SE CHRONICLE 684

61 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

The Girls’ XI Across the season the girls enjoyed great success losing only three of their 10 games. The Spring Term opened with strong wins v Shiplake, St Clare’s, The Oratory and MCS. As they moved through the season a clear structure to the style of play emerged and game-on-game development was evident both individually and as a team. The girls were a very cohesive group and were led well by captains Ruby Freeland and Lucy Draper. Their success was a credit to their determination and desire to compete given that some of the team had not played football before. It was a pleasure to see the girls’ XI competing with schools such as Oxford High and WGS Witney who have a long history of playing football. It is exciting to see girls’ football thrive at St Edward’s and it will continue to develop now that football is available to all. The Boys’ XI It was a successful season for the boys’ XI in their first year at the Central Independent Schools League along with Shiplake, Radley, The Oratory, Marlborough, Wellington and MCS. They did incredibly well to end the season having lost only two of the 12 games making them the most successful XI in recent years. They enjoyed fantastic wins against Bedford School, RGS Worcester and local rivals Radley. The team grew in confidence under the leadership of George Knee and Josh Richardson and finished fourth in the League sadly narrowly missing out on the top spots due to two draws. The XI grew as a unit throughout the season and, with the majority of the team back this year, this is a promising year for the Football Club. The Club For the rest of the Club there were many individual and team successes. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th XIs all competed in the CISL and found success in both the League and friendly matches. For the first time, the School put out a competitive 5th XI ensuring that all involved with the Club had an opportunity to represent St Edward’s. Finally, a big thank you from the Club to the coaching and ground staff for creating such a wonderful environment in which to play the game.

Nicholas Sawyer during a training session

Ruby Freeland