20th March 2014 Dear Parents, It was lovely to

20th March 2014
Dear Parents,
It was lovely to see so many parents attend last Thursday’s Choral Vespers, and thank you for
your kind comments to the staff and students who participated in the choirs. Further parental
support was in evidence and again, greatly appreciated, over the weekend, both at the many
sports fixtures and, in particular, at the tremendously successful Parents’ Association Spring Fair
in glorious Spring sunshine. I would especially like to thank the organising committee under
Mrs Jackie Trudgill’s leadership for raising £6,500 for Intercare (Medical Aid for Africa), as well
as for the new Preparatory School. I am most grateful to Year 11 student, Matthew Harris,
who has written a beautiful reflection for this week’s Chaplaincy Corner later in this
E-Newsletter, demonstrating an astute insight regarding the purpose of such charitable work
within the context of our School Mission.
While the Boarders enjoyed a day of go-karting on Sunday, and our senior musicians enjoyed a
concert at De Montfort Hall, it was good to welcome back to the School many Old Boys and Girls,
firstly to Mass in the morning, followed by the Ratcliffian Association Council Meeting, and finally
the Ratcliffian Association Matches in rugby, hockey and netball.
My colleagues and I have been especially busy interviewing staff for numerous positions for
September, and we are delighted with the calibre of applicants and the fortunate candidates who
have been successful thus far.
I am grateful to my staff for organising the CCF Trip to Ardeche and Year 3 Beaumanor Hall
Parents’ Information Evenings this week, alongside mid-week sports fixtures (including Regional
Winners!) and today’s Year 5 Geography Trip to the Geological Society Centre in Keyworth.
We were delighted to hear from Mr Chorley last night that two Year 9 teams in the prestigious
competition, Go4SET, performed exceptionally well at the Finals yesterday, with one team going
on to win! Details appear later in this E-Newsletter.
I do hope that we shall see as many parents as possible at our annual Music Department Spring
Concert in the Church this evening at 7.30pm.
Wishing you and your family a very happy, healthy and blessed week ahead,
Yours sincerely,
Gareth P. Lloyd,
Headmaster.
PARENT’S ASSOCIATION NEWS
Spring Fair
Results of the Spring Fair 'Milking the Cow' competition
The grand winner was Derek Chilton, with a score of 132.5cm, closely followed by
Gavin Howling (132) and Emile Chaffu (128.5). All 3 managed to overfill the measure - a bigger
one will be provided next year to avoid spillages.
Ladies: Miss Kearns again put in an amazing performance at 93.5cm to beat last year’s winner,
Jenny Howling, into 2nd place (89.5), followed closely by Sarah Smellie (85).
Senior School student, Harry Culpin (83.5), topped the leader board after a long-running battle
with Luke Chilton (83). Luke and Will Rigby (83) came joint 2nd.
Junior School student, Owen Lloyd (86), showed good stamina winning by a healthy margin,
with Ben Chliton coming 2nd (66) and Wilson Lee 3rd (63).
The winners were rewarded with a large bar of Dairy Milk. The 'top teacher' prize was not
awarded due to lack of entrants – must do better next year! Instead, we awarded a top family
prize which went to the Chilton family for all the family members entering (the boys numerous
times) and all being close to winning (please collect your chocolate from Senior School Reception
with ID!).
We hope you enjoyed the competition. Thanks to Trevor Henderson for providing the cow and
to James Howling for manning the 'cow' all day.
Jenny Howling
Ratcliffe College Music Department
presents the
Spring Concert
Including a performance of Mozart’s
Sparrow Mass by the Senior Choir
and Senior Orchestra
Thursday 20th March 2014, 7.30pm
School Chapel
Refreshments will be served afterwards
SENIOR SCHOOL STUDENT NEWS
Headmaster’s Assembly
17th March 2014
Awards
Merit Badge
Year 7
Mia Baker
Jacob Dawe
Hermione Lanyon
Tom Neuberg
Alex Pickering
Year 8
Amy Baxter
Year 9
Olivia Back
Tom Cusack
Jessica Neuberg
Joseph Smith
Merit Shield
Joseph Evenden
Sofia Henderson
Ellie Hollinshead
William Hull
Outstanding Reward Voucher 1
Year 10
Harry Redding
Anna Reviakina
Year 11
Year 12
Year 13
Eric Chan
Super Shield
Outstanding Reward Voucher 2
Hariette Bridgwater
Johannes Fritz
Olivia Gilchrist
Emilia Lawden
Monitors
Following a recent review of Year 12 students, we are pleased to announce the appointment of
15 new monitors:
Olivia Armon
Omar Khan
Alex Jarvis
Lauren Bates
Louisa Cooper
James Marsh
Alex Beason
Sav Fishel
Francesca Orton
Matthew Booth
Isabelle Holford
Alex Siemer
George Clayton
Charlotte Huband
Melissa Taylor
Congratul ations to:
James Howling (Year 7) who was awarded a trophy for 2nd place in the 9-16 age group of the
“Daystate Midland Hunter Series 2013/14”. This is an outdoor air rifle discipline with targets set
at random ranges between 8 and 45 yards. The series consists of six shoots at clubs covering
the whole of the Midlands.
Business Language Championship Day
On Thursday, 6th February, five A level Spanish students went to Beauchamp Community College
to take part in a day dedicated to Business Studies and Languages. When we arrived, first there
was guest speaker, a sports journalist, who had studied Spanish and French at Oxford University.
He explained to us how important his Languages were in his job, and how much his ability to
speak three Languages helped him in finding his job. The main task of the day was to produce
the front page of a newspaper in our target Language, choosing three pieces of news that we
thought were relevant to our target audience. This tested out teamwork skills, as we had to
assign people to cover certain aspects of the newspaper; for example, one person had to go and
find pieces of news to use, while another translated the stories into Spanish, which may have
originally been in French or German. When we had our final product, which we chose to call,
‘La Lecture Publica’ (The Public Read), we had to present it to the jury, saying why we had
chosen the pieces of news we had, and their relevance to our audience.
Throughout the day, I feel that we all improved our language and grammar skills, our teamwork
skills, and realised the importance of studying Languages.
By Erin Hughes (Year 13)
Results of Ratcliffe Bake Off 2014
The annual Ratcliffe Bake Off took place on Monday 17th March during prep time. The challenge
was to make an iced lime traybake following a Mary Berry recipe.
The results were as follows:
Year 7
1st Charlotte Langford [best in show]
2nd Flora Colville
Year 8
1st Luke Chilton
Year 9
1st Lara Gee
2nd Jess Neuberg
Year 10
1st Tilly Wheeler [runner-up to best in show]
Year 13
1st Alice Gilbert
2nd Maggie Wong
3rd Hattie Wheeler
Congratulations to all contestants who will receive House points.
Mrs Burton
Ratcliffe-on-Sea
Go4SET
A group of six Year 9 Physics students won the ‘Most Innovative Project’ award in the science
and engineering competition, ‘Go4SET’, a nationwide scheme designed to get students involved
with engineering projects. The triumphant students were Joseph Smith, Beatrice Waters,
Esme Kelly, Matthew Baker, Jordan McBallantine and Zainab Hussain. Their ‘My School is an
Island’ project was an inspirational piece of work, and was highly commended at the Celebration
Event, held at Snibston Discovery Museum on Wednesday 19th March 2014. The students were
working together with two professional engineers from the company, 227 Environmental,
to form a plan to move Ratcliffe College to an island off the coast of Portugal, making it 100%
sustainable in the process. They named the school ‘Ratcliffe-on-Sea’. An innovative, practical
design was created, a detailed report written containing all their research, and then a
wonderfully detailed model built. The project has given the students an insight into how
engineers work and the problems that they have to overcome on a daily basis.
Six other Year 9 students who also took part in the competition received much praise for their
project, ‘Stations of the Future’. These were Jack Nightingale, Olutomi Mosaku,
Nicole McBallantine, Lara Gee, Zoe Duffin and Jack Miles. They formed the group, ‘4th Dimension’,
who designed modifications to King’s Cross Train Station in London that included some
particularly futuristic ideas. They also included a train that went underground, and under the
seabed, to reach ‘Ratcliffe-on-Sea’.
Both teams deserve much credit for their efforts; indeed, winning the “Most Innovative Project”
award is a fantastic achievement by our students and we are very proud of them.
The ‘Ratcliffe-on-Sea’ team
The Winning Formula
th
The ‘4 Dimension’ team
Here you can see the ‘Ratcliffe-on-Sea’ model in all its glory. The School is on ground level. On Level 1 is
the School Refectory, on Level 2 is the Hydroponics floor, on Level 3 is the ‘4th Dimension’ train platform
and on Level 4 is the Nuclear Fusion Reactor.
Look familiar anyone?!
Scenes from the Refectory
Another view
of ‘4th
Dimension’s’
model
Welco
me!
Trains
arriving at
the platform
Time
to pick
the
lettuce?
Mr Chorley
Phew
–
there’s
a
parking
space!
Art is …
15cm high eagle in clay. By Greta McKean, Year 10
JUNIOR SCHOOL PUPIL NEWS
Junior Certificates of Merit were awarded in Junior Assembly to:
YEAR 6
William Daly
Rebecca Davies
Louie Fletcher
YEAR 5
Annie Bridgwood
Louie Fletcher
Rajen Gupta
Louis Westwood
Year 3
Daisy Reddin
Year 2
Francesca Best
Rebecca Bloor
Harry Hings
Joss Phillipps
Oliver Smith
Isabella Westwood
Annabelle Hull
Xavier Illsley-Ridge
Jonah Walker
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
Merit badge
Merit badge
Merit badge
Congratulations to:
Eloise Allsager, Year 1, who took part in the Thrussington Fun Run.
Jonah Walker, Year 2, who took part in the Tae-Kwon-Do England Championships 2014 and
received a cup for Sparring 3rd place.
The Under 11 Boys’ Hockey Team who were Regional Winners (see Junior Sports Report).
As part of Junior School Science Week, children in Years 1 and 2 visited the Senior School
Science laboratories. They had a super time, being taught by Senior School teachers. They found
out all about acids, the digestive system, and Year 2 even made their own toothpaste! What an
experience. Thank you to Senior School staff for making our visit so enjoyable! Miss Dempsey.
Year 1 had a fantastic Science lesson in the Senior School. We learnt about acids and tested
different liquids to see how acidic they were using pH paper. We also watched a few chemical
reactions, and enjoyed seeing the metal magnesium turn into a bright light when heated!
Mrs Green.
Junior School House Speech Competition
On Thursday 13th March, the Junior School became the audience for our annual House Speech
Competition. After the initial round in classes and semi-final in front of a panel of teachers,
today was the day when all the finalists had to give it their best and perform in front of the whole
Junior School community. They all performed their poems beautifully, using clear diction and
expression in their voices. The audience was spellbound by a number of the performances,
and sat beautifully through the whole occasion. Mrs Caven-Henrys had the difficult task of
choosing the winners from each category. They were as follows:
Years 1 and 2 Winner: George Leite (De Lisle)
Years 3 and 4 Winner: Isabella Ilsley-Ridge (Arundel)
Years 5 and 6 Winner: Annabel Mills (De Lisle)
Group Winners: Annabel Mills (De Lisle) and Rebecca Davies (Arundel)
The winning House was De Lisle!
Congratulations to all who took part and a huge thank you to Mrs Caven-Henrys for the excellent
feedback she provided to all contestants!
Mrs Walker, Junior Literacy Co-ordinator
SPIRITUAL NEWS
Chaplain’s Corner
The following words are submitted by Matthew Harris, a Year 11 boarder. This is his second
contribution to the Chaplain’s Corner.
The recent Spring Fair was a timely reminder of the importance of charity. Charitable acts are
beneficial for the giver and receiver, endowing the former with a sense of satisfaction and justice
for spreading prosperity to those who need it most.
The school motto is 'Legis Plenitudo Charitas' - 'Charity is the fulfilment of the Law’. A person
doing something with the intention of aiding another, with no consideration for himself/herself,
is the fulfilment of God’s Law.
Most famous philanthropists are wealthy; those who have vast fortunes to donate can affect the
lives of thousands of the disadvantaged. However, altruism can be exhibited by every human,
allowing selflessness to somehow reveal and share God with those who need Him most. Charity
is more than just the monetary or material worth of the donation. It is a way of imparting
another person with the fruits of the faith that you hold within your soul. The profound pleasure
of charity is contagious and its growth is exponential. It encourages a receiver of charity to
perpetuate the benevolence shown to them.
Everyone has a god in their life, whether it be a higher being that he/she worships, or simply a
lack of God, but a resonant set of morals. Regardless, God is the passion that burns within the
righteous to spread the principles of love to the world around them, until it has permeated every
facet of human society. This is pivotal to the distribution of charity, for it is this instinct to share
God that allows the introduction of charity into the lives of those who have not found it.
Charity should not exclusively follow pity, for those who are vulnerable often need love and
kindness more than condescendingly delivered financial aid. Charity can be defined as a kindly
attitude towards people, and this is the essence of the word that is converted into action.
Though clichés are rarely justified, this sentiment can be summarised with 'It's the thought that
counts', and it is the thought that will really make a difference in today's society.
Matthew Harris
SPORTS REPORTS
This report was presented at Assembly on Monday 17th March.
Hockey
1st XI
Our opponents this week were Princethorpe. From the start, both 1st teams were up for the
game and although the standard of hockey was not the best, the effort and work rate from both
sides was outstanding. Ratcliffe opened the scoring from a penalty stroke that was brilliantly
dispatched by Dominic Warne. Ratcliffe then doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time with a
scruffy, but crucial second goal. In the second-half, Princethorpe came back strongly and pulled
one back, but Ratcliffe managed to hold on for a 2 - 1 victory, with Captain and Player of the
Match, Will Hoare, leading by example.
2nd XI
The 2nd XI played their best hockey for some time but were unlucky to run out 2-1 losers to a
Princethorpe team containing a number of their 1st XI squad. Seb Dewhirst was Man of the
Match for his tireless work.
U15
The U15s drew 1 - 1 with a well organised Princethorpe side in a most enjoyable game. Ratcliffe
went in 1 - 0 up at half-time with a well taken goal by Louis Ayre following a sweeping move
with the ball travelling the length of the pitch. Princethorpe came back into the game in the
second-half, pressurising Ratcliffe and stopping us from playing our normal game and were good
value for their equaliser. Ratcliffe pressed hard to continue their winning run but failed to grab
the winner despite creating several chances. Paul Newton impressed on his A team debut but
Harry Antill was awarded Player of the Match for an excellent all-round performance.
U15B
The U15B team seemed very lethargic in the first-half and were quite fortunate to turn round at
half-time 1 - 0 to the good, through a breakaway effort by Finbarr Lloyd. An inspirational
half-time talk by Mr Taylor saw the rejuvenated side scoring 4 goals in the first 5 minutes after
half-time and Ratcliffe eventually ran out easy 6 -1 victors. Goal scorers were Tom Unwin with a
hat-trick, Finbarr Lloyd 2 with Rion Yapp netting the sixth. Players of the Match were
Paul Newton and Rion Yappa.
U14
The U14s battled hard for a solid 3 - 0 win over a resolute Princethorpe side. After a tentative
opening 10 minutes in which both sides competed hard for possession, the Ratcliffe boys upped
their game and started to put quality passes together along with strong running lines into space.
With some fine running on the wings by Man of the Match, Jack Vinall and Harry Heaney, most of
the play was in the opposition’s 25 and D. This allowed Jack to finish strongly with a well taken
strike from close range. Shortly after, Sam Bird finished well after several short corners. Much of
the possession was retained by Ratcliffe, but Princethorpe opened the second-half far more
determined and organised. A well taken strike by Victor Rosell completed the score to end the
match with a well-earned victory.
U13
In a frustrating performance, the U13s lost 3 – 0 to Princethorpe although the score line does not
reflect the balance of the game. Despite dominating the game, particularly in the first-half,
with some good build-up play, the team could not create enough goal scoring opportunities
whilst at the other end, the opposition were able to put away the few chances they had. Men of
the Match were Elliott Fawdington for his good work at the back and Toby Snell for his excellent
all-round play.
U12
The U12s produced their best performance of the season at just the right time, with their
Regional tournament on Monday. With a full strength side to pick from, they went at
Princethorpe from the first whistle, with Jo Evenden and Oli Welch having a lot of the ball in the
middle of the field. This was supported by some excellent movement and work rate from
Will Westwood and Jonah Carroll up front. It wasn’t long before the first goal came and yet again
it was Will Westwood with the first of his two goals. Another three were to be scored before
half-time by Jonah, Harry Best and Will’s second. Harry Best’s goal in Mr Willcock’s (Head of
Hockey) words was the perfect goal: a great pass out wide from mid-field, a good lead run
forward which was found by an excellent pass and a good cross which was tapped in at the back
post by Harry. With the score 4 – 0 at half-time, the job for the second-half was to keep a clean
sheet and score more goals. They managed to score another goal through Oli Welch and keep the
clean sheet, which was exactly what was asked of them. Everyone played a part in the victory
and for that reason this performance earns them team of the week.
County Hockey
After a strong showing in their County tournament, the U13 hockey team went to the Midlands
with the belief of being able to perform strongly in this higher tier of competition. Despite
patches of excellent play, particularly from Man of the Tournament, Alex Purcell, the overall
results were disappointing. Despite creating at least ten easy goal scoring opportunities, the boys
were only able to convert three of these into goals, and despite being the better team in three of
the four matches played, they were ultimately only able to win one, draw one and lose two of
their games. On another day, it could have been so different and this team has the potential to
reach the knockout stages of future Midlands competitions, if they can improve their finishing
skills as their attacking build-up play is excellent.
Fencing
Three Ratcliffe students entered the East Midlands British Youth Championship Fencing
Qualifier in Mansfield last Saturday. Niamh Noble won a silver medal in the U14 Girls’ Epee and
her younger brother, Finlay Noble took silver in the U12 Boys’ Epee. Harry Palmer also
competed in the Boys’ U14 Epee, where he fenced well and finished 7th out of 10, losing 15 - 14 to
the eventual winner. The silver medals won by Niamh and Finlay mean that they have both
qualified for the British Youth Championship Finals to be held at the English Institute of Sport in
Sheffield. This is a prestigious and large competition that has fencers from all over Britain, each
representing their own region.
William Hoare, Boys’ Sports Captain.
Market Harborough U14s won the county cup final on Sunday 16th March against Market
Bosworth 33-5. This is the 5th successive year of victory.
Harrison Grimmett has played for the first team as Hooker for the past 4 seasons and enjoys the
mix of people from all backgrounds from lots of schools including:
Welland Park, Uppingham School, Oakham School, Robert Smythe, Stamford School, Maidwell.
Market Harborough Rugby Club annual tour in North Wales
Netball
1st VII
The 1st VII picked themselves up after a close but disappointing 15 - 20 loss to Wellingborough,
to win a tough and tactical game against Princethorpe 19 - 10. Shooters, Sorcha Grant and
Fran Orton, hardly missed all match, and the play through the court showed great timing and
reading of the game. There were many turnovers, stemming from superb defensive circle play by
Nima Patel, Olivia Gilchrist and, making her debut, Megan Vincent. All the team rose to the
challenge and should be proud of their whole team effort, but Player of the Match goes to Sorcha
for her consistently high quality play.
2nd VII
The 2nd VII 28 – 25 loss against Princethorpe was a close, high tempo game where neither team
was able to dominate. Quality play in all areas of the court was commendable, especially from
Mimi Lallo which saw her win Player of the Match.
The 2nd team deserved their well-fought win over a strong Wellingborough side mid-week.
The girls started out steady, and Wellingborough took advantage of this leading 7 - 5 in the
first-quarter. They really stepped up their game in the second-quarter with Levina Ma massively
influencing play down court and making some great feeds into the circle. Mimi Lallo and
Charley Flowers capitalised on this and took us into a 12 - 9 lead at half-time. During the
third-quarter, the opposition closed the gap; however, solid defence from Lauren White and
Poppy Williams ensured we were leading 18 - 16. After a nail biting final-quarter, the girls won
24 - 21. Players of the Match were awarded to Levina Ma and Poppy Williams for an overall
excellent contribution to the game and taking some great interceptions, which the rest of the
team were able to take full advantage of.
U15A
The U15 team had a very good game, with patches of excellent play. They showed excellent grit
and determination throughout, making it very difficult for Princethorpe to find a rhythm. After
having their centre pass turned over early on in the first-quarter, Ratcliffe worked hard not only
to win it back but take a comfortable lead which was held until the final-quarter. In the
final-quarter, Princethorpe took advantage of patchy play by Ratcliffe and brought it back to
16 all. Ratcliffe showed excellent fight, as they defended solidly and attacked with flair to retake
the lead and win 19 - 17. Holly Blount was awarded Player of the Match for her excellent
movement, shooting and defensive work.
U14A
The U14A team came up against a tough Princethorpe side, working hard and gaining a
well-deserved win. The opening quarter saw some excellent shots being put away from our
shooters, Hannah Grinham and Kate Tyszka, giving us a 10 - 4 lead. In the second-quarter,
the girls went out fighting and battled hard against a persistent Pricethorpe defence. Olivia Back,
Isabelle Duckett and Callista Tsatsa worked the ball beautifully down court and were able to feed
the circle consistently well. This contributed to our 16 - 7 lead at half-time. However, in the
third-quarter, the opposition came back fighting and our circle defence, Natasha Walsh and
Beatrice Waters, really upped the pressure on Princethorpe’s attack to ensure we remained in
front 20 - 11. In the final-quarter, the girls stormed ahead and played their own game, working
hard to turnover play and keeping possession, and this ensured a 27 - 13 win. Players of the
Match were awarded to Hannah Grinham for her excellent shooting and Olivia Back for a well
fought match against feisty opposition.
U14B
The U14B team had a well-deserved victory over Princethorpe, demonstrating excellent
teamwork throughout. In the first-half, solid defence from Georgia Holt, Beatrice Waters and
Isobel Thomas combined with hard work from centre-court players, Annie Bridgwater and
Lucie Prusinski, saw Ratcliffe lead 10 - 0. Eager to keep this lead, the girls went out strong,
fighting for every ball and turning over play continuously. Bethany Pickup, Alex Offer and
Niamh Delargy were brilliant substitutions at half-time and helped to keep Ratcliffe’s lead
throughout the final-half. Nicole Wong and Lucia Cano played beautifully in the attacking circle,
sinking the majority of their shots and reading off each other extremely well, securing a 17 – 3
win for Ratcliffe. Player of the Match was awarded to Nicole Wong for her faultless shooting and
an overall great contribution to the game.
U13A
The U13A team played some great netball against a very slick attacking side, who had an
extremely good shooter. The girls lost 26 – 9, with Player of the Match going to Izzy Hose, whose
movement and shooting were excellent.
Mid-week the U13s had a tough match against Stoneygate, taking the advantage and leading in
the first-quarter 9 - 4. Ratcliffe played some great netball, turning the ball from defence in to
attack, eventually winning 16 - 14. The team was a very mixed group who were not used to
playing with each other, and to come back from losing the first-quarter is a great achievement.
Coach’s Player goes to Niamh Noble and Players’ Player goes to Ru Tsatsa and Eve Baxter.
U13B
Another tough fixture for the U13B team, but the girls stuck at it. Princethorpe had more
possession and were able to take advantage of this, winning the game 13 - 5. Player of the Match
goes to Izzy Coombs who made some excellent movements throughout the game.
U12A
The U12s had a mid-week 22 – 3 win against Stoneygate. The girls were looking for another win
to stand them in good stead for their County tournament at the weekend. The girls worked really
hard and tried to think about what we had done in their lessons. There were periods of really
good play in the middle of the court by both Sofia Henderson and Mia Atkinson who
continuously worked hard through the whole game.
U12B
The U12B team lost 9 – 4 in a close game with Princethorpe who won the game in the
last-quarter. Player of the Match went to Bo Henderson.
County tournament
The U12s went to Leicester Grammar this weekend to compete in their County tournament.
The girls were in a tough section against teams such as Leicester Grammar, Loughborough and
Leicester High. The girls’ first game was against Leicester Grammar where there was some good
play by both teams, with everyone working hard and determined to progress through to the next
round; however, Leicester Grammar scraped a 7 - 5 win. The next match was against
Loughborough High, and again it was quite a contest between both teams, with the majority of
the play in the middle of the court, caused by great interceptions from both teams, when the
chances came. Ratcliffe were determined to make the most of it, but both teams couldn’t be
separated, and it finished 3 - 3. The girls needed a win in the last match and faced Leicester High,
with the girls getting off to a great start. You could see the girls’ determination to get through to
the quarter-finals and the game was stopped with a 10 – 0 score line for Ratcliffe. It was an
anxious wait, but the girls had done enough to progress into the quarter-finals against Kibworth.
After half-time in the quarter-final, Ratcliffe held a 2 - 1 lead over Kibworth; however, it could
have gone either way as both teams couldn’t be separated. Ratcliffe were unlucky and eventually
lost 4 – 3.
Sorcha Grant, Girls’ Sports Captain.
Junior Sport
The Junior School took 2 teams to Grace Dieu on Saturday Morning for a Football Festival.
The Under 9s started the tournament well, and Riley Kirk smashed the ball into the back of the
net early in the second half to equalise. The under 9s defence was much better in the second
game, until a freak 1 minute spell where the opposition scored more than once. Harry Cregeen
had a chance saved late on. In their final game, things started to click for the under 9s. Kai Kirk
was a rock in defence and Seb Welch’s skill allowed Captain, Sam Gray, to get forward and score
what looked like it was going to be the winning goal. It wasn’t to be, and after Alex Hollingshead
made a fantastic reaction save, the goal was left open for the opposition to equalise. Players’
Player went to Riley Kirk and Mr Langley’s Player of the Tournament went to Fin Spencer who
did absolutely everything he could in every position he played.
The Under 10s started well. Although they attacked throughout, they had to wait for their first
goal of the tournament. Captain, Roman Carpenter, was attacking with threat down his wing
in the first game and Guy Heywood was strong in goal. In the second game, the Under 10s
unfortunately lost, but Ben Ashford never gave up and Dominic Goodman was by his side
in defence. In the last game, again things clicked for Ratcliffe. William Wright was lightening
in attack and defence, and Xabi Zanotti scored to make the score 1 – 0 before half-time.
Early in the last half, Louie Fletcher scored a beautifully timed finish and this allowed the team to
relax and bring home a 2-0 win! Players’ Player went to Xabier Zanotti. Coach’s Player went to
Guy Heywood for his outstanding saves throughout the tournament.
Rugby 7s Tournament
Ratcliffe College took two mixed under 11/10 teams to The Elms on Wednesday 19th March for a
seven a side rugby tournament. Both teams did incredibly well. Mr Langley’s team won their
group, beating tough opposition and scoring some good tries. Connor Foster showed good
speed, Louie Fletcher kicked well and Tom Page made some crucial tackles. In the knock-out
stages, Ratcliffe won their Quarter Final, Owen Lloyd scoring late on to seal it. Unfortunately,
Ratcliffe were knocked out of the semi-final, and went on to finish in fourth place out of 16 teams
which is an incredible effort.
Ratcliffe B team’s 7s tournament
Ratcliffe competed in their first seven a side rugby tournament of the season on Wednesday.
The boys battled hard throughout the group stages against some extremely tough opposition;
a fantastic win against a strong Highfields team was a particular highlight. As the tournament
progressed, it was evident that huge improvements were being made. James Turner showed
great pace to beat numerous defenders, Stanley Chell and Rajen Gupta made some crucial tackles
and Xabier Zanotti controlled the game well in attack. In the knockout stages, the boys entered
the Bowl Competition and defeated a well drilled Elms team in the final to lift the trophy
- a fantastic effort considering their limited experience playing seven a side rugby.
Ratcliffe College – Midlands Hockey Champions
On Tuesday 18th March, The Under 11s attended the Midlands England Hockey Finals.
After winning the Leicestershire group stages, comfortably beating Fairfield Prep School 4-1,
Ratcliffe were placed in a pool with The Elms (Derbys), Chadsmead (Staffs) and St Peters (Notts).
After a short warm up, our squad sat down to watch the first round of pool matches;
the standard was very high (even if the temperature wasn’t). This helped to focus concentration
before our first game.
In the pool stages, Ratcliffe went ahead early in the first game against Chadsmead. Owen Lloyd
scored from great build up play, after that it was one-way traffic. Although Alex Tyszka and
Finley Back rained shots in on goal, Ratcliffe just couldn’t find a second goal to ease the pressure.
Stanley Chell and Aled King came on at the back to steady the ship and the final hooter sounded,
proving a welcome relief. In the second game against The Elms, Ratcliffe went 1 goal behind
very early. Never-the-less, Owen Lloyd equalised cutely, Tom Page made it 2-1 and Finley Back
managed to get onto the score sheet with the last play of the game. In the final game of the group,
Ratcliffe managed to win 1-0 against St Peters school (a score line that would become very
familiar).
Into the knock-out stages, qualifying as winners of pool 4, Ratcliffe were drawn against Caroline
Chrisholm (Northants). The opposition set up to defend quarter-final and they did a good job.
Guy Mills mopped up a lot of ball at the back and sprayed passes wide to Connor Foster,
his equally impressive defensive partner. William Oswell cleared his line, kicking well to prevent
the opposition from scoring. As the game neared its end, Fin Back intercepted a pass and ran on
to score low and left into the net. This result sent Ratcliffe into the Semi-Final to play Bilton
Grange School.
Bilton Grange had beaten Ratcliffe’s local rivals Fairfield in their Quarter final so a tough game
was ahead. Ratcliffe played patiently, they passed the ball into space and waited for
opportunities to arise. This tactic worked and late in the second half, Owen Lloyd hit a shot in
from the edge of the D and, after a small deflection, it found its way into the goal. Ratcliffe won
again 1-0.
And so to the final, and familiar opposition, The Elms. Although Ratcliffe had already beaten
them in the pool stages, we weren’t about to let the “favourites” tag go to our heads. Again
Ratcliffe played some outstanding hockey, as they had done all tournament. Tom Page worked
tirelessly on the right wing, and he got a shot away just before half-time which smashed into the
goal. Then Ratcliffe defended for their lives… and held on to win 1-0!
Congratulations to all of the boys who played so well throughout, a real squad effort. Players’
Player of the tournament went to Tom Page, and Mr Langley’s Player of the tournament went to
Guy Mills, who was outstanding in defence. The team only conceded one goal all tournament.
Sporting Fixtures
Date
Opposition
Start Time
Team
VENUE
Sat 22nd
March
Ratcliffe Indoor
Tournament
1:00PM
U15, U14
H
3:45PM
U15B
H
10:30AM
U15
A
11:00AM
1st XI, 2nd XI, 3rd XI
H
29th
Sat
March
Boys Hockey
Lincoln Minster
Sat 29th
March
Boys Hockey
Ratcliffe Indoor
Tournament
Date
Boys Hockey
Opposition
Start Time
Team
VENUE
Lincoln Minster
10:00am
1
U14A
U13A
H
H
H
Ockbrook
11:00am
Girls Netball
Leicester Grammar
2
U14B
U13B
U12A/B
H
H
H
H
4:30pm
U13A
U13B
U12A
U12B
Saturday
22nd March
Tuesday
25th March
Girls Netball
P.T.O.
Saturday
29th March
Loughborough High
school
Girls Netball
9:30am
1
2
3
U15A
U15B
U14A
U14B
U13A
U13B
U12A
U12B
H
H
H
H
H
A
A
A
A
A
A