF Kayak Freestyle World Championships in Columbus, she described as “very exciting!” and she is now training in earnest for October and will attend GB training sessions as well as heading to the States and Canada this Summer to practise.
Sienna in action!
A superb win for the Gordon’s golf team against Charterhouse has put Millie, Joseph, Joshua, Charlotte, Sophie and Will into the finals – once again – of the HMC National Foursomes. On Sunday the team was out in force again with Millie Cottrell (currently HMC National Girls’ Singles Champion) winning the National HMC Strokeplay Girls’ Individual medal (gross) over three rounds. Just for good measure, she shot -5 after three rounds, seven shots clear of the nearest girl and four shots better than the boys! Gordon’s team went on to finish in fourth place in the national strokeplay competition against fierce opposition with a joint three player score of +24.
The recently discovered Evening Hymn, composed in the 1800s by Lord and Lady Tennyson for the Gordon Boys’ Home was sung once more last night by the Choir at Evensong. The Hymn, with words by Lord Tennyson and music by Lady Tennyson, was discovered hidden away in the Music Department and would have been sung by the boys from the Home as part of their daily worship, a tradition that continued well into the 20th Century. The Tennyson family were also instrumental in setting up the Gordon Boys’ Home and one of the first committees to consider establishing a memorial to General Gordon was chaired by Tennyson’s son, Hallam. The plan to establish a Home for poor boys was based on one originally suggested to Alfred, Lord Tennyson by General Gordon himself to carry on the work he had started at Gravesend.
Gordon's U18s Floodlit Rugby 7s Invitational Tournament is back! Tonight we welcome Brighton College, Lord Wandsworth College, Worth School, Reading Blue Coat School, Wellington College, Eton College, Mill Hill School, The Oratory School and Ipswich School for some thrilling competitive rugby. All are welcome to come and support our U18s with the action beginning at 5pm on the North side of the school. Music, BBQ and other refreshments available. For those unable to support in person, NextGen will be live-streaming games on the main pitch. Click here to view. For tonight's programme, please click here.
Oxford’s internationally acclaimed male voice a cappella group Out of the Blue rocked the Chapel at Gordon's last night, with their acclaimed mix of rock and pop music. The group, which has performed on Broadway and West End (London!) stages as well as reaching the semi finals of Britain's Got Talent, led a workshop for the school's choirs in the afternoon before performing with them in the evening.
Wins on the river at the Burway Head of River Race at the weekend, with the two James’ battling it out in their singles race with James Clarke first over the line, closely followed by James Gibson in 0.9 of a second. James Clarke, also the fastest sculler overall, was presented with the inaugural Tom Barras Trophy by Olympian Tom Barras, who began his rowing career at Burway. The OJ14 4X+ crew of Conan, Charlie, Oliver, Robbie and Toby also won! Further strong performances from the WJ14x rowers who came in third and Immie,who powered through for a fourth place. Their coach, former GB and Olympic Coach Alan Inns said: “We are really looking forward to the summer now. We have real prospects”.
Congratulations to the U16s, plate winners for the second time in the Junior 7s Tournament in Lisbon at the weekend. Also bringing home silverware from the international, staged at Agronomia Rugby Club, were the U18s with a plate win. Head of Rugby Chris Davies commented: "I see tours of this kind, as the ideal opportunity to assist with our preparation for the sevens season. To play different opposition in a foreign country presents these boys with many challenges which of course is great for their learning and improvement of their 7s game."
Discus athlete Teddy Gannon (centre) has been awarded a Ron Pickering Memorial Fund grant to further his athletic development. The Sixth Form rugby player, who first picked up a discus aged 13, is no stranger to the international podium, representing England for discus on a number of occasions, most recently in a schools competition again Scotland, Ireland and Wales. A member of the Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow Athletics Club, Teddy’s training involves Olympic weight lifting, sprinting and technical work to improve his explosiveness. He is hoping to be selected to represent England in Sweden in March with his sights also on the European Athletics U20 Championships and the U20s in the World Athletics Championships.
Recreate a famous piece of artwork was the brief this year for Inter-House Art and the results were inspired! Congratulations to Khartoum for their first place, followed by Victoria and Buckingham.
Twelve products, all of them must have items, were presented to a team of three ‘dragons’ last night in the Year 10 GCSE Business version of Dragons’ Den. From luminescent pet accessories to temperature changing pillows; hands-free portable mobile device carriers and all in one earbuds, the students produced compelling presentations and displays for their innovative products and services. The business most likely to succeed was TedTec for their environmentally-friendly phone accessories. Frutti Blendz, a new smoothie ‘to shake the market’ was voted to have the best display and the top team presentation was by Eternity, the wedding service with Elliot bagging best presenter award. Many thanks to our wonderful dragons – Gordonians Sammy-Jo Norsworthy, Vivek Rawal and Glenn Wooldridge.
