First time players in the Surrey Sixth Form League and the First Team wins the league! The senior side beat Oxted at home, clinching the league 5-0. The team, boasts a 19 game unbeaten streak, have only lost three competitive matches this season and have also made it to the quarter finals of the national elite super cup and the semi finals of the county cup.
They did it! Congratulations to Gordon’s Marathon runners Jamie Harrison and Daisy Cooper, who smashed the TCS London Marathon, raising hundreds of pounds for their charities and both signing up to take part next year! Director of Sport Mr Harrison last ran it in 2016, this time he donned his running shoes in memory of his mother, who died from bowel cancer in 2019. He completed his run for Bowel Cancer UK in just over four hours.
Woolwich Houseparent Daisy Cooper, running for Barnardo's children’s charity completed it in 5.25 hours.
Donations to their charities would still be very welcome. For Bowel Cancer UK, please click here and for Barnard's, please click here.
Here are pictures of the two of them from yesterday's marathon:
.And so it begins - Year 9 heading for the Surrey Hills this morning for their two day, one night The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Bronze expedition practise. Next weekend they will undertake the final expedition, which involves a 15 mile trek. Best of luck to the year group!
Over 100 miles rowed for charity by Balmoral House! Their Sunrise to Sunset Challenge saw every student and member of staff in the House take to the ergo in the common room from 6am to 8.10pm yesterday in ten minute slots, which raised over £600 for the school’s charities – The Camelthorn Foundation; CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young; Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide and The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Congratulations to all! Further donations can be made here.
Best of luck to Charlotte Lill, turning out today for Scotland in the U19 Netball match against Wales in Cardiff. The Gordon’s Sixth Form student and netball scholar, who plays goalkeeper, is studying for her A Levels and also plays for Surrey Storm’s U21s and the school’s First Team.
Newly-capped England U18 Six Nations player Elliot Williams does his stint in the Balmoral House ‘Sunrise to Sunset’ row for charity. Every member of the House, both staff and students, are rowing for ten minutes each in the common room between 0605 and 2010hrs for the school charities. To sponsor Team Balmoral, please click here.
A win over Wales and Italy for England in the U18 Six Nations, with newly capped Ollie Streeter and Elliot Williams joining the squad. The two Sixth Form students are studying at Gordon’s on the Harlequins Partnership Programme.
From residential and day boarding at Gordon's to snow boarding in Italy! Over the Easter holidays, it was the turn of the younger year groups in the school to hit the ski slopes. The group of students, from Years 7-10 headed to Bardonecchia, where they enjoyed five hours of ski tuition a day in the beautiful Susa Valley, as well as plenty of apres ski fun.
Gordon's School has been awarded Gold status in the United Against Bullying Programme for its work to reduce bullying and improve wellbeing for students. Just 11 per cent of schools completing the programme were awarded Gold status.
Happy Easter from all at Gordon’s! here are a few of the imaginative paper mache giant Easter eggs made by residential boarders for an Easter Egg Competition.
Snow on Dartmoor as Storm Nelson joins students on their Ten Tors training. The students are camping and hiking in the national park until Monday 1st April along with thousands of other teenagers in preparation for challenge in May, which will involve a 35 mile hike across the rough terrain of Dartmoor. Best of luck to all of them!
Diminutive, slight and softly spoken, it’s difficult to believe that Sixth Form student Natalie Gregory commands a field of towering rugby giants as a referee.
Most recently she grabbed her whistle for the Rosslyn Park Rugby 7s Tournament – the largest school rugby tournament in the world. However, as a member of the London Society of Rugby Football Union Referees (LSRFUR), she referees for men, women and children, and she has stepped out as an assistant referee on the hallowed grounds of The Stoop and and Surrey Sports Park. The Gordon’s School A Level student is also in demand for school games!
She grew up on the touchlines of Chobham Rugby Club, watching her younger brother play before donning the red and yellow shirt for the girls when she was eight years old (she still plays for the U18s and women’s team at Chobham!). Her parents joined in the action too, with her mother playing walking rugby and father touch rugby.
Almost two years ago, she took the ‘Take up the Whistle’ course with the LSRFUR, then achieved her Level 2 England Rugby Referees Award (ERRA) qualification.
Since joining the society, she has refereed all sorts of games, from U14 boys to women’s games and now even men’s games, spending her weekends and any available time on the pitch. It’s fair to say that rugby and refereeing have become her passion: “You meet so many people and there are so many opportunities for young match officials”, she enthuses, “I love the rugby culture”.
Studying history, chemistry and Spanish A Levels, with her eye on reading law at university, Natalie is also a senior prefect at Gordon’s and going for her Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award, as well as learning to drive.
Her father currently acts as her chauffeur to games and society meetings, in addition he deals with her match official administration. Being a Young Match Official (YMO) also means that she has a referee mentor covering every game she is officiating, to provide feedback and advice. When she’s away from the pitch she’s watching games, playing and learning the intricacies of the laws of rugby.
She is just one of a few girls in the London Society of Rugby Football Union Referees but is very positive about her membership: “When I first joined it did feel a bit of a boys’ club of grey haired men over the age of 50 but you just have to stand up for yourself. There’s a community of girls and women in the Society – we’re still working on getting girls’ kit as the current kit is tailored to men so shorts are never in the smaller sizes!
“Katrina Ham runs the LSRFUR YMO programme in the South West region and has been such an amazing advocate for female YMOs within the society. She’s been working relentlessly to find the right games for me, to provide the right level of challenge to enable me to progress.”
Describing her role, she says: “There are so many things that can happen in rugby. You have to be constantly in the play, in the middle of it. You have to make sure you are in the right position while also watching the ball and the players behind your back. Lots to think about”.
As to what qualities are important for refereeing the game, Natalie said: “Most important would be confidence. Refereeing is all about selling the decisions you are making and attention to detail, knowing every single law inside out”.
As to whether she will take her talent further, she quickly retorts “Definitely! There are so many people fighting in my corner. I didn’t even realise. At Rosslyn Park I met Andrew Small, the RFU Match Official Development Officer, who heads the referee career pathway for England Rugby, I found out that someone within the society had told him to come and find me at Rosslyn to have a look at what I was doing and recommend pathways. You don’t even realise that people are putting in a good word. It’s so lovely.”
She continued: “If you are a girl that loves rugby and is looking for leadership opportunities, it’s perfect!”
