Level 3 Cheshire & Warrington Winter Games Under 15 Volleyball Tournament

Blacon High School continued its long standing tradition of representing Chester at the County School Sport Level 3 Cheshire and Warrington Winter Games in both the under 15’s boys and girls competitions and did so fantastically well. For the third consecutive year, the under 15 boys’ team won the competition in convincing style, winning all of their six matches led by their captain, Kieran Ball. Calyn Barlow, Jake Dean, Harley Bennion and Lochlan Hardy all played their part in the following games to be County Champions:

Boys Results

Blacon 13-12 Alsager

Blacon 18-8 Kings Grove

Blacon 13-11 Weaverham

Blacon 25-7 Future Tech

Blacon 17-11 Lymm

Blacon 17-9 Fallibroome

For the 3^rd year in a row, Blacon High School Boys are Under 15 Volleyball Cheshire and Warrington Champions

The Under15 Girls team also competed well at the championships and finished in the top 5 playing some decent three touch Volleyball. The girls were: Ellen Quinn, Shannon Watson, Chloe Carswell, Elisha Cox and Sophie Cooper.

Both the under 15 girls and boys team won the Chester and District tournament after Christmas to represent Chester at the County games. Catholic High School, Kings and Christleton gave the boys and girls teams tough matches but Blacon managed to win overall with some exceptional three touch Volleyball.

Level 3 Cheshire & Warrington Winter Games Sporting Ambassadors

Not only did the Blacon High School choir launch the Level 3 Cheshire & Warrington Winter Games at Northgate Arena, year 10 Blacon PE ambassadors Jake Sconce, Shannon Watson, Amber Sconce and Lochlan Hardy opened the games with a speech about being inspired and motivated by sport. The four leaders attended a young sports ambassador’s seminar and developed teamwork and communication skills. Jake, Lochlan, Shannon and Amber are sporting role models at Blacon High School and they look forward to more opportunities in School Sport.

Table Tennis

The boys under 15’s and under 13’s are Chester and District Table Tennis Champions for a third year running after both teams won round robin tournaments at Blacon High School against Tarporley and Abbeygate in singles play.

The under 13 team was Kelni Jones, Joe Thompson, Bradley Broadbent and Harry Whitehouse and they were all impressive in winning their matches with Joe Thompson not losing a single game. The under 15 team was Layton Ashford, Jake Dean, Lochlan Hardy and Charlie Cottis and they had to be at there very best to beat an impressive Tarporley team to succeed overall with Jake Dean and Layton Ashford not losing a single game.

The PE department are extremely proud of their achievements as we continue to excel in Table Tennis within Chester schools and we look forward to representing Chester under 13’s at the Cheshire and Warrington Summer Games.

Basketball

The year 8 and year 9 boys Basketball team are joint Chester & District Basketball champions with Christleton School because both teams won 5 games but drew against each other. In the first match of the new term, Blacon started poorly and found themselves trailing Queens Park 16-3 at the end of the first quarter. After a tactical switch to man to man marking, Blacon improved and Queens Park High struggled to break Blacon down with credit going to MVP Charlie Cottis who played magnificently in defence, leaving the score at 16-5 at the end of the second quarter. The third quarter was dominated by Blacon and in particular Marcel Aziamale who ensured Blacon were level with Queens Park at the end of the quarter leaving the score perfectly poised at 18-18. The final quarter was tense and with the scores level at 22-22, Queens Park called a timeout with 40 seconds remaining. With 20 seconds remaining, it was Blacon that won the match after a terrific basket from Lewis Bridges. Blacon held out for the remaining period of time and came out eventual winners.

The second fixture of the season started similarly to the first fixture against Queens Park High School. Blacon started slowly and found themselves trailing once again at the end of the first quarter 14-6. Christleton’s host of second and third quarter changes had a negative effect on their rhythm and they could not break Blacon down enough, partly down to the brilliant defending by MVP Charlie Cottis. With Blacon defending brilliantly and Marcel and Lewis Bridges scoring at the opposite end, Blacon found themselves in a narrow 19-18 lead going into the final quarter. Christleton resorted back to their original starting five in the final quarter which benefitted their cause. Both schools were trading points in the final quarter and with 30 seconds remaining Blacon led 29-18. However with 15 seconds remaining Christleton scored a 1 point free-throw to level the score and snatched victory from Blacons grasp.

After beginning the previous 2 matches at a slow pace, Blacon started the match focussed on being much brighter whilst keeping tight in defence. This focus paid off as Blacon led at the end of the first quarter 6-0. Blacon never lost focus during the game and remained in the lead for the entire match. Furthermore, with the introduction of MVP Lewis Bridges midway through the second quarter, Blacon become ruthless in front of the basket with Lewis scoring 16 points, Charlie Cottis scoring 14 points and Marcel Aziamale adding a further 10. Blacon dominated throughout and remained tight at the back ensuring that their unbeaten start to the season continued.

In our remaining fixtures, we managed to beat a physical and challenging Bishops Bluecoat team 25-20 thanks to a dominating game under the basket by Liam Davies and Charlie Cottis. Against Kings, the match was a close affair with excellent lay ups scored by Marcel Aziamale and from some accurate shooting from Lewis Bridges. We manage to win 31-25 with a great team performance but after beating Upton High School in our final game, we missed out to Christleton who represented Chester at the Level 3 Cheshire & Warrington Winter Games because they scored more points than us throughout the season. Not to be downbeat, the boys can be proud of a successful season and finished unbeaten; a fantastic achievement.

The year 7 Basketball team couldn’t breach the group stages at the Chester and District tournament held at Catholic High School. Kevin Lewis was an unstoppable rebounder and Leon Duckers scored some fast break lay ups. Even though the team didn’t win one game, they showed potential to be a good team next year.

Football

The year 10 Football team have reached the ESFA National Small Schools Cup Final for the second year running at Reading FC. The date and opposition is still to be confirmed and the team are still buzzing after their thrilling 5-2 semi-final win against Clitheroe Royal Grammar School at Cairns Crescent. They beat St Lawrence Academy from Scunthorpe in the Quarter Final 2-0 with Harley Bennion scoring both goals as they look to go one better this season and win the first ever National Small Schools Cup for Blacon High School. In the Cheshire Cup last 16 match, a Kieran Ball strike was enough to beat Oldershaw 1-0 and in the Quarter Final against Poynton High School, Kieran Ball 2, Brandon Burrows 2 and Harley Bennion scored the goals to win 5-2 and reach the semi final. Mr Sabri is pleased with the squads progress, especially captain Brandon Burrows who recently made his debut for the under 15’s Wales National team against Poland.

In the Chester and District Cup, it was semi final heartache for both year 8 and year 10 football teams who lost close matches to Christleton High School. The year 8 team beat Catholic High School 4-3 thanks to a Joe Thompson double strike and singles from Tyler Shone and Cameron Eymond. In the semi final, they had chances to win a tight and hard thought match but cruelly lost 1-0 in the closing stages of extra time. The year 10 team beat Upton High School 5-0 thanks to Kieran Ball 2, Kyle John, Calyn Barlow and a rare Charlie Moore strike. In the semi final, they couldn’t be separated against Christleton. They drew 2-2 but lost on the dreaded penalties. Year 9 had a Quarter Final game to forget and lost 6-1 to Catholic High despite a Robbie Davies goal. Year 7 were also convincingly beaten by Tarporley in their Quarter Final and lost 6-0. Year 11 were cruising against Kings School 2-0 thanks to Tom Dalton’s and Tom Crawford’s goals. However, an unfortunate red card for Dwayne Smith for a handball on the goal line resulted in a penalty and comeback for Kings. We ended up losing the Quarter Final 3-2, which was such a shame for year 11 who played so well.

Year 7 are making progress as a football team with some encouraging performances. They recorded a 5-2 win against UCEA thanks to goals from Leon Duckers 2, Jack Sadler, Corey Cooper and a penalty from skipper Charlie Evans. Mason Picken, Brandon Spilsbury and Cal Quinn were impressive in a friendly win against Queens Park High but we lost our final friendly game to Abbeygate College 2-1, despite taking the lead through Leon Duckers.

Year 8 are improving under the management of Mr Bradford since the poor performance in the Chester & District 7 a side at Christleton High School, were we failed to breach the group stages. On his school debut, Tyler Shone scored two goals in an impressive 2-1 win against UCEA. Away to Abbeygate College, Tyler Shone was at it again and scored another two goals to seal a 2-0 win. In the Everton FC development tournament with Heber and Queens Park High School, Blacon progressed to Finch Farm in the summer term by winning one and drawing three games. Captain Joe O’Gorman and Joe Thompson were outstanding and the whole squad made a positive contribution to the tournament win.

Year 9 finished spring term with a thumping 5-0 win away against Abbeygate thanks to Can Jastrow’s double strike and single goals from Charlie Cottis, Robbie Davies and Paul Cowan respectively. The team also beat UCEA in another decent friendly game with Luke Pye and Dylan Worton impressing. Year 11 are hoping to play their Chester and District 8 aside tournament after the Easter Holidays.

The year 7 girls football team enjoyed there 7 aside tournament at Christleton High School and played some good football with Lacey, Megan and Lillie impressing in the group stages. More joy came for the year 10/11 girls football team who were runners up in their tournament and will play Catholic High School after Easter in the Chester & District Cup Final.

16 year 10’s are currently undertaking the FA Level 1 Referee Course led by Trevor Massey. The boys have practical assessments after Easter and a theory exam to pass the course.

Netball

The year 7 and year 8 girls had excellent friendly games against Heber School with Maisie Clutton and Jessica Dalby who were stand out performers. They both improved and played closer matches against Abbeygate College with Taylor Guest and Hannah Sconce displaying excellent teamwork skills.

The year 7 team also put in some pleasing performances in the year 7 Chester & District Netball tournament at Bishops High School.

Dodgeball

The year 7 boys Dodgeball team came joint runners up with Abbeygate in the Chester and District tournament to Queens Park who were deserved winners on the night. Blacon were in good form against Abbeygate, winning close matches with Callum Cooper making some great catches and Josh Wakefield getting players out with some accurate throws.

The year 8/9 boys Dodgeball team also finished runners up and lost to a strong Queens Park High School team who had some powerful attacking players with strong throws. The squad led by Corey Houghton worked together and enjoyed a close tournament which was decided on the final match. Sonny Rose and Dylan Hamilton were our stand out players throughout, with consistent skill being shown in each game.

Fitness

Mr Cairns took 13 year 9 and year 10 students to Zone Fitness, Neston to carry out intense and physically challenging Gladiator Circuits training session. The lads were put through their paces by professional trainer Gareth Jones who had them using kettle bells, ropes and free weights to develop core strength. Kieran Ball, Scott Dixon, Delwyn Davies and Jordan Welsh excelled in a tough environment.

Year 10 student Joe Leatherbarrow was a guest at the Burnley and Clitheroe Strong Man competition and had the opportunity to dead lift, axel press and deltoid raise. English professionals Mark Felix and Graham Hix were in attendance and both athletes have competed for the world’s strongest man competition in USA. Joe is keen to compete as he gets older and he has since completed a power lifting circuit with Mr Cairns and Gareth Jones at Zone Fitness.

Girls Gymnastics Trip

Miss Flynn organised a reward trip to watch the British Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool to inspire future gymnasts. 12 students attended the trip for their attainment, behaviour in PE and commitment to extra curricular activities. It was a great opportunity for the girls to watch high level gymnasts perform routines on mats and apparatus.

Indoor Athletics

The year 8 girls and boys Chester and District indoor athletics event at Queens Park High School was hosted by the Blacon High PE department with the support of year 10 GCSE PE leaders who managed the field and track events. Peter Boddy, Tyler Shone, Chloe Brisbane and Mia Pritchard were our stand out performers during the individual races and field events. The year 8 boys’ team came 5^th overall, which was a great achievement, and both teams can look forward to the summer athletics.

The year 7 girls and boys indoor athletics team competed well in track and field events at the Chester and District indoor athletics event at Catholic High School. Against nine different schools, Blacon did their best with Taylor Guest, Megan Wainwright, Cal Quinn and Brandon Spilsbury who were stand out performers during the individual races and field events. Both teams competed well with plenty of effort and have the potential to do well in future athletics events.

Girls Rugby Tournament

Organised by the Catholic High School, Blacon year 7 and year 8 girls had the opportunity to represent the School in a Rugby Union round robin tournament. Mr Cross delivered a coaching session to the girls about contact and safe tackling before they played games against Catholic High School and Upton High School. The whole team enjoyed the experience and Emily Edwards and Hannah Sconce were picked out for their excellent tackling.

Level 1 Dodgeball Official Course

All of our current year 11 students, studying GCSE PE, undertook the new Level 1 Dodgeball Referee course; an umpiring qualification to go towards their GCSE PE official marks. The course was held in the School gym and delivered by Dodgeball development officer Ben Hoyle. Students learnt about new rules being changed by the UKDBA, and how to enforce rules in game situations by presenting tasks on digital camera. The students played a competitive Dodgeball tournament to finish the course and everyone had a chance to officiate.

BEV PE Sports Tournaments

Within the BEV, Mr Forbes, Mr Bradford and Mrs Carr have continued to deliver high quality PE lessons to our local primary schools and we hosted four competitions during the spring term.

The BEV year 5 and 6 indoor sports hall athletics was an exciting competition with a lot of close races and impressive performances on the field events. Highfield won both the girls and boys event with exceptional performances and were dominant on the track and field. The BEV year 5 and 6 Handball tournament was another high quality tournament with plenty of goals being scored. Dee Point school were deserved winners and JH Godwin were runners up. The BEV year 5 and 6 girls Netball tournament came down to the final game between unbeaten Arches and Highfield School. Both schools played some fast attacking Netball with Highfield scoring more goals being worthy winners and Arches runners up.

The BEV PE teaching team hosted a Dodgeball tournament for our year 3 and year 4 pupils with the aim of giving younger pupils the chance to participate in competitive sport. The two separate tournaments were officiated by year 9 and year 11 leaders as boys and girls demonstrated excellent team work in this new inclusive and enjoyable sport. Dee Point were the year 3 winners and Highfield were the year 4 winners in another excellent competition held by the BEV PE teaching team.

We would like to say a big thank you and well done to all of our Blacon High School leaders who have officiated and supported in all of our BEV Sports competitions. The year 11 GCSE group refereed the Dodgeball tournament with Josh Parry not only officiating but coaching the youngsters as well. The year 9 and 10 GCSE students were the officials for the field events and timers on the track and did a fantastic job in scoring the indoor sports hall athletics. Blacon High School hosted the Chester Partnership year 3 and year 4 football tournaments on the grass with year 9 GCSE students Luke Pye, Charlie Cottis, Marcel Aziamale, Jack Lockley and Kyle John refereeing the whole tournament with maturity.

Extra Curricular Clubs

Mrs Wright has been delivering Girls Climbing club to year 7 and year 8 girls who are developing climbing skills on different routes and improving leadership skills by belaying and communicating with each other up different climbs. Mrs Wright has been coaching year 7 and 8 girls at a weekly Netball club with players refining skills and playing competitive friendly matches.

Wheelchair Basketball

Leading up to Easter, over the past 6 weeks, 10 students attended Anna Jacksons Cheshire Phoenix Wheelchair Basketball Club every Wednesday evening. Peter Morris, Megan Shepard, Hannah Sconce and Ryan Cooke have excelled at this exciting new sport with Anna and she is hoping for competitive School fixtures in September due to the quality in skills and performance being showed at clubs. Anna is looking to involve year 6 students from our local primary schools and use year 8 pupils as leaders when delivering sessions.

Girls Community Sports Club

Every Monday evening from 4pm – 5pm, girls have been attending the Girls Community Sports Club delivered by Hannah Dean, Leah Ashley and Emily Wakefield. The girls in year 7 and 8 have been playing regular indoor Football and have developed skills in challenging situations. After Easter, we are hoping to re-launch the successful Blacon Girls Rounders club, which was a huge success last summer.

[huge_it_gallery id="3"]