This week, the senior pupils at GES celebrated National Sports Day by taking part in sporting events with the School. The girls went off to Aspire Dome for their Sports Day, while the boys enjoyed their Swimming Gala at the School. Staff and students were excited to be at Aspire for their Sports Day, and for many of them, it was the first time they had ever been into the Dome. The facility is truly inspirational and we are very grateful for the kind support of Feras Btaddini, Alexander Thomas and Richard Tranmere at Aspire, who all made this event possible for us.
The day included all the usual athletics activities… 60m sprint, 200m run, hurdles, long jump, high jump shot putt and javelin. All girls attempted all activities and there were some excellent results. Berelize Buys (Y9) was one of the most notable participants of the day, with solid performances in all running and jumping events. Mariam Farid was outstanding in the 60m, running 8.12 seconds as she prepares for the School Olympic finals in March. Teachers, Miss Eve, Miss Kayleigh and Mrs. Bedford pushed the girls on by joining many of the races. But as much as students enjoyed the traditional events, it was the other novelty activities that engaged them most… the bat and ball balance relay, the sack race, the obstacle relay, and the favourite of all, the tug-of war! The results for Sports Day are now being calculated to determine individual and year group positions and these will be announced in the upcoming sports assembly.
So, as the girls enjoyed their time at the Dome, the boys were back at school swimming. They should first of all be commended for their participation – they’re braver than I, for the water is not exactly warm at the moment. Collectively, 8BL did an excellent job and there were very notable performances from Euan Do Jongh (Y7) and Faisal Al Naimi (Y11). As is the tradition, the gala finished with the staff-v-students relay. This year’s staff dream team (and proud winners) included Mr. Uffindal, Mr. Winstanly, Mr. Faheem and Mr. Lloyd. Whilst nobody likes to lose, our boys shouldn’t feel too disappointed about this one… remember that between them, these teachers have had about 200 years to train for this race!