Surprise snow may have prevented a couple of schools from attending the annual Cluster New Age Kurling competition, but for the cluster schools who ventured out the excitement was just as great as at the Winter Olympics! This popular event on the Harrow Way Competition calendar has been taking place since 2011 and is one to which all schools are able to get together with Year 2 teams and Key Stage 2 teams taking part.
This year, the Harrow Way Leaders were able to run two leagues. Six teams in the Year 2 league and six in the Key Stage 2 league. Following on from expertly leading the Town Schools’ Competition the week before, they set about supporting our guests with confidence and commitment, showing knowledge of the game, rules and how to support the players.
Practice sessions complete, the teams headed off to their respective courts to play their league games whilst Harrow Way leaders positioned themselves perfectly to officiate and score their matches. Ella Taylor and Tia Dewhurst ensured changeovers were smooth so games were completed efficiently, whilst photographer Sammy Harrison captured some fantastic shots of New Age Kurling in action. Each team played five matches before results were announced. First and second place in each league were invited to play the finals in front of the other teams, teachers, leaders and parents – quite a scary prospect but something they did brilliantly! The audience was appreciative, demonstrating excellent sportsmanship by clapping shots played by all four teams.
An exceptionally close Year 2 final saw Portway Infants A beat Knights Enham Infants B by just one stone, final score 3-2. In a tense Key Stage 2 final, Miss Tucker and her Year 2 Roman Way team watched while her KS2 team grabbed a 2-0 win with their last stone. The ‘skip’ positioned it just in front of two Portway Junior B stones which were about to score two points and get them the win!
Our huge thanks to the players, teachers and parents of Portway Infant School, Knights Enham Infant School, Roman Way Primary School, Knights Enham Junior School and Portway Junior School for making the competition such an exciting one, played in an excellent sporting spirit. We are already looking forward to next year!
Huge thanks also go to the 13 Harrow Way leaders who were a credit to themselves and our school for their outstanding leadership.
Year 10: Ella Taylor and Tia Dewhurst
Year 9: Amy Elkins, Tasmin Eades, Zoe Ward and Lauren Williams
Year 8: Zara Davis
Year 7 (Leadership Academy): Agata Ruminska, Connor Burrows, Bronwyn Barton-Knott, Maddie Rushton, Amber Cherrington and Sammy Harrison.