4 RHS girls, Emily Jones, Sophie Jones, Ophelia Hyde and Mila Coxon, qualified in their individual races for the Bristol Schools Swimming Finals held at Easton Leisure Centre on Thursday 5^th December.

The first event, however, was the 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay and brilliant legs by Emily in the Backstroke, Sophie in the Breaststroke, Ophelia in the Fly and Mila in the Freestyle secured us a time 5 seconds faster than the Trust competition, but we were just piped out of a podium place, but still impressive 4^th out of 14 schools competing.

Sophie and Emily swam in the 50 m Breaststroke with Sophie securing a well-deserved 2^nd and Emily 4^th.

Ophelia swam the individual U12 50m Backstroke, Mila achieved a 4^th in the 50m Freestyle and Emily swan an incredible 50m Backstroke and was given 1^st place on her brilliant touch, in a truly amazingly competitive race.

We finished the evening with another fantastic Freestyle Relay, the girls again beat the time they set at Trust by 6 seconds and again just missed out on 3^rd, but 4^thout of 16 schools is again a superb achievement, so well done Emily, Sophie, Ophelia and Mila.

Hockey Reports vs Stonar

U12A – 3-1

The U12As had a great match against Stonar with a 3-1 win. The team played very defensively in the first quarter, but then gaining more confidence started to release the ball quickly and accurately. 

Stonar had a few attacking breaks, but with great communication from Hettie Silverton in defence the RHSB team kept Stonar out of the D for the majority of the match by marking tightly. With increased possession, the team were able to get ahead of the ball and work together effectively as a team to get the ball into the D leading to two goals. 

The team also managed to win a short corner and it was one of the best short corner of the season! This match was a great match to finish their season. Well done to all!

U12B 1-1

The U12Bs played in a very competitive match with Stonar retaining possession throughout the match, putting the team under constant pressure. Our defence worked tirelessly to ensure that the ball was cleared out of the D and Zara Lyshkow in Goal made some outstanding saves and was consistent throughout. The end score was a 1-1 draw. One of the best performances from the U12Bs. Well done all!

U13 1-1

U13 team started slowly against Stonar and took their time to settle into the match. The pace picked up throughout the game and we started to dominate the possession and match play. Rosie Brook did a fantastic job of putting pressure on the Stonar team. There were also some great crosses from Sophie Jones and Amelie Evans. Following the Stonar team making some breaks at goal, in the second half of the game, the RHSB team ensured to mark much more effectively and chase every ball done. We also started to accelerate with the ball and maintain possession which led to a great goal. Although they were unlucky not to score more goals, it was a really good performance from a young team and there is so much promise for this team going forward. Well done all.

U14/U15

The U14s/U15s team were great at finding space to play the ball in, in the first quarter of their match vs Stonar; the passes were not as strong as they could be, but the RHSB grew in confidence in the second quarter, successfully entering the opposition’s D on a number of occasions. On one of these, we won a short corner which was successfully converted to a goal. This was great for the girls and instilled both positivity and determination for the remainder of the game, despite the scoreline remaining 1-3 in Stonar’s favour.

Well done to all the girls who took part in hockey games this season and congratulations to the following girls who received awards for a great season at the end of season Hockey Awards celebration:

• U12A Coaches Player – Tilly Kennard
• U12A Most improved – Mila Coxon
• Highly Commended: Hettie Silverton
• U12B Coaches Player – Imogen Shaw
• U12 B Most improved – Jasmine Pariyar
• U13 Coaches Player – Ruby Butterfield
• U13 Most improved – Amelie Evans
• Highly Commended: Eva Helly-Osborne, Lola McIntyre
• U14 Coaches Player - Evie Butterfield
• U14 Most Improved – Anja Woosnam
• Highly Commended: Coco Hiatt
• U15A Coaches Player – Holly Stephens
• U15A – Most improved – Alice Boutin
• Highly Commended: Clemmie Gallen
• 1^st XI Coaches Player – Clara Holmes
• 1^st XI Players Player – Bryony Smith
1^st XI Most Improved Player – Katy Lohner-Benson

Well done to all

Cross Country

Well done to Lottie Silverton, Sophie Moore, Ruby Butterfield, Evie Butterfield and Emily Jones who are selected to compete for the BANES Cross Country team at the Avon County Cross Country Championships held next term on Saturday 18^th January.

We have an exciting term ahead for the Cross Country runners with meets at Downside, Sherborne, Marlborough and Kingswood, as well as the County and Regional competitions, so all the RHS runners need to keep fit over the Christmas holidays.