Merchant Taylors' Athletics
The U9-U13 athletics team delivered an outstanding performance at Merchant Taylors’ athletics track, competing against a strong field of schools including Gayhurst, Davenies, St. John’s Beaumont and St. John’s Northwood. In a day marked by determination, teamwork and impressive individual displays, the squad emerged as overall winners.
Sprint events proved to be our particular strength, with our athletes dominating the track. Our 4x100m relay teams ran out as winners in Year 4, 5, 6 and 8.
Remarkably, the team secured individual victories across all the 75m and 100m races in their respective age groups. Daniel N (Year 4) set the tone with a confident and composed run, while Sebi W (Year 5) followed up with a powerful performance. Xander T-O (Year 6) and Matteo P (Year 7) followed suit with a commanding sprint. Rounding off the clean sweep, Seb S (Year 8) produced a superb run to ensure complete dominance in the sprint categories.
Beyond the sprints, the team showed depth and resilience across all events, consistently collecting valuable points in both track and field disciplines. Every athlete contributed to the final tally, supporting one another throughout.
This victory is a testament not only to the boys’ athletic ability but also to their commitment and team spirit. They represented the school with pride and should be thoroughly congratulated on a very successful afternoon of athletics.
Reported by Mr Sutcliffe
U13 Tennis v Aldwickbury
The Beacon U13 tennis team delivered an exciting and closely contested performance as they hosted Aldwickbury U13s in a competitive pairs fixture on Monday afternoon.
Each side fielded four pairs, with the format providing a great test of teamwork, adaptability, and match play across two rounds. In Round 1, Pair 1 faced Pair 2, while Pair 3 took on Pair 4. The matches were evenly fought from the outset, with both schools demonstrating strong serving, consistent rallying, and excellent communication. At the end of the opening round, the score stood level at 2–2, setting up a thrilling second phase.
Round 2 saw pairs compete against their direct counterparts, adding further intensity to the contest. With every game proving crucial, the standard of tennis continued to rise, with long rallies and smart tactical play evident across all courts. The matches remained incredibly tight, reflecting the determination and resilience of both teams.
In the end, The Beacon edged a narrow victory, finishing with 4½ points to Aldwickbury’s 3½. It was a well-earned win in a fixture that could easily have gone either way.
Congratulations to all players for their effort, sportsmanship, and commitment throughout. A special well done to those who represented The Beacon:
Harry A (Captain), Hugo C, Barney G, Alistair B-H, Henry M, Sebastian S, Archie K-G, and Henry L.
A fantastic afternoon of tennis and a great team performance to be proud of.
Reported by Mr Harris
U11C1 Cricket v Aldwickbury
Our hosts, Aldwickbury, have just taken a wicket subtracting five runs from our score. This was the penultimate ball of the match and the scores are now tied on 145 each. After 239 balls bowled it all comes down to this. A wicket sees Aldwickbury win, no run leaves the match tied and any kind of score results in a Beacon win. Dexter R stands confidently at the crease as all eyes watch…
This is how are first U11C1 game of the season shaped up this week. In the early stages of the game, The Beacon’s bowling was superb, taking 13 wickets and really pegging back our opponents. Two each for Dexter R, Zayn K, Harry H, Robert F & Theo P, with Oliver VH, George T and captain, Sonny M, all getting one each.
Aldwickbury countered with some good bowling of their own. Some risky calling saw a few wickets fall as we chipped away at their total. George & Arjun P edged us past their total after a steady innings from Robert and Jimmy C, but the loss of a few more wickets set up the grand finale.
The final ball to Dexter began to slide down leg-side as it flew through the air. With calmness and precision he brought his bat down and through, clipping it out towards square-leg. The Aldwickbury fielder moved, but a little too late, the pace of shot deceiving him and ball shot off towards the boundary for 4 runs and a win.
Both teams enjoyed the late drama of this close game – a great way for the U11C1 team to start their season. Well done, team!
Reported by Mr Langley