ARNOLD TAKE THE CROSS COUNTRY CUP
Tuesday 16th October was the perfect day for a cross country run and there was a palpable sense of anticipation, trepidation and excitement as the whole school gathered on Byne Paddock for the start.
At dead on 14:00 the first wave of runners set off, Year 7 and 8 girls flew off the line with 5.5km ahead of them. Every 5 minutes another group of pupils was unleashed onto the course, until the last group from the sixth form set off accompanied by staff runners, Mr Mortimer, Mr Clark and Mr Phillips. There were some interesting outfits on show, but the winner must go to Milo Stretton-Cox, who in spite of having forgotten his sports kit set off resplendent in his suit and school shoes! Contrary to expectations, Milo completed the course in a superbly respectable time of 47:13, 17th place overall amongst the senior boys. He no doubt wonders what time he might have clocked had he been sporting the appropriate attire!
The course looked beautiful in the autumn sunlight and as the runners headed out up ‘cardiac hill’ and onto the golf course, the younger years were already returning. As the first runners battled for winning positions the atmosphere was tense but as runner after runner returned, the naturally competitive spirit between our school houses took over, and in true carnival style there was cheering and applause all round.
The results are in, and the individual winners of each category are listed below. Huge congratulations must go to William Sharpe in Year 7, who broke the Minor Boys school record which has stood since 2011. A truly stupendous achievement, made all the more impressive considering that William had also run the West Wiltshire county cross country trials that same morning.
Many thanks to Relish Running for overseeing the time keeping and to all the staff who assisted along the course, cheering and encouraging our pupils at every corner. Well done to every runner who took part – it was a glorious afternoon for the whole school, pupils and staff alike.
Minor Girls – Jessica Broadbent 35:55
Minor Boys – William Sharpe 26:55
Junior Girls – Scarlett Slack 30:18
Junior Boys – Thomas Campbell-Barnard 26:56
Inter Girls – Alice Thornton 31:28
Inter Boys – Jacob Browne 32:25
Senior Girls – Hattie Dunn 43:14
Senior Boys – Piers Vivash 30:39
Congratulations to Arnold House – they won 6 out of 8 categories.
Thank you to Yellow Balloon for catching all the action – The 1707 Cross Country Run
Tim Watts, Director of Sport