Last Tuesday, CLC played against St Edward's Oxford in a pairs match. CLC did exceptionally well considering the opposition had five boys playing.
A huge congratulations to Amy (LC2) and Anika (LC3) who stepped up to play in their first CLC golf match. The pairs worked well together and eventually beat St Edward's with their combined score. Well done!
The Swim Team swiftly resumed action at the Independent Boarding Schools Swimming Relays. Despite their training being affected by the break, they all showcased real grit and determination, pushing hard for their teammates.
This resulted in numerous new relay best times. The seniors secured 3rd place in their Medley relay, while the Inter A Team clinched victory in the free relay and narrowly missed 2nd place in the Medley. Our Inter B team demonstrated their strength by finishing as the top B team in the competition.
With the LC2s on a trip, our LC1s stepped up admirably, delivering composed performances against older opponents. Congratulations to all.
Cheltenham & District Schools Swimming Championships
Each year, CLC hosts the Cheltenham & District Schools Swimming Championships, a vibrant event that draws eager swimmers from our district to compete for honours for their schools. Within a week of term starting, CLC students embraced the atmosphere and used our home pool advantage to their benefit.
The event started with the prestigious Webb 4x50m Freestyle Relay, featuring Caitlin (UC5), Anika (LC3), Jess (LC2) and Michelle (UC4), racing fervently against Balcarras School. Although our team narrowly missed victory, it was an exhilarating race to witness.
Following the relays were the age group medley races, where our LC1s displayed determination to secure their age group win by a narrow margin. Despite strong efforts from our LC2s, Dean Close edged past them. However, our LC3 team bounced back with robust performances to clinch their age group victory. Meanwhile, the UC team finished third, and our SFC team secured second place.
The individual races commenced following the relays, and standout performances came from various age groups. In the LC1 category, Georgie achieved gold medals in breaststroke and freestyle, while Skylar improved her best time in backstroke. Among the LC2s, Chizzy excelled, winning the freestyle and backstroke, and Jess set a new personal best to win the breaststroke. In the LC3s, Ellie won in freestyle and set a personal best in backstroke. Ellie's teammate in the back, Midori, also recorded a new best time; Anika was also in good form in the butterfly, following her peers to reduce her best time.
Our UC team saw Katie achieving a new season's best in backstroke post-injury, Michelle setting personal bests in backstroke and butterfly, and Bernice and Bethie also delivering personal bests in their events. Caitlin competed fiercely and secured second place in butterfly and third in both freestyle and butterfly events.
Our SFC team demonstrated remarkable resolve and adaptability, swimming in events outside their usual specialities and resulting in all four members (Ella, Imo, Farah, and Kylie) achieving new personal bests.
The event concluded with the freestyle age group relays, where our LC1s, LC3s, and SFCs claimed victory, marking a fantastic achievement for our teams. With outstanding performances across the board, our LC1s, LC2s, LC3s and SFCs won their respective team competitions, while the UC team secured second place against a strong Balcarras lineup. These achievements ensured that CLC retained the Best Overall Girls School title for another year.
Last week, the U18s played their second-round National Schools Match against Millfield. It was a rare opportunity for our players to play some of the best players in the competition and, although Millfield proved too strong, it was a great learning experience.
The U12 also played their first matches of the season against Pates. All the games were highly competitive and the afternoon finished with a tense Championship tiebreak with Pates narrowly gaining victory.
U12 and U13 teams played Monmouth on Saturday in wet & cold conditions. There were some great games with all players becoming more consistent as the morning went on. In the afternoon, the Senior and U15 teams played a tough Marlborough team. Games were competitive with many being decided by a sudden death deuce. Players were able to focus on their positioning in doubles and were able to create plenty of attacking opportunities at the net.
Well done to all those who took part in the Rose Bowl Competition on Sunday. Elise (SFC2) beat Sophie (SFC1) in the final of the senior competition and Maddie (LC1) won all her matches with Seraphina (LC1) coming second. A great standard of tennis all round.
This weekend, the CLC equestrian team braved freezing winds at the Rectory Farm NSEA Showjumping competition. In the 70cm class, Hannah (LC2) achieved 6th place with a quick double clear. Our 80cm team of Alivia (LC3) Chloe (LC2) and Seraphine (LC2) posted some fast times for a team 4th and the same team came a close 2nd in the 90cm class!
Hannah also competed in the 70cm Eventers Challenge at Dallas Burston, achieving a double clear. Meanwhile, in the 80cm Olivia (LC3) was spot on the optimum time in 8th place.
Olivia also came individual 2nd at the British Eventing ACE Arena Eventing which has qualified her for the Championships at Aintree!
In the NSEA Winter Dressage League, congratulations go to Hannah who was overall points winner in the Intro class and 2nd,3rd and 4th in the Prelim classes. She now goes forward to the Championships at Hickstead in May.
Over the Easter break, current students Aurora (SFC2), Sophia (SFC1) and Christie (UC5) played alongside Eloise Bolitho (Class of 2022) for the U20 Hong Kong team at the Hong Kong Lacrosse Open. They placed 3rd overall. This wonderful group of CLC players will continue the balancing act of academic study, playing summer sports and lacrosse training in their own time over the next few weeks, with the final 22 selected for the 2024 World Championships announced in June.
Our U12 and U13 Athletics Team needed to be up and running quickly with their first Athletics match last Monday and a triangular competition against Cheltenham College Prep and Dean Close Prep.
They were not thrown by the dreary weather conditions, and they displayed great resolve and receptiveness to the coaching style match, which saw significant performance improvements and encouraging results. Well done - we are excited to see how the pupils progress this term, as there's much more to come!
Only two weeks in and this term has already seen several House Sport competitions.
Despite some wet and windy conditions, UC4 House Tennis took place last week as well as the senior competition. The seniors also completed their House Rounders, fortunately in some lovely sunshine which was a brilliant way to celebrate the last tournament for many SFC2s.
| Senior Tennis | UC4 Tennis | UC4 Rounders | Senior Rounders | Senior Football |
1st | Glenlee | Glenlee | Glenlee | Glenlee | St Austin’s |
2nd | Eversleigh | Eversleigh | Eversleigh | St Margaret’s | St Helen’s |
3rd | St Helen’s | St Helen’s | St Helen’s | St Helen’s | Glenlee |
4th | St Margeret’s | Sidney Lodge | St Margaret’s | St Austin’s | Sidney Lodge |
5th | Farnley Lodge | St Margaret’s | St Austin’s | Farnley Lodge | St Margaret’s |
6th | Sidney Lodge | Farnley Lodge | Sidney Lodge | Sidney Lodge | Farnley Lodge |
7th | St Austin’s | St Austin’s | Farnley Lodge | Eversleigh | St Margaret’s & Eversleigh |
Senior House Football
UC4 House Rounders
UC5 and SFC House Rounders
UC5 and SFC House Tennis
Just before the Easter Holidays, 22 pupils attended the International Festival of Dance and Performing Arts at Disneyland Paris.
On the first day, they spent the morning in the Disneyland park before spending the afternoon at day one of the competition, performing their showcase routine.
On Saturday morning, they attended a rehearsal for the pre-parade dance with Disney choreographers before heading on to the second day of the competition.
Sunday was the last whole day and the group explored both Disney parks, and took part in the pre-parade dance where over 400 people from lots of different dance schools performed a choreographed dance around the park and down Main Street.
They then went for a group meal and were asked to dance in an impromptu flash mob around the diner. The last day was bought to a close by watching the fantastic light and firework display.
Miss Scott, Miss Long, Miss Felicity and Miss Liv would like to thank all the dancers for an unforgettable trip. The hard work and dedication that went into rehearsals and the routine was demonstrated in the exceptional performances throughout the competition. Well done to all dancers for their excellent performances throughout the trip. A special mention to Xuan Xuan, Hasadia and Alicia for winning the Senior Ballet category, and to Xuan Xuan, Marta and Hasadia for receiving third place in Senior Contemporary.
During the Easter break, 34 CLC pupils had the most amazing trip to Barbados to play Cricket and Netball.
The pupils took part in matches against local clubs and school teams. A few highlights included a training session with Shaquana Quintyne (former West Indies player), as her knowledge and passion for cricket had a real impact on the students experience, watching a Premier League Netball game at the National Netball stadium and the last game where CLC had an exclusive opportunity to play the U16 Barbados netball team. This was a truly memorable experience for the players and spectators.
The tour group spent a day on a catamaran, snorkelling with turtles and stingrays. The best part was swimming towards the shipwreck to explore and seeing thousands of tropical fish.
From the trip, the pupils and staff took away a wealth of cultural experiences, the ability to adapt to their surroundings and pitch surfaces, made new friends, and learnt how to adopt a much slower way of life, commonly known as ‘Bajan time’.
Wonderful to hear that Lucy McLaughlin (Class of 2023) has competed for GB in the SUPA (Schools and Universities Polo) against the USA last week. The GB team won. This is the first time this has been achieved in five years, and Lucy was the only female competitor and the youngest – a fantastic achievement.
Phoebe Thornett (Class of 2020) represented Senior Scotland at the annual Home Lacrosse Internationals in April and officially received her first Senior cap to commemorate the event. She will be training alongside taking her university exams with the hope of securing a place on the team selected for Senior Women's European Championships in Portugal this summer.
Lauren Lewis (Class of 2015) is currently representing the first-ever England Women's Box Lacrosse team. This fantastic group of players got off to a flying start at the European Box Championships and will be working towards the inaugural World Championships in September where they will not only face European teams but teams from USA, Canada and Australia, and the founders of the game, Haudenosaunee Nationals.
For several years now, we have been organising termly workshops for parents aimed at providing you with the opportunity to reflect on topical issues regarding how best to support your daughter.
Our aim is to offer practical suggestions that you can implement. These workshops have evolved from in-person gatherings to online sessions, which has increased accessibility for our community. Whether you attend live or access the recordings later on the Parent Portal, we encourage you to make use of this valuable resource.
While these workshops are organised by the PE Department under the catchy title "Supporting Your Sporty Daughter", the information presented is relevant to all parents and applicable to various aspects of life.
We are pleased to announce our Summer Term workshop is scheduled for Saturday 18th May, from 9.30am to 10.30am, and we are delighted to welcome Kate and Fran from Performance Canteen.
Below is an overview of who they are and what they do. The link to join this meeting will be shared via the Events newsletter and sent directly to you via email.
As we are currently shaping the programme for the next academic year, we welcome any recommendations for topics or speakers. Please feel free to get in touch with Kate Nimmo, at nimmok@cheltladiescollege.org.
About Performance Canteen
We are performance nutritionists who specialise supporting young athletes and their wider team to understand how to fuel properly, helping them achieve their sporting dreams.
Our approach is science-led, practical and we provide achievable nutrition support that actually works in the real world.
The role of nutrition is so often overlooked in youth sport which means a lot of young athletes are regularly under fuelled. This is problematic as it impacts health, growth and performance and wellbeing, both on the pitch and in the classroom.
Young people’s bodies are still under construction and teenage years are a time of rapid growth and development. Under-fuelling and poor nutrition choices in and around training & competition puts extra stress on the body and mind which is detrimental to both health and performance. Understanding the role of nutrition and making smart food choices helps to build healthy and resilient young people who are at a lower risk of injury and burnout and have a greater chance of achieving their full potential and staying in the sports they love.