The second half of the autumn term has again been packed full of fixtures. We have played approximately 40 fixtures across the term and enjoyed a blend of differing results.

The girls have continued with their football training and worked tirelessly to improve their skills. The year 9s have had their second tournament night - the A’s losing one, drawing two and winning one, the B’s lost one and drew one. The U14’s continued on from their 11-2 win in the National County cup and took on Kennet. They fought hard on the larger pitch with some great defense but unfortunately lost 3-1. The year 7 girls also had their second round of their district league matches, the girls have shown great commitment to training and we continue to see great numbers out training each week. The two teams collectively won one, drew three and lost one. We look forward to the year 8 and 10’s having their league fixtures and the 'final nights' where each team will play for district positions.

The U14, U16 and U18s netball teams kick started their seasons as we were invited to the pre-county netball tournament held at Queen Anne’s. We were one of the only two state schools and faced tough opposition. The U14s fought hard with a large squad and lost only by a few goals each game. Showing great determination and endeavour they won against Heathfield 8-5. The U16s and U18s showed determination and despite results not going their way, the girls played with their heads held high and showed some fantastic resilience and perseverance.

The year 7-10 teams went down the road to St Bart’s in our pre season friendlies. The 7s came together for the first time and showed some key skills and the other years demonstrated their experience on court. The 10s did amazingly as they made a strong comeback after being down several goals to then draw the game 19-19. Similarly, the rest of the teams won their games comfortably with the 9s winning 36-16, 8s 22-14 and 7s 17-8.

Next term we see the PGL Netball Tour travel to Liddington, so we wish the thirty girls in year 10 and 11 the best of luck for their tournament matches.

The boys have also continued with their rugby matches as the main district focus. The Year 7s have thrown themselves into rugby here at Park House and made a fantastic start to their rugby careers here; representing the school and fully embodying the values in every fixture we have played. Their first taste of action was a triangular tournament taking on St Barts and The Downs over at Trinity. Despite results not going our way, it built foundations for the team moving forward. The next round of fixtures provided an opportunity to pit their wits against Kennet and St Barts, this time coming away with two victories!

Year 8 rugby team has seen an influx of new players join the squad which has strengthened competition throughout. The team have secured resounding wins against St Barts and Kennet scoring some beautifully worked team tries alongside some individual brilliance. The B team have also secured victories against St Barts and Kennet showing the strength and depth in the squad.

The Year 9 rugby team have only had one fixture this half term due to cancellations but that fixture proved to be a scintillating one; the first round of the Berkshire Cup v an incredibly strong Downs team. With a slight nervousness going into it due to two significant losses last year, The Downs took a strong lead by scoring four tries within 20 minutes. Rather than keeping their heads down, Park House built momentum back into the game with some strong carrying and physicality. Three tries in the last 10 minutes, with the final try coming on the full time whistle. 29-27 down, it came down to a touchline conversion… which was missed. However, due to noise being created from The Downs players, the decision was made to retake the conversion… which sailed through the middle of the posts. 29-29 meant the officials had to look at the ruling. With tries tied, conversions tied it meant the away team went through… Park House! A fitting result for the commitment and development of the Year 9 rugby squad this term.

The Year 10 rugby team remained unbeaten through their 5 games in the first half term of the year. The boys kicked off their season with a very strong win over Court Moor School in the national cup, before enjoying two comfortable wins on their Gloucester tour showing unwavering promise. Last week, they had the daunting trip to the renowned Marlborough College in the second round of the national cup. Bestowed with the honour of playing on the schools main pitch in front of a large crowd, the boys battled back from 17-0 down to secure a 22-22 draw with an excellent penalty at the end of the game from J Denner. Very sadly, the competition rules indicate that the team who scored the most tries go through, meaning we narrowly miss out on a place in the next round. Undeterred, the team have started their County Cup ambitions with a comprehensive win over Kennet and look forward to next term with the aim of remaining unbeaten through the entire season.

Our Year 11 boys have demonstrated an admirable level of commitment to their training this year and that has served them well, as in a bid to secure regular fixtures they have taken on sixth form teams each Wednesday afternoon. The season kicked off with wins over Leighton Park and Claires Court followed by two narrow losses at the hands of older teams from the Downs and Reading School. On tour in Gloucester, The team managed an excellent win against a very spirited Chosen Hill side before narrowly losing out to Old Cryptians on the final day in another absorbing game. At the half way stage of the season, the honours are even in terms of wins and losses and the boys look forward to further games next term

Likewise, throughout this term the boys have been playing National Cup Football games. These matches have started well for Park House with the Year 8 and 10 teams playing their first round fixtures so far. The Year 8s won 3-0 against Trinity in a fantastic game with some excellent play from the boys. They now play Prospect in the next round. The Year 10s were convincing in their first round match against Aldworth coming out 5-0 winners in a dominant display. The 10s have also played their second and third round matches. They beat Willink school 2-0 away from home in a competitive encounter and then travelled to Gosport to play Bay House School and came out winners with a 7-2 victory. A fantastic first term where we will await the 4th round opponents after half term.

The Year 7s started their campaign with a very impressive 6-2 victory vs Brighton Hill. This was the first game the 7s had played together with many boys attending the trials, the teachers found it difficult to select 12 boys. The game was fantastic with some great goals and team play and a very exciting future for this team. They then played Trinity and won convincingly to book their place in round 3 after half term. An excellent start by the Year 7s in their first term at Park House.

Unfortunately, the year 11 side crashed out at the first hurdle against a very physical and good St Birinus side from Didcot. They lost to the eventual winners last year and you could see their quality in their team. The boys had an off day and couldn’t match the intensity of the other team. The 11s will come back strongly in January when they are looking to get past the quarter final stage of the County Cup which they went out in last year and hopefully seal the district title as well.

The year 8 football team have had a great start to the season winning both National cup fixtures to progress to round 3 after half term. In the first game, they defeated Trinity 3-0 with a great performance and then went over to Prospect school and came out 3-1 winners. A great start and Mr Carolan is particularly proud of how the boys have started with their commitment and togetherness. They will play Maiden Erleigh in round 3 after half term.

Finally, the Year 9 boys team have only had one national cup fixture as they received a bye in round one. The second round match put us up against local opposition in Kennet. The boys played extremely well and defended fantastically and sucker punched Kennet with two fantastic counter attacks to win the game 2-1. They will await their third round opponents after half term.

The football season at Park House has started tremendously well and we look forward to building on our success after half term and hope to go as far as possible in this prestigious competition. Well done to all of the boys this term!

As always we have a huge range of clubs alongside our fixtures. There has been a strong start to the academic year with badminton club which attracts between 30 and 50 students every Wednesday. It’s such a good opportunity for our students to play against neighbouring schools in participation fixtures. We have a number of willing students to play at KS4 and KS3 with currently a strong female demographic wanting to take part.