Rydal Penrhos finished the half-term strongly across all fronts and nowhere was this more true than in the efforts and achievements of our sporting stars.

Across a range of fields, Rydal Penrhos pupils excelled in both individual and team events. Whether competing in Rydal Penrhos’ own Sports Hall or on the hockey pitches of Newtown, the children and young people who represent the historic colours of our school have done so with real determination, enthusiasm and team spirit.

Rugby

It is an especially good time to be involved in Rydal Penrhos rugby with so much going on this term. The Rugby 7s squad that will travel to Rosslyn Park is soon to be announced, and the school looks forward to seeing our U16s play at the school’s own tournament.

The U13s have had lots of fixtures this term with various draws, loses and wins. Although the team fell short against St Edwards College and Bishops Heber, the boys took a win against Kings Chester and a draw against St David’s College. Credit should go to all Year 7 and 8 pupils who have represented school this term; you have done so with pride and passion. Congratulations to Noah Roberts for his superb leadership along with some great performances from Mathew, Seth and Attilio.

The First XV have been busy with fixtures including a competitive encounter with Ysgol Glan Clwyd and a close encounter with Belgrano Day School, a visiting independent school from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The game, watched intently by many pupils, staff and parents, was close to say the least! In the final minutes of the match, Ethan Akroyd’s kick gave Rydal Penrhos a two-point lead with one minute to go, only for Belgrano’s number 10 to step back in the pocket in the dying seconds and kick a drop goal to deny Rydal Penrhos the win by a single point. Congratulations to all our players on an outstanding display nonetheless; particular mention should go to James Copeland for a superb Player of the Match performance.

Plenty of positives to take for the rest of the year!

Hockey

There has been a huge amount of success on the hockey front since the start of September.

The U12 boys, U12 girls, U16 boys and U18 boys have all reached the next round of the cup with dates in Newtown or Cardiff coming up over the next few weeks.

Unfortunately the U18 girls fell just short having put a string of good performances in. Wins against Friars, St Edwards and Birkenhead were not quite enough as they narrowly missed out against some strong opposition in the cup.

Elsi Pyves has led the team from the front with consistent, strong performances throughout the season. We look forward to seeing if we can go one step further next year.

The U12 girls hockey team travelled to Newtown for the semi finals. Unfortunately due to frozen pitches it was postponed half-way through but a round robin with Ysgol Bryn Hyfryd and Mold Alun School still took place, which saw two strong wins for the Rydal Penrhos contingent.

The U14 Welsh girls hockey semi-finals took place on Friday 10 February; Rydal Penrhos fielded a strong team and had high hopes. These grew early on as the team won 3-2 in their first match. This was followed by a difficult loss to Cathedral School which set up a must win game against Brynteg.

The team played with real spirit in a clutch situation and were rewarded for their efforts as they ran away comprehensive winners. Unfortunately, that was the final win of the day as Rydal Penrhos lost out to Haberdashers in the quarter finals. Players left everything out on the pitch and made everyone very proud.

Finally, on the individual front, Lily Copeland, Charlotte Payne and Kiera Luke were all selected to represent North Wales at U14 and U16 levels. Alex Starling has also been selected for the Welsh U18s for a second year.

Well done everyone, amazing achievements!

Football

Football is growing in popularity at Rydal Penrhos, with pupils building a new tradition of the beautiful game at school. As we recently reported, the U15 team made their inaugural appearance with a strong showing against Myddelton College.

The U11 boys team secured an excellent third place in the Conwy Urdd competition on Wednesday 15 February. Considering there were 27 teams involved, the impressiveness of this achievement cannot be understated. Well done team!

Netball

Netball is a perfect game for this time of the year. When the inclement weather appears, our netball teams can move into the Sports Hall and continue to train and play at a high level, demonstrating tremendous levels of speed, accuracy and agility.

We are happy to report that netball season has been very successful. Our teams are still recovering from the pandemic but seeing exceptional progress.

Rydal Penrhos U12s played out a close game against St David’s College which narrowly went the Llandudno-based school’s way.

The U15s team faced local opposition in the form of Ysgol Eirias. Following an exceptional performance demonstrating real skill, the Rydal Penrhos team ran out firm winners.

Congratulations all!

Cross Country

The Eryri Cross Country Championships proved a breakthrough moment for Rydal Penrhos’ latest long-distance star, Year 9 pupil Lily Copeland. Following the competition, which took place at Bangor University’s Treborth Fields on Thursday 2 February, Lily was selected to represent Eryri against the best in the nation.

At the Welsh School Cross Country Championships on Wednesday 15 February, Lily put in a fine performance, demonstrating supreme determination and stamina as she finished very strongly in a field comprising over 70 competitors.

Lily, you did us all proud, well done!