Almost 200 girls and boys in Years 1 to 6 took part in Shiplake College's inaugural Schools' Cross Country Competition on Saturday 15 January. The athletes were not deterred by the icy and foggy conditions and New Field was buzzing with families from over 20 local primary and prep schools, as the runners warmed up ready for their respective races.
The Director of Sport, Mr Dan Bradley, was on duty at the start line and set each race off with a starting gun. Thank you to the pupils and staff who were high-vis heroes to help denote the routes and to Billy Fundell, Henry Kunzig and Gregor Jones who acted as hares and chasers to ensure no one lost their way.
The Headmaster, Mr Tyrone Howe, and his dog Simba, were waiting on the finish line ready to award the first three finishers over the line with gold, silver and bronze medals and every participant was given a certificate with their position marked on the back. Mr Howe commented: "It was a wonderful morning with lots of smiles from the runners and shouts of encouragement from the spectators. It was wonderful to see lots of runners and their parents enjoying hot drinks in Marjorie's Cafe after their races. I was impressed with all the athletes for taking on a new course - in the fog - with such enthusiasm. There were some particularly fast runners who kept our Sixth Form pupils who were the hares having to work hard to keep ahead! We are already looking forward to hosting the event again and thank you to everyone involved."
Congratulations to the following runners and schools:
Year 1
| Girls (12 Runners) | Boys (15 Runners) |
| 1st) Angelina L (The Heights Primary) | 1st) Alan C (Whitchurch Primary) |
| 2nd) Sylvia S (Rupert House) | 2nd) Wilbur L (Rupert House) |
| 3rd) Emilia M (Kidmore End Primary) | 3rd) Teddy H (Kidmore End Primary) |
Year 2
| Girls (21 Runners) | Boys (20 Runners) |
| 1st) Martha S (Woodcote Primary) | 1st) Max M (Trinity Primary) |
| 2nd) Olivia G (Peppard Primary) | 2nd) Joseph P (Shiplake Primary) |
| 3rd) Teddy M (Rupert House) | 3rd) Thomas M (The Heights) |
Year 3
| Girls (20 Runners) | Boys (14 Runners) |
| 1st) Jemima W (Rupert House) | 1st) Ambrose P (Kidmore End Primary) |
| 2nd) Isabella C (Nettlebed Primary) | 2nd) William C (Shiplake Primary) |
| 3rd) Paloma L (The Heights) | 3rd) Jonah W (Sonning Common Primary) |
Year 4
| Girls (22 Runners) | Boys (14 Runners) |
| 1st) Emily P (Shiplake Primary) | 1st) Isaac R (Caversham Primary) |
| 2nd) Elsie D (Sonning Common Primary) | 2nd) Lucas E (Rupert House) |
| 3rd) Izzy C (Trinity Primary) | 3rd) George G (Moulsford Prep) |
Year 5
| Girls (13 Runners) | Boys (11 Runners) |
| 1st) Lucy L (Shiplake Primary) | 1st) Edward C (Shiplake Primary) |
| 2nd) Lois G (Kidmore End Primary) | 2nd) Henry M (Trinity Primary) |
| 3rd) Charlotte S (Woodcote Primary) | 3rd) Irving P (Kidmore End Primary) |
Year 6
| Girls (22 Runners) | Boys (14 Runners) |
| 1st) Emily A (Sonning Common Primary) | 1st) Joe A (The Heights) |
| 2nd) Isabella S (Trinity Primary) | 2nd) Oscar M (The Heights) |
| 3rd) Olivia W (Rupert House) | 3rd) Finn H (The Heights) |
