Latest News
Soccer Aid 2023
Maria in Austen 1 and Rithik in Nightingale 1 sent this report:
This year, Soccer Aid received a lot of helping hands during its organisation. The Sixth Form team were dedicated to finally breaking the winning streak of the teachers, committing a lot of time and practice in order to get into their best form before the match. With the help of Rithik in Nightingale 1 and Mo in Roddick 1, they organised training every Thursday, where the Sixth Form team engaged in various drills such as dribbling, shooting and small practice matches to improve their team playing. Around 30 students from Year 12 and 13 were committed in making the main team and, boy, did they work hard for it. In the opposing team, the teachers’ manager was Mr Waters, who was very passionate with maintaining the winning reputation of the teachers.
We would also like to thank Mrs Skelton and the rest of the Sixth Form Team who worked so hard behind the scenes alongside us to deliver another excellent year of Soccer Aid. Being behind the scenes really makes you appreciate the amount of work that goes into it all from the little things like finding whistles to larger tasks like convincing all the teachers to join in! It was wonderful to see all of our work come together and to see such a large crowd at the event. We hope you all enjoyed the event and we hope that next year goes just as well or better!
Mo in Roddick 1 sent us this report on the match itself:
The game began with an ambitious strike from kick-off by Mr North, as the ball flew over the crossbar - surely he didn’t think that was going in? But the staff started off strongly, with a cool, calm, and collected strike by Mr Shingleton to put the staff up 1-0. From here it was an uphill battle for the students, but they continued to stay resilient. Rowan and Gabe formed ‘The Great Wall of Invicta’, as the 6’5 & 6’4 defensive combination fought off all aerial attack the staff attempted to make. The ball came into Mo, who showcased his strength by overpowering Mr North and slotting the ball into the bottom left corner to equalise the score. However, the goal was (unfairly) disallowed, raising questions about the legitimacy of the referee’s officiating…
Despite this, the students gained momentum with Chase as the midfield engine, passing the ball out to Mayvin who made a beautifully weighted cross to Mo. Mr Ryder and Mr Homes frantically swarmed around him, but they were no match as he scores to make it 1-1. The students shifted into second gear as victory was near, warding off valiant scoring attempts by the staffs' offence with special praise to Shinade, a real superstar between the goalposts. As the first half was nearing a close, both teams had chance after chance but failed to convert them into the all-needed winning goal. An unexpected goalkeeping error was capitalised on by Mo, who took it past Mr Johnson to score the 2nd goal for the 6th form side. After an energising half-time team talk from the managers Abiola and Favour, the 2nd half commenced and the students maintained composure both offensively and defensively, as the teachers began to be let down by their lack of stamina.
A solid performance in the final half sealed a satisfying 2-1 victory against the staff - a triumphant day for the 6th form side, etched into the history of Invicta!
Mr Ryder had this to say on behalf of the staff side:
I was nominated captain of the team based on maximum voice volume over talent and proceeded to do the team proud by organising the troops on the field of play. The game started tight with both staff (wearing green bibs) and 6th formers (wearing all black kits) squandering easy chances. A seemingly innocuous chance was slotted away by our very Mr Shingleton who doggedly chased down a loose ball. 1-0 to the mighty staff team. Shock - the 6th formers then scored against the run of play from a cross that was clearly off the pitch which blindsided both the defender and the goalkeeper. 'We Woz Robbed' came the cry from the staff sideline! With no refereeing credentials to his name wearing all black too (confusing for the staff team to differentiate between opposition and referee), the referee allowed the goal to stand. In the confusion of poor referring decision and the mounting pressure from the 6th form attack - a moment later, a goal keeping error lead to the second 6th form goal. 'What happened there?!' came the question from the outfield players mouths. Into the second half. The staff came out strong - wave after wave of 6th form attack crumbled on the stalwart defending of Mr Ryder and Mr Homes, the latter being the eventual Player of the Match. Our mid-field ball controlling team of Mr North, Mr Fitzgerald and Mrs Williams applying pressure of their own to the 6th form defence. Final score 2-1 to the 6th form but given another minute or two, the whole school spectators and staff team are sure the staff would have equalised, pulled ahead and gone home with the trophy. It seems only the 6th formers are deluded enough to think otherwise...
