On Saturday 14th September, we took 13 U15 badminton players to Taunton School, where they played against boys and girls who were older than them. They showed fighting spirit and attacked well bringing home a win.
They also mixed it up and partnered Taunton School where they enjoyed the social element of the fixture and made new friends. Well done for a great first fixture to start the year off with a bang!
We have had a great week of fixtures, starting with our Senior Badminton Team playing in plenty of close matches against Cheltenham College.
On Saturday, we took a mixed-age team to St. Mary's Calne, where, alongside plenty of laughter, we secured a 12-8 victory. The students were incredibly sociable, making it a fantastic fixture to be part of.
This month, we hosted our first mass netball fixture at Well Place against Downe House.
Spanning two rounds and involving over 200 girls, it was a lively and enjoyable day, made even better by the glorious weather.
This was the LC1s' first ever fixture for CLC, and we invited every LC1 student to participate. It was a brilliant day full of learning, team building, and lots of laughter.
We also had teams from UC4, UC5, SFC1 and SFC2 playing throughout the day - they all played absolutely brilliantly. It was fantastic to witness new team combinations and see how well each team applied the concept of the week which was 'creating space'.
It was a 'Super Saturday' last weekend as Lacrosse and Netball joined forces to play Westonbirt over multiple rounds.
The day featured the participation of 10 netball squads, from LC through to Seniors. Despite unpredictable weather conditions, once Saturday received the go-ahead, all girls were enthusiastic and determined to participate, rain or shine.
The day highlighted the commitment, teamwork, and work ethic of all CLC Netball players and staff. While the focus wasn't on the outcome, all teams proved to perform exceptionally well, and the day provided an opportunity for the players to focus on the concept of the week, which was possession. Effective passing, driving into space and communication through court helped enable some great transitions of play.
A particular mention to the LC1s' impressive performance whilst learning how best their combinations work. We look forward to taking them to the PGL Netball and Adventure Weekend in March.
In addition, a massive congratulations to Ella (UC5), who was announced as a member of the England Roses U21 academy. A huge achievement, and we are so proud!
The lacrosse community loves a tournament! They are a fantastic way to bring everyone together and start the season with opportunities to develop skills, increase tactical knowledge and enhance understanding of a wide range of factors that support process, progress and performance.
On Saturday 7th September, the Sixth Form team participated in the annual Bath 8s where we came across five CLC Guild Members representing their clubs: Cirencester, Cheltenham (the eventual champions) and Bath University.
On Saturday 14th September, CLC was able to host and facilitate Wales Lacrosse in delivering the annual Senior Welsh Rally which supported just under 300 young women from a range of schools playing 15 rounds of matches across all the three pitches at the HFC.
The 1st, 2nd and U15 teams represented College well across the day. Each team had several highlights in their individual match play but the themes across the board were: recognition of attacking partnerships, strong counterattack and transition from the defensive end, as well as excellent redefending to force midfield turnovers.
Well done to everyone involved!
On ‘Super Saturday’ every age group was in action against Westonbirt, navigating the challenges of English weather! There were themes of gaining possession off draw controls, excellent counterattack runs from our defence after causing turnovers of possession, solid partnerships in attacking units to create assisted goals and genuine hustle across all four quarters of play from everyone representing.
Special mention to SFC1 goalkeeper Katie who set up a textbook transition goal - she was one pass away from an official assist.
A number of our LC1 cohort represented College in the year group’s first ever lacrosse match! There were great moments on the pitch throughout the game but the best was the whole team celebration worthy of a World Cup when CLC converted possession on a midfield break away with a pass & ground ball collection to score our first goal.
At the start of July, Emma (UC4) flew to America to compete in a series of golf competitions at some top golf courses. This was a fantastic experience for Emma playing against international players. When Emma returned to the UK her golf was on fire with some amazing results. She reduced her handicap from 18 to 9 as well as making lots of new friends. Well done!
Regina (UC4) was also busy over the summer competing. Highlights include finishing 9th in the Scottish U16 Open Championship, finishing 17th in the English U18 Open Championship, and finishing 4th in the English Schools U16 National Championships. These events included competitors from across the world and in some events, she was four years younger than other competitors.
On Saturday 14th September, CLC had their first golf fixture against a Cheltenham College boys team. All players scored well and enjoyed themselves.
Last week, CLC travelled to Long Ashton to compete against Clifton College in what marked Clifton's first-ever female-only golf match. CLC rose to the challenge on a demanding course, playing exceptional golf. The matches were intensely close.
Earlier in the month, we had a fabulous day of hockey in the sunshine with eight teams in action across the day.
The U13s had an excellent morning working triangles to create space with some great patterns of play on show, including a fantastic goal from Joanna to finish one of the final games. The afternoon saw a full fixture card versus Malvern with an even spread of results across the age groups.
There was lots of learning for the U14s with one of their first 11-a-side fixtures, some excellent objectives set from all the seniors with so much progress to be proud of from our first week of normal training. Huge congratulations and good luck to so many girls who are trialing for county squads and regional talent academies.
Well done to Liv, Sophie and Anna who all represented Cheltenham Hockey Clubs 1st team vs Clifton. We build towards qualifying tournaments over the next few weeks starting with fixtures versus Balcarras School and Christ College.
Last week was a busy one for hockey across the year groups, starting with some fabulous fixtures against Balcarras School. Both U18 and U16 played in preparation for upcoming qualifying tournaments focusing on attacking shapes allowing extended periods of possession.
In the U16s, Athene scored a hattrick and in the U18s game there were some fabulous goals, and a clean sheet at the back capped a great afternoon of learning against great opposition.
Last weekend saw the seniors going away to Christ College to have their first taste of Hockey 5s, an outdoor small-sided version of the game with loads of attacking and shooting.
At home, our U14A team took on the U15As in preparation for their upcoming tournaments and some beautiful patterns of play emerged to dominate possession, territory and chances with some excellent goals being scored. Particularly Alice, after a fabulous quick free hit opened up the pitch. Our second game saw players from LC1, LC2 and LC3 playing against their U14A and it was lovely to see our new LC1s playing with such confidence.
The Equestrian Team got off to a great start at the National Schools Showjumping Competition. We put forward 14 riders who all rode with great enthusiasm around Rectory Farm's tough courses. Notable results included super clear rounds from Ladin and Eva, and a superb second place in a competitive 110cm for Bee who qualified for the NSEA Championships.
The team of Christina, Gabriella and Persia rode superbly to achieve the team second place, and qualified for the National Schools Championships.
Gabriella also had an amazing result at the Horse Events Schools Equestrian Games Championships where she was placed fourth in a very strong class.
Well done to Sofia (SFC1) who became the U18 Reserve Junior National Champion at the LeMieux Dressage Championships last weekend.
She produced a beautiful test, despite atrocious weather, and we are delighted for her. We are also hoping to hear from the British selectors soon that Sofia and her horse, Honey, have been chosen to represent GB at an international competition in France in November.
CLC hosted the District Schools Swimming Team Relay Championships on Tuesday. It was wonderful to witness the strength and depth of talent we have as a school, with eight teams competing across the three age groups. This early season event was a great success, showcasing encouraging performances that set a promising tone for the season ahead.
We had the pleasure of welcoming Chalford Tennis Club to CLC for a day of competitive singles and doubles matches. Both teams played some excellent tennis, and CLC gained valuable experience in what was our first tennis fixture of the year.
Last week, we took eight UC4s, including a number of our Sports Scholars, to the Girls Go Gold conference, hosted by the Girls’ Schools Association.
They met a number of Olympic and Paralympic medal winners, television pundit Clare Balding and a range of inspiring guests from across the women's sport sector.
The students took part in masterclass coaching sessions, heard from Sue Anstiss MBE about maximising this period of time in the growth of women's sport, and were challenged to chase their dreams. They left feeling inspired and got to try on an Olympic Gold medal from Paris 2024.
