Athletics   Close

Sports Days - 2021

The annual Sports Day took on a different twist this year, with the boys competing in their year groups across the month of May. Competing in their Games lesson, resulted in them having more time on each activity and more time to show off their prowess. In the weeks preceding the event, the Games staff taught the boys about each event, and it showed, with some amazing results from the competitors and everyone having a good understanding of the technique for each event. Although the famous British summer weather was hit-and-miss, particularly for the Year 3 and Year 7 & 8 Sports Days, the boys battled manfully and with great Cumnor spirit! Special mention must go to Sebastian Austin (Year 4), who won every event except high jump and Ezekiel Asigo (Year 8), who won four out of the six events. Overall, a hugely successful collection of events with all the boys engaged, active and supporting one another!

Cricket   Close

Cross Country   Close

Cumnor House Cross Country 2020-21

Cumnor House, and its Games department, have a proud ethos of improving and maintaining the health and fitness of the students. To build on that this year, the boys at Cumnor House trained for and competed in House Cross Country races across dates in early November. Without the ability to play football fixtures, due to COVID restrictions, the Games staff worked with the students to improve their aerobic fitness, through a variety of challenges leading up to the race. It led to many fruitful conversations around the importance of regular exercise, both for general health and sporting improvement. It was a delight to see so many of the boys, throughout the school, take up the challenge and improve on their times through the months preceding the race. We saw some outstanding results from our students, highlighted by an incredible run by Michael Jerrom, who ran 1.95km in just 8 minutes and 13 seconds. The most enjoyable part to watch, however, was absolutely everyone giving their best effort, with most boys running the entire event without stopping or walking. It’s these kinds of all-in efforts that make Sport at Cumnor so fantastic, regardless of age or team!

On Thursday the 15th of October, boys from Year 3 - 6 took part in the Croydon School Sports Cross Country at Lloyd Park. The excitement was palpable as our young athletes knew it was one of the few opportunities we've have to compete in recent times.

We were the first team to race and we started the event with a bang. The fitness work they have done during the Active Challenge and 1 Mile Challenge shone through, with all the boys posting impressive times and pushing their limits. In particular, the Year 5's and Year 6's showed that they are formidable endurance teams with several of the CSS staff commenting on their spectacular performance. Outstanding runs from Rhys Patel (Year 3) and Michael Jerrom (Year 6) were the highlight, with times that would prove hard to beat for anyone!

The final team results had Cumnor House winning the Year 5 and the Year 6 events, with the Year 3 team coming in 2nd place overall. Individually, Michael Jerrom had the highest placing, coming 3rd in the Year 6 category. Unbelievably, there was only two seconds separating 1st from 3rd place in that race!

More importantly though, the whole squad of 17 behaved impeccably with several different boys taking their teams for imaginative warm-ups and eagerly listening to instruction the whole time. Even before we got the results we knew that the boys had done their school proud!

Fitness   Close

Lockdown Live 2020-21

As we all know, Cumnor was thrown into a second lockdown during the Spring term. That doesn’t stop the Games department’s and student’s drive to improve health and wellbeing! If anything, the obstacles posed only drove us to new and exciting ways to develop our students skills and fitness. Over lockdown, boys from throughout the school were offered live virtual lockdown fitness sessions, hosted by the sports staff. The sessions included various challenges, such as the Everest challenge, for the boys to complete through the week, and a twenty-minute workout. Rumour has it Joe Wickes was getting a bit worried about the competition. The feedback on these sessions was outstanding, with 100% attendance most weeks for some of the year groups. The most satisfying part was watching the boys take part in these sessions with smiles and endeavour, then listening to how much they enjoyed them on their return to class in late Spring.

Football   Close

Football

Sports Review 2004-2014

2004

The 1^st XI soccer team started the season in great style by winning their first four games comprehensively. Thereafter, the boys did not quite get the rub of the green with a quarter final set back in the Surrey Cup when the team lost on penalties. The six-a-side squad suffered a similar misfortune by going out on a corners count in the semi-finals of the prestigious Charterhouse Prep Schools tournament but some comfort was gained when the side qualified for the Finals of the National Prep Schools six-a-side tournament via the regional competition when they won seven out of their eight matches. Success, though, was harder to come by in those finals but the fact that no Cumnor House team in recent memory has progressed so far puts their achievement into some perspective.

In the Junior ranks, the Colts enjoyed mixed fortune but gained some satisfaction by winning the Plate Competition at the Shrewsbury House 6s Tournament.

2005

On the field of play our teams have competed keenly and there have been some pleasing results. The 1^st XI soccer side had some notable victories and progressed to the quarter finals in the Surrey Cup, only to lose in extra time by the odd goal in an evenly contested encounter. In the National 6-a-side tournament the boys qualified for the finals at Shrewsbury School for the second consecutive season where they held their own against some extremely competitive and skilful opposition.

2006

On the field of play it may not have been a truly vintage year but there have, nonetheless, been some notable individual and team achievements.

Our U13 6-a-side soccer squad reached the finals (for the third consecutive year) of the National Prep Schools’ tournament following an outstanding display in the regional stage. In the finals at Eton College, the boys played with immense character and style before bowing out to opponents from much larger schools.

During the autumn half term a party of Year 5 and Year 6 boys enjoyed a week’s soccer tour to Holland. Perhaps fearful of the reputation of English schoolboy soccer, our Dutch counterparts fielded teams far older than our boys. However, to their enormous credit, our young footballers competed with great spirit and returned all the better for the experience and with their heads held high, metaphorically that is and not because they were forever looking up at the opposition towering above them.

2007

The 1^st XI soccer team had several good wins during the season but it was in the Charterhouse 6 a-side tournament that saw their best performance in winning 5 out of their 6 games to reach the quarter finals. The U9s were the most successful group in the school with the A team losing only two of their 14 fixtures as well as winning both the Hawthorns and Caterham tournaments. Meanwhile, the U9B team won all six of their matches. The U8s also show promise and were finalists in the Hazelwood Festival.

2008

On the football pitch the 1^st XI squad were unbeaten in the prestigious Charterhouse 6 a-side tournament, only to bow out in the quarter finals by virtue of the number of corners conceded. In the 11-a-side game a place in the final of the Surrey Cup Plate competition came on top of some pleasing results against local rival schools.

Congratulations go to Nathaniel Opedo who was selected for trials with the Independent Schools Football Association National Prep School Squad.

Among the junior teams, the U8s were winners of the Hazelwood tournament, the U9s were finalists in the Hawthorns tournament and won the Plate competition in the Caterham tournament and, on the back of a tour to Holland, the U10s triumphed in all but one of their inter-school fixtures.

2009

The 1^st XI soccer squad reached the semi-finals of the prestigious Charterhouse six-a-side tournament for Prep Schools, an event involving 32 teams. Winners of their pool, the boys then proceeded to the knock-out stages, conceding just a single goal in seven matches before so narrowly missing out (to the eventual winners) by virtue of a sudden death penalty shoot-out in the semi-final. This is the best result in over fifteen years and is all the more laudable in that the team was made up of boys spanning years 6-8.

In a traditionally very competitive Parkside seven-a-side tournament, the team once again won their pool before losing out to penalties again in the quarter finals. As a tribute to the boys’ resolute performance, not a single goal was conceded in open play throughout the event.

In the 11-a-side version of the game, a comprehensive victory in the first round of the Surrey Cup could not quite be matched thereafter and it was left to the U9s to take the plaudits, winning the Hawthorns seven-a-side tournament and the U8s winning the Hazelwood Tournament for the second year running. Arguably, though, the team of the season was the undefeated Colts Bs who won all their games bar one which was drawn.

Finally, congratulations must go to our 1^st XI captain, and Trinity bound, Filippo Di Bonito who has been selected for South London Prep Schools Representative Squad (South London Elite). Filippo will be competing in International Tournaments in Europe in the summer as well as attending the Denmark Football Festival.

2010

The football season saw the 1^st X1 squad reach the quarter-finals of the prestigious Charterhouse Prep Schools six-a-side tournament while the U10s remained unbeaten in all inter-school fixtures and also emerged as winners of the Cranmore 5 a-side tournament. The U9s and U8s also had good seasons while the U7s showed considerable promise by winning all five of their matches in the Hawthorns’ tournament, their first competitive engagement in Cumnor colours.

2011

On the football front, the first XI competed well and, although lacking strength in depth to challenge in the main competitions, reached the semi-final in the Surrey Cup Plate. The U11s also reached the semi-final in the Surrey Cup Plate and were Plate winners in the Caterham tournament.

Meanwhile the U10s won the Cranmore 5-a-side tournament and embarked on the now annual tour to Holland during the October half term and acquitted themselves well despite competing against older Dutch opposition. Finally, the U9s were finalists in the Hawthorns Tournament while the U8s enjoyed their first inter-school matches and look very promising.

2012

On the football front, it was the youngsters who made their mark with the Under 7s winning the Downsend Tournament, their first competitive sporting venture in Cumnor colours. The Under 8s also impressed, winning the Royal Russell Tournament while the Under 9s were finalists in the Hawthorns Tournament and the Under 11s finalists in both the Shrewsbury House Tournament and the Surrey Cup Plate competition.

2013

A football season of no less than 167 matches across the year groups resulted in much success. The U13s reached the quarter-finals of the prestigious Charterhouse 6 a-side tournament, an event that attracts 32 Prep Schools from the South East. In the 11-a-side game, the team was probably the most skilful we have seen for a number of years and the boys were unlucky not to show a little more for their efforts. However, they ended the season in fine style by beating Trinity 5-1 at the end of the season.

The Under 11s also had plenty of talent (including Jay Farquson and Harry Taylor who both represented Croydon District and Surrey County Under 11s) but perhaps lacked all-round strength, while the U10s were undefeated in all but one of the traditional fixtures and also enjoyed a very successful tour to Holland over the October half-term. The talented U9s similarly lost only one of their 18 games and won both the Caterham and Hawthorns’ Tournaments. Meanwhile, the U8s won both the Hazlewood and Royal Russell tournaments and swept aside most of the opposition throughout the season. The U7s, too, showed that there is plenty of ability coming through by reaching the final of the Downsend Tournament.

Finally, congratulations should go to Angelo Theophilou and Ayodeji Elerewe who are contracted with Millwall and Crystal Palace respectively.

2014

On the football front, highlights among our teams saw the 1^st XI squad reach the final of the Parkside 7-a-side tournament while the U10s enjoyed a successful tour to Barcelona over the October half term.

Finally, congratulations goes to Ayodeji Elewere who was one of thirteen boys selected by Crystal Palace Academy from the under 10 and under 11 teams to represent them at the AIK International Tournament in Stockholm Sweden in June where teams from Sweden Norway, Denmark, Finland, Latvia and Estonia took part.

In addition, Cumnor House U11 Football squad took part in the ISFA National Finals at St George's Park, Burton Upon Trent. The brand new state of the art training complex, set in 330 acres of land, provided the ideal facility for the best 18 footballing Preparatory Schools in the country. The boys had previously qualified by winning the Surrey and Hampshire regional championships to progress to this stage of the tournament.

Three groups with six teams per group battled it out for a place in the knockout stages. Cumnor recorded three wins and two draws resulting in a second place finish in the group phase to advance to the quarter-finals. In a closely contested quarter-final which finished 1-1 against a skilful Westbrook Hay side, Cumnor House School held its nerve to win on penalties (5-4). The semi-final saw another fiercely contested encounter with the score line at full time 1-1. Cumnor again prevailed 6-5 on penalties after another round of clinically taken spot kicks.

In the Final, Cumnor House School met a well organised Bury Grammar School from Bolton. Cumnor was slow out of the starting blocks, conceding two early goals. However, in the latter stages of the first half Cumnor began to grow in confidence and created a good opportunity only to see it sail wide of the post. The team took this confidence into the second half scoring inside the opening minute. Having all the possession thereafter, Cumnor House could not break the resilient defence set by their northern opponents. A last minute 20 yard strike by Ayodeji Elerewe, however, set up a nervous finale. Two periods of two minutes of extra time were then played out with Cumnor looking the stronger of the two teams but that elusive goal never came and, like the previous two knock-out matches, penalties would decide who would become the National U11 Football Champions 2014. On this occasion a good save from the Bury keeper deep into sudden death and Cumnor's first penalty miss of the day resulted in having to settle for the runners-up position. The boys, though, should be commended for their excellent football combined with sheer grit and determination when needed.

''I've often said a man's character is not judged after he celebrates a victory, but by what he does when his back is against the wall,'' Mr Brotherton (coach).

“The team showed great determination throughout the tournament. Unfortunately the team who wants it more, doesn’t always win but it’s great to be runners up!” Georgy Mina (captain)

Squad: Ayush Patel (GK), Jack Sharpe, Georgy Mina (C), Ryan Saunders, Zach Figueira, Yomi Ajibola, Michael Ifalore, Niam Patel and Ayodeji Elerewe.

U11 Oakwood School Football Tournament 2021 Winners!

The U11s travelled to Ceders School, who kindly hosted the tournament, to complete in a much-anticipated football tournament.

The group stage consisted of 3 competitive 10-minute matches, whereby the top 2 teams in our group of 4 were to qualify for the knockout matches later in the day. We defended excellently, with Angleo, Kaiyaan and Malachi blocking shots and keeping their shape well, and Zach pulling off several excellent saves. In attack, Travaun and Nathan were a constant threat, along with Micheal in the centre of midfield. We deservedly won each group match and were to face Elmhurst in the semi-final.

We flew out of the blocks, faced-paced attacks, crosses, and long shots were abundant in the early parts of the match. This resulted in us taking an early lead through an excellent finish from Nathan. Elmhurst fought back well and put us under a great deal of pressure, but 2 late counter attacks ending in Travaun goals was enough for us to win 3-0 and secure a place in the final.

Oakwood A team were our opposition for the final, a team who had flown through the tournament up to this point, meaning we needed to be on top form. Luckily, we were! We saved our best performance until last, and with another 3-0 victory, won the tournament!

The boys were fantastic throughout the day and thoroughly deserved the win and the chance to enjoy some competitive football.

Swimming   Close

2021

We ended the term with a very successful week of inter house swimming galas. It was fantastic that the boys had the opportunity to compete again, especially in front of parents. It was amazing to see so many parents turn up to support their children. Despite having to stand outside and being restricted to one parent per child, we had an incredible 287 parents sign up to attend the galas across all year groups.

The boys didn't disappoint and put on an excellent display of swimming across all year groups from reception right the way through to year 8. they managed this despite having missed over a term of swimming during the past year.

It was great to see all the reception boys being so confident in the water and we had a very impressive 11 boys who managed to swim a length of our pool unaided. There were several standout performers throughout the galas and a special mention must go to Edward Findlay, Kian Mahmood, Archie Phipps, Arnav Jayaprakash, Ammar Dungawalla, and Henry Osmore, who were the standout performers within their year group.

The most pleasing aspect about these galas was our strength in depth and the level of swimming shown by all boys throughout the whole school.

Well done to all the boys who have broken school records this year.

Arnav Jayaprakash - Year 3 - Front Crawl - Backstroke - Butterfly and Individual Medley

Archie Phipps - Year 4 Breaststroke

Rounak Ghosh - Year 5 Breaststroke

It will be great to see the boys back competing against other schools next year.

Swimming 2004-2014

2004

Our swimmers have excelled this year. In the Croydon Schools’ Swimming Association U13 Breaststroke Relay, the Cumnor team triumphed ahead of teams from large senior schools including Whitgift and Trinity, while school swimming captain, Ben Mills, came 2^nd both in the U13 Individual Medley as well as the 50m Freestyle.

A few weeks ago, our junior swimmers comfortably won the Trinity School Gala and earlier in the year came equal first in the Purley Regional Gala, winning outright the Open Boys’ Medley and Freestyle Relays, with individual events also being won by Timothy Poole, Joseph Walkling and Oliver Rathbone.

A month or so later they performed even better and were outright winners at the Croydon Primary Schools’ Finals, a competition that goes back to the turn of the last century. As well as securing the winners’ trophy and, by doing so, leaving a number of local senior schools in their wake, the Freestyle and Medley Relays were both won with ease.

2005

Having won the Purley Swimming Gala in some style, a number of our swimmers qualified for the finals of the Croydon Schools’ Swimming Gala. Having won the event outright last year, the team had to settle for third place by the slimmest of margins. Congratulations, in particular, go to Oliver Longhurst (breaststroke) and Adam Bennett (front crawl) who both won their individual events. Our U10 and U12 medley relay teams qualified for the IAPS finals, while Jamaal Patterson-Bennett and Elliott Daley (U12 Breast Stroke) and George Pedlar (U10 Back Stroke) qualified in the individual events.

2006

Perhaps, the strength of swimming in the school owes itself in part to those three times weekly early morning squad practices which have been introduced this year.

Our Year 7 and 8 swimmers distinguished themselves in the Croydon Schools’ Swimming Association gala when, competing against eleven large senior independent and state schools, the boys missed out on third place overall by a single point.

Meanwhile our junior swimmers were first overall at the Croydon Primary Schools’ Preliminary Gala for the third consecutive year. The result of this saw a number of boys qualifying for the finals where they came in a creditable third out of a field of 36 schools with Yusuke Kaneda winning the U9 breaststroke, and Ben Williams and Adam Bennett each second in their respective front crawl events.

2007

In the various regional swimming galas this year there have been some impressive performances. Competing against large secondary schools our Year 7 and 8 swimmers placed a commendable 4^th out of a field of 12 in the Croydon Schools’ Swimming Association Finals.

In the Primary Schools event our junior swimmers came second overall with individual highlights coming from Thomas Bragg and Charlie Hutton who won the Under 9 Backstroke and Breaststroke events respectively.

2008

Up against schools with much larger year groups, the Year 7 and Year 8 swimmers took third place out of a field of ten in the Croydon Secondary Schools’ Gala, a really creditable performance.

Meanwhile our junior swimming squad in Years 4 to 6 convincingly won their Junior Schools’ Regional Gala and progressed to the Finals where they also prevailed by a fair margin and returned with the winner’s trophy. The success of our swimmers can be attributed, in part at least, to the regular early morning training sessions. So a big thank you to the mums and dads who dragged themselves out of bed a little earlier than usual to make the 7 o’clock starts. The adage: No pain, no gain stands out clearly for all to see!

2009

Under My Ashton’s rigorous regime, our swimmers have had a terrific year. Our Year 7 and Year 8 swimmers came third in the Croydon Secondary Schools’ Gala, an achievement not to be underestimated as our boys were up against swimmers from secondary schools with four or five times the numbers from which to choose.

Meanwhile our junior swimmers in Years 4-6 convincingly retained the Croydon Schools’ Swimming Association Trophy gained last year with some outstanding individual and team performances.

Our U10 Medley Relay team, comprising of Callum Mullin, Kie-Ren Lau, Deeruj Dower and Luke Alder, then qualified for the IAPS National Swimming Championships and put in a very special performance, coming home in second place, a fantastic achievement and a just reward for their talents, commitment and hard work.

2010

In the pool, our swimmers have enjoyed a very successful year winning an abundance of inter-school galas as well as retaining the Croydon Schools’ Swimming Association Trophy for the third successive year with four gold, three silver and eight bronze medals.

Clearly the 7.00 am swim squad sessions put the boys in good shape in accordance with the maxim “Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail”, not that failure is ever mentioned at Cumnor as we continue to challenge boys of all ability groupings to extend themselves and continually aim just that little bit higher.

Further congratulations go to William Bowler and Callum Mullin who represented Croydon School's swimming team in the Surrey Schools' Inter District Primary Championships helping the squad to win first place.

2011

Pride of place, though, on the sporting front this year undoubtedly goes to our swimmers who, benefiting from Mr Harvie’s regular 7:00am swim squad sessions, have had a tremendous year winning outright several inter-school galas and performing with distinction in regional and national events.

In the Croydon secondary schools finals there were some really impressive swims from the Freestyle and Medley Relay teams which were both placed third. Manabu Saito came third in the Year 8 Breaststroke and Connor Fulham 2^nd in the Year 8 Freestyle and so helped the team into 4^th position overall, an excellent result given that the boys were up against swimmers from very large secondary schools with five or six times more boys from which to choose.

In the Croydon Primary Schools’ Swimming Association Finals, the trophy was comfortably won for the fourth successive year, thereby equalling the school’s previous longest winning streak back in the 1980s. In all, six gold, five silver and two bronze medals were gained in a record breaking evening with a number of personal bests.

Six of these boys, Sean Gray, Rahil Patel, Jonathan Lewis, Ross Sharpe, Stanley Jones and William Bowler then qualified for the National IAPS swimming finals, the finalists being chosen from no less than 600 schools. The Under 10 Freestyle Team finished in 6^th place and the Medley team finished in 10^th place, both teams recording their fastest times by around six seconds. In the individual events Jonathan Lewis (Under 10 25m front crawl) and Stanley Jones (Under 10 25m Backstroke) both finished in 2^nd place, William Bowler (Under 11 25m breaststroke) touched in 3^rd place and Sean Gray (Under 10 25m Butterfly) finished in 10th place.

This ranks our Under 10 swimmers in 3rd position nationally and the Prep School (U10-U13) overall in 9^th position. Congratulations to all the boys.

Further congratulations go to William Bowler who was selected to represent the Borough of Croydon in the London Youth Mini Games 2011 at Crystal Palace, an event involving 33 boroughs. William came 3^rd in the individual breaststroke and was a member of the medley relay team and the freestyle relay team, coming first in both events and helping the Borough to second position overall. Very well done, William!

2012

In the Croydon secondary schools finals our Year 7 and 8 swimmers gave a very good account of themselves finishing in third position, a laudable result given that the boys were competing against swimmers from very large secondary schools with five or six times more boys from which to choose. A special mention must go to William Bowler who gained a silver medal in the 25m Breaststroke.

In the Croydon Primary Schools’ Swimming Association Finals, the trophy was comfortably won for the fifth successive year, thereby surpassing the school’s previous longest winning streak back in the 1980s. In all, an unprecedented nine Gold, four Silver and two Bronze medals were gained in a record breaking evening with a number of personal bests.

In the IAPS (Independent Association of Prep Schools) National swimming championship, the school as a whole was placed second overall with the Under 11 team winning the National IAPS Title. Given that there are around 600 IAPS Prep Schools nationwide, this is an achievement worthy of acclaim.

Four boys, in particular, enjoyed unprecedented success. Stanley Jones, Robbie Chan, Sean Gray and Jonathan Lewis were Under 11 IAPS National champions in both the Freestyle and Medley relays, Medley winners and Freestyle runners up in the ESSA (English Schools’ Swimming Association) Surrey Schools championships and winners of the Freestyle and the Medley relays in the ESSA London championship. In doing so, the boys qualified for the English Schools’ Swimming Association National Championship finals which were held in Sheffield in June. And they did themselves and their school proud, winning the Medley relay in a record breaking time (a record which had stood since 1999), missing out on a second Gold Medal by less than 0.2 of a second in the Freestyle relay and so becoming English Schools’ Swimming Association National Champions by a comfortable margin. Boys you were magnificent and it is only right that you should take to the stage now and be presented once again with your trophies, this time from Mr Green.

• Respect; Excellence; Friendship

• Courage; Determination; Inspiration and Equality

2013

IAPS and English Schools’ Swimming Association National Champions last year was always going to be a hard act to follow, especially as a number of boys had moved on to their senior schools, but our swimmers can hold their heads up high after another successful year in which 10 out of 11 inter-school galas were won with the eleventh ending in a tie. A squad of ten boys and nine Cumnor girls then travelled to Italy for a highly beneficial and successful swimming camp over the Easter break, a first such event.

Competing against large senior schools with many more boys from which to choose, our Year 7 and Year 8 team came a very creditable third in the Croydon Secondary Schools competition with most boys achieving either a silver or bronze medal. The stand-out performers were William Bowler in the 50m Breaststroke, Sean Gray in the 25m Butterfly and the medley relay team comprising of Ashwin Gobiraj, William Bowler, Sean Gray and Connor McGrath who all touched in second position.

In the junior ranks, in the Croydon Primary Schools Swimming Finals, the trophy was won for the sixth successive year with 13 medals in total secured, four gold (Ciaran Gray, Jack Sharpe, Sergio Moscarello and Kyle Debrah), five silvers and four bronze.

Finally, Sean Gray, this year’s swimming captain, and Cameron Leishman deserve special mention and praise for being awarded swimming scholarships to Plymouth College and Ellesmere College respectively, two of the most reputable swimming schools in the country.

2014

Our swimmers have once again been making quite a splash in the pool with the juniors, in particular, impressing. The Croydon Primary Schools Championship was won for the seventh successive year and our U11 Medley and Freestyle relay teams qualified for the English Schools Swimming Association national finals in Sheffield where they performed very well.

Tennis   Close

Tennis 2020-21

Tennis at Cumnor took huge leaps forwards this year, with the school competing in various friendlies, tournaments and competitions through the Spring and Summer terms.

Competition started with players from U9 – U13 competing in friendlies against Homefield, starting in April with the U13s and finishing with the U9s in June. These were hugely successful with boys from both schools commenting on how much they enjoyed the afternoon and the fast-paced format of play. I was particularly impressed with some of the Year 8’s, who’d mentioned that they hadn’t played much tennis, but by the end of the afternoon were playing some booming shots!

Cumnor also competed in the LTA Surrey Schools League, from U9 – U11. Teams of four competed against schools from across London and the Surrey area. Each group competed excellently, with the highlight being a triangular fixture that the U10s played against The Hawthorns and Thomas’s Battersea. Alfred Beesley and Chris Henriques-Michie played brilliant team tennis in both matches, winning them comfortably. Jathushan Kokularamanan and Ishaan Rajasekeran battled admirably in their matches, winning one and losing one. Watching both pair’s sportsmanship, support for one another and burgeoning teamwork was a delight! A special mention must go to Rohan Patel, who competed in the U11s this year and has been a staple of the tennis team for the last three years, setting a great example in training and playing with spirit and dare!

The tennis schedule was capped off in June, with Cumnor competing in the annual KCJS U9 tennis tournament. We brought two pairs, with Thomas and Harry Hansford playing as the A team, and Thomas Froome and Arshia Saffarizadeh playing as the B team. It was a fabulous day, with the sun shining and quality tennis on all the courts. I particularly enjoyed watching Thomas and Arshia play and grow as a team throughout the afternoon! Our A team played fantastic tennis throughout the afternoon; winning their group, playing even more consistently through the semi-final, making the final, to just fall short to an incredible KCJS team. Coaches from several schools commented on the attitude, spirit and manners our boys showed during a very enjoyable afternoon!