Sports News

The end of term has seen SPS athletes shine across multiple sports, with standout performances in basketball, cross country, fives, football, rackets, and rowing, including achievements and impressive victories at regional and national levels.

BASKETBALL

West London Partnership Basketball Competition

The U18 team defeated West London Free School in the semi-final, securing their third consecutive final. They will play against Holland Park after Easter.
Additionally, the SPS U16 team will compete in the finals as the Sixth Form faces the Fifth Form for a place in the final this week.

CROSS COUNTRY

International Fixture – SIAB 22 March 2025

Charlie Nicolson (Fourth Form) represented England in the SIAB fixture in Falkirk, racing against the top 8 runners from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Charlie ran an excellent race, finishing 10th out of 31 runners, and was the 6th finisher for England, who won the competition. After qualifying 8th at the English Nationals, he outperformed his seeding in this elite field. Full results are available here.

FIVES

SPS vs. The Executioners

On Wednesday evening, a team of six (Freddie Hammond Giles, Josh Ferro, Tom Ritchie, Elyas Efthimiou, Nadim Cortas, and Zen Okada) faced the Executioners – an adult club side. After convincing wins in the singles by Freddie, Tom, and Josh, the Executioners fought back in the doubles, leading to a narrow loss for SPS.

SPS vs. Winchester College – 22 March

SPS hosted a mixed U17, U16, U15, and U14 fixture. Highlights included Freddie Hammond Giles’ 11-0 win over their top seed, Freddie and Josh Ferro beating their top pair 15-0, 15-1 in doubles, and Patrick Monro-Davies narrowly losing his singles 7-11. The U15 pair of Alex Ponte & Ranvir Puri won all their doubles matches, while U14s Joey Hammond Giles (undefeated against U14s this season) and Thomas Outred recorded high-quality wins. SPS won the fixture 231-223.

FOOTBALL

ISFA Shield Final – 25 March

The 1st XI traveled to Burnham FC to play in the ISFA National Shield final, making history as the first SPS football team to compete in a national final. Moyo Lawani’s early goal gave SPS the lead, but Bromsgrove School equalized, bringing the score to 1-1. Despite dominating play and passing beautifully through the lines of defense, SPS could not find a winner, and the match went to extra time. Several chances fell to the feet of SPS attackers, but some excellent saves from the Bromsgrove goalkeeper kept the score level. A late goal from Bromsgrove proved decisive, and despite a late penalty for SPS, Bromsgrove came away 2-1 winners. Congratulations to all those who represented the school, both on and off the pitch.

RACKETS

SPS vs. Rugby School

Congratulations to the team for an outstanding fixture:

• 1st Pair: Alex Hogben & Sachin Marchand WON 3-0 (15/4, 15/9, 15/4)
• 2nd Pair: K. Vujnovic & Hari Dattani WON 2-0 (15/3, 15/9)
• U16 Pair: Anish Dhar & Edouard Traissac WON 3-1 (15/6, 15/9, 15/17, 15/3)
• U15A Pair: Alexei Fletcher & Rayaan Ahmad WON 3-0 (15/1, 15/1, 15/6)
• U15B Pair: Joe Burch & Haofei Du LOST 1-2 (15/10, 14/17, 5-3 set)

ROWING

Schools’ Head of the River – 25 March

SPS secured five gold medals and the Thames Team Trophy for the best aggregate times from three crews at the Schools’ Head of the River. Perfect racing conditions on the home stretch of water, combined with hosting over 500 pupils from visiting schools, made for an exciting event.

• 1st VIII – Won Championship Eights by 7.2 s from Shiplake (defending their title from 2024)
• 2nd VIII – 4th in Second Eights, 4.6 s behind winners Eton
• 3rd IVx – 28th in Championship Quads
• J16A – Won J16 Championship Eights by 1.1 s from KCS (defending their title from 2024)
• J16B – Won J16 Second Eights by 7.4 s from Eton
• J15A – Won J15 Championship Eights by 19.9 s from KCS (defending their title from 2024)
• J15B – Won J15 Second Eights by 11.2 s from Hampton (defending their title from 2024)
• J15C – 2nd in J15 Third Eights, 6.6 s behind Hampton

The 1st VIII, 2nd VIII, and J16A times combined to retain the Thames Team Trophy by 16 s over KCS. Congratulations to all teams for their outstanding performances.