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Sport Roundup 26th September

24th September 2025

From thrilling lacrosse and badminton matches to impressive hockey wins, the start of Autumn Term has been full of sporting highlights at CLC.

Pre-season

The sporting year began with another highly successful pre-season training camp. The senior squad enjoyed a well-balanced mix of structured training sessions, competitive sport, and fun activities. Highlights included a psychology workshop focused on managing pressure, a frame-painting session, a hair-braiding workshop, and plenty of fun with giant inflatables.

Next up, was our Junior Pre-season, which involved students from LC2 to UC4 taking part in a mixture of strength and conditioning sessions, escape rooms, yoga and physical challenges, followed by afternoons of hockey, netball and lacrosse.

The netball year began with great energy and focus as pupils returned for an action-packed pre-season. On Saturday 11th September, the players took part in a dynamic coaching session focused on speed, ball skills and conditioned game play. Two teams took to the court on the Sunday, demonstrating determination as they faced tough competition against local clubs. The players showed fantastic enthusiasm, teamwork and resilience, setting a positive tone for the season ahead.

Badminton

On the first Thursday back after the summer break, four students Gianna, Sophie, Elise and Evelyn were so excited to get back into badminton that they attended an external badminton training session, hosted at Dean Close School. They worked extremely hard for the two hours and enjoyed playing against club players from other schools.

On Saturday 13th September, the U16 and U18 teams had a great first match of the season against St Edward's School. Games were played in a great atmosphere, with CLC achieving some great wins. St Edward's also brought their Squash team along to play ours. As always, matches were played in great spirit and we managed to play lots of games with some fantastic wins.

The following week, we had a fun morning of badminton during LC1 and LC2 PE time. Badminton players demonstrated their potential while making lots of improvements throughout their session. We look forward to seeing them at club on Tuesday nights. Congratulations to Annie (SFC1) who had a brilliant weekend of badminton, playing in the Gloucestershire Restricted Tournament. She won a gold medal in the U18 Girls Singles, U18 Girls Doubles and U18 Mixed Doubles. Annie, also went on to beat a former Commonwealth Gold Medallist and Masters World Champion to gain another gold medal in the U18 Ladies Singles. Well done Annie - it's great to see all your hard work and training paying off!

Dance

Over the summer holiday, Xuan Xuan (SFC1) took part in several dance competitions, achieving remarkable success. At the Hong Kong Challenge Cup, she earned the Gold Award and was named Best Senior Performer in her age category. She went on to become a finalist at the International Ballet Grand Prix in Singapore, excelling in ballet and contemporary, where she not only reached the finals but also received two scholarships and a sponsor prize. Xuan Xuan concluded her summer on a high note, as a finalist in the Hong Kong Ballet Group Stars Awards.

Equestrian

Last weekend, Persia (UC5) and Issy (UC5) competed at the Cornbury House International and Young Horse Championships. They took part in a very competitive Pony Trail competition, in challenging conditions, due to the weather. Both pupils took away plenty of learning. Persia impressed with clear cross-country rounds on both of her ponies. They are both now aiming toward Osberton International, the end of season competition, which will be held in the coming weeks.

Golf

The golfers have very much enjoyed their introduction sessions in the brand-new Golf Simulator in the CLC Health and Fitness Centre. They will be getting on to the Lilley Brook course this week in preparation for their first match against St Edward’s School, Oxford.

Hockey

Saturday 13th September was a packed day of fixtures, starting with a 16 team triangular between Redmaids' High School, Cheltenham College and CLC. The girls showed great confidence in attacking space. The CLC stars and legends went unbeaten across the whole morning, without conceding a goal! The afternoon saw very competitive fixtures against Christ College, with the first team dominating three-quarters of the game after a sleepy start. The seconds really exploited space with pace and precision, with Sophie (UC5) excelling in breaking lines. The U14s took on their U15s which was a great opportunity for stretch and challenge. They all performed admirably on a long day out.

The following weekend saw triangular tournaments against The King's School and Bloxham School in preparation for the key England Hockey competitions in the next two weeks (both indoor and outdoor). These tournaments are the key peaks in our competition cycles. Saturday 20th September was a pivotal opportunity to bring units together in all age groups from U14-U18 to work key attacking and defending shapes and patterns. Each game, in every age group, was incredibly close with girls working tremendously hard and dominating possession and territory, but not always converting chances.

Huge congratulations to Amelie (UC4), who made her U18A debut and played with heart, grit and tenacity winning a number of short corners for the team by her use of space! Also, well done to all the U13s who played in our U14 sides in some of their first 11-a-side fixtures.

Please come and support our key competitions if you can. Dates, times and venues are available on SOCS.

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a sport of tournaments, and these events provide different challenges for players than a just straight head-to-head match. One of the incredible benefits of multiple matches is the opportunity to reflect, analyse and apply the learning straight away. At the Bath 8s Festival, our Sixth Form team faced experienced players representing Senior and University Clubs but were able to adapt their strategy and generate strong results in every match.

The same proved true at the Senior Welsh Rally, with the first team gaining excellent possession off the draw and delivering strong transitions up field by holding and creating space. The U15s lit up the tournament with their energy, creativity and willingness to take risks. All players involved demonstrated our sporting values on and off the pitch, what a great way to start the season!

CLC fielded six lacrosse teams against Westonbirt on Saturday 20th September, with Lower College teams participating in their first matches of the season. A special mention must go out to all the pupils who participated in their first ever lacrosse match! The players were focused on implementing tactics that supported creating space, including the Draw & Dish, the Give & Go, and Balancing the Ship. Across all ages the players demonstrated consistent team effort on the pitch, redefending and working off ball to provide supporting options for ball movement and playing with determination for every minute of the game. Big shout out to all the Goalkeepers who take on the toughest job in the sport - they were phenomenal!

Netball

Sixteen netball teams travelled to Downe House for our first mass netball fixture of the season. Spanning across three rounds and involving over 200 girls, it was a lively and enjoyable day. Every LC1 had the chance to take part in their first ever fixture for CLC, marking a memorable start to their netball journey. Throughout the day, we also had teams from UC4, UC5, SFC1 and SFC2, all of whom played brilliantly. It was fantastic to witness new team combinations and see how well each team applied the concept of the week, ‘creating space’. A special well done to Grace (UC5), Serena (UC5), Leah (UC5) and Anya (UC4), who represented their club in the U16 Seeding tournament on Sunday 14th September.

In preparation for their U16 County tournament, on Tuesday 16th September the U16 team played in a fixture against Farmor’s School. The game was tightly contested, with both teams evenly matched. Players displayed grit and determination, working cohesively to create attacking options up the court and forcing crucial errors from their opponents. The internal training session on Saturday 20th September provided a valuable opportunity to work on this week’s concept. Drills were designed to improve timing, angles of movement, and off-the-ball positioning. The players finished with conditioned game play that reinforced using leads and dynamic movement to open up the court effectively.

Skiing

The ski team had a brilliant first competitive outing at a club race in Gloucester on Saturday 13th September. There was a mixture of individual timed runs and dual slaloms, and everyone performed fantastically.

Swimming

The swimming season kicked off superbly with 32 swimmers representing CLC at the Cheltenham and District Schools Team Championship. Multiple teams raced in each age group, with their collective effort resulting in five first-place finishes out of six races, along with three further podium spots, showcasing CLC’s strength and depth across the board. Well done to all involved!

Tennis

On Saturday 20th September, we welcomed tennis players from multiple clubs to CLC for a match play. We had the opportunity to play singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches. The rain held off and we managed to play lots of games, forming friendships along the way. We will look forward to inviting them back!

Volleyball

The CLC Volleyball Team had their first fixture of the year, against Downe House, winning both matches (25-21). There were some amazing serves across both games from Aimee (SFC1) and Toby (UC5), and MVP was awarded to captain Anna (SFC2). Well done on a great fixture!