Sports Highlights Week 31 2026

The Beacon swimmers travelled to the prestigious Aquatics Centre at the Olympic Park in London on Saturday 6th June to compete in the IAPS National Swimming Finals against some of the strongest young swimmers from across the country. The pupils produced a series of outstanding performances, achieving personal best times and competing superbly on the national stage.

The U10 Freestyle Relay team of William Green, William Daughtrey, Bertie Harrison and Rhys Jackson delivered an excellent performance in a highly competitive field. Swimming with great determination and teamwork, the quartet recorded a new personal best team time of 1:05.97, finishing just outside the medal positions.

Bertie Harrison enjoyed an exceptional day in the U10 50m Breaststroke. After qualifying from his heat in sixth place with a time of 44.38 seconds, Bertie progressed to the national final where he produced an even faster swim. His impressive time of 44.14 seconds secured a superb 4th place nationally, narrowly missing out on a medal.

In the U13 50m Breaststroke, Harry Taylor swam strongly to record a new personal best time of 39.38 seconds, finishing 18th nationally against an extremely talented field.

Seb Smith also achieved a personal best in the U13 50m Freestyle. Swimming with confidence and composure, Seb broke the highly coveted 30-second barrier, recording an outstanding time of 29.76 seconds. To swim sub-30 seconds for 50m freestyle at this age is an exceptional achievement and a testament to the hard work and dedication Seb has shown throughout the season. His excellent performance earned him a 14th-place national finish.

All swimmers represented The Beacon with distinction, demonstrating resilience, commitment and sportsmanship throughout the competition. To compete at a national final is a significant achievement, and the swimmers should be immensely proud of their performances and accomplishments.

Reported by Mr Harris

Last Friday, the U10D team produced an outstanding all-round performance away against St. John’s Northwood, securing a convincing victory through excellent batting, disciplined bowling, and sharp fielding.

Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, The Beacon made a strong start through opening pair Sebby R and Phoenix F. The pair rotated the strike well and found the boundary when opportunities arose, contributing 23 valuable runs to lay a solid foundation for the innings.

The momentum continued with Mateo C and Kia C at the crease. Both batters showed increasing confidence, with Mateo striking some excellent boundaries as the pair added an impressive 36 runs.

The final pair of Kemal I and Oscar H capped off a superb batting display by adding a further 30 runs. Oscar was particularly destructive, producing the innings of the day as he smashed an outstanding 28 runs from just 7 balls. His clean hitting and positive intent gave St. John’s little chance to recover and helped The Beacon finish on a highly competitive total of 89 runs.

Defending their score, the boys were exceptional with the ball. Every bowler contributed to a disciplined team effort, consistently hitting good areas and limiting the scoring opportunities available to the opposition. The pressure built throughout the innings, with the team delivering a remarkable total of 32 dot balls.

Sebby and Oscar were rewarded for their accuracy with a wicket apiece, while the entire fielding unit supported the bowlers brilliantly. As a result, St. John’s Northwood were restricted to just 29 runs, giving The Beacon a comprehensive victory.

This was a fantastic team performance, with every player contributing to an excellent win. The boys should be very proud of their efforts.

Reported by Mr Powell

Last Friday’s fixture against a strong St. John’s Northwood team produced one of the most dramatic and rewarding performances of the season, as the U10B1 side showed tremendous resilience and determination to battle back from a difficult position and secure a thrilling victory by “the barest of all margins”, with moments during the match that shared unerring similarities with Ian Smith’s iconic calling when England won the 2019 Cricket World Cup Final.

Before a ball had been bowled, captain Hamish M was already making an impact. Demonstrating once again why he is regarded as the team’s expert rock, paper, scissors player, Hamish won the toss and, following the advice of his coach, elected to bat first and set a target. That decision looked a risky one after a nightmare start. The St. John’s bowlers were immediately on target and our innings stumbled to 0-3 after the very first over. With wickets falling and runs hard to come by, it was safe to say there were a few nervous faces around the ground – including the coach, who may even have been questioning his own advice.

What followed, however, was a magnificent response.

Bertie H and Hendrix K came together and completely changed the momentum of the innings. Showing excellent composure and determination, they rebuilt patiently before accelerating when opportunities arose. Their outstanding partnership of 40 runs from 6 overs steadied the ship and gave the team belief that a competitive total was still possible. After Hendrix’s valuable contribution, captain Hamish M joined Bertie at the crease. Batting with maturity beyond his years, Hamish rotated the strike intelligently and allowed Bertie to continue finding the boundary. Together they added a further 37 runs in 7 overs, frustrating the opposition and keeping the scoreboard ticking over.

As the innings entered its final stages, Edward B and Peter C provided exactly the finish the team needed. Both batters played with freedom and intent, producing some powerful hitting that lifted the run rate and ensured St. John’s Northwood would be left with a challenging chase. By the end of the innings, we had recovered spectacularly from our disastrous start to post an excellent 112-6 from our 20 overs. Leading the way was Bertie H, whose superb unbeaten 35 from 41 balls anchored the innings and provided the foundation for the team’s recovery.

With runs on the board, attention turned to the defence of the total.

Charlie M-S and Archi D took the new ball and bowled with discipline against a confident St. John’s opening pair. Although the opposition got away to a quick start, both bowlers worked hard to contain the scoring and prevented the game from getting away. The breakthrough was desperately needed, and it came from captain Hamish M. Introduced as first change, Hamish immediately swung the momentum back towards our side by taking two quick wickets. Suddenly the chase looked very different, and pressure began to build on the St. John’s batting line up.

Alfred B then added to the excitement by claiming a wicket of his own, removing one of the opposition’s strongest batters and giving our team another huge boost. Even then, St. John’s continued to fight. Their batters kept the scoreboard moving and threatened to take the game away. At a crucial moment, Macsen T once again demonstrated why every successful team values brave young spinners. Despite being struck for a few boundaries, he held his nerve brilliantly and struck at exactly the right time, taking important wickets when the team needed them most.

As the innings entered its closing stages, the contest was perfectly poised. With just 16 balls remaining, St. John’s Northwood required 20 runs to win and still had two wickets in hand. Their opening batter had battled resiliently throughout the innings and looked capable of guiding his side home.

Then came the moment that changed everything. A sharp piece of fielding from Luca H in the covers produced a direct-hit run out that finally removed the stubborn opener. The celebrations reflected just how important the wicket was, and suddenly our boys could sense victory. Yet there was still work to do. The equation became 10 runs needed from the final 10 balls. Every run was cheered, every dot ball celebrated. The tension around the boundary was enormous as both teams searched for the decisive moment.

It arrived in dramatic fashion. Attempting to keep the chase alive, the St. John’s batters pushed hard for a second run. The ball raced towards the boundary where our third man fielder collected cleanly under pressure. As Ian Smith called, “the throw’s got to go to the keeper’s end”… our keeper Wilf W took the throw and whipped off the bails.

“Absolute ecstasy for The Beacon!”

It was an outstanding performance from the entire team. To recover from 0-3 after the opening over, post 112-6, and then hold their nerve during a tense finish against a very strong St. John’s Northwood side showed character, resilience and belief in abundance. Every player contributed in some way, whether with bat, ball or in the field, and the result was a thoroughly deserved win by 8 runs. Well done, lads!

Reported by Mr Sutcliffe