On Friday 21 April, we were delighted to welcome our senior sports athletes to our annual Sports Dinner. This event celebrates the achievements of our students in sport this year, as well as hearing from an inspirational speaker. This year, we were absolutely delighted to welcome back Sophie Drakeford-Lewis, Abbey alumna and Surrey Storm and England netball player. 

After socialising over a delicious meal, we heard from our guest speaker. Sophie spoke fondly of her years at The Abbey (from Junior to Sixth Former!) and all that she had learnt along the way. She spoke avidly about her journey in not only netball, but in lots of sports too, such as tennis and athletics, and how she found this vital in developing her into the performer she is today. She expressed how she managed workload in combination with high level sport, and how this helped prepare her for managing a degree at The University of Bath. She acknowledged both the highs and lows of elite sport – as she is now a professional, full-time athlete, and her aspirations for the future, both in and out of the sport of netball. 

Following this, we embarked on the awards ceremony. This gave teachers the chance to award colours to those students who had demonstrated excellent performance and commitment, as well as a variety of awards to select students for outstanding performance in each sport. Well done to all our students who were given their senior colours and congratulations to the following award winners:

• The Burn Cup for Aesthetics – Tiggy and Adele (Upper VI)
• Athletics, Biathlon and Cross Country – Carys (Upper V)
• Football – Harriet and Poppy (Upper V)
• The John Tovey Memorial Trophy for outstanding hockey achievement – Poppy (Lower VI)
• The Thompson Netball Trophy – Amelia (Upper VI)
• The Hardcastle Swimming Trophy – Libby (Upper VI)
• Tennis – Sarah (Upper V)
• Middle School Physical Education Cup (Lower V and Upper V) – Carys (Upper V)
• Senior School Physical Education Cup (VI Form) – Chloe (Lower VI)
• Director of Sport Leadership Award – Maisie (Upper V)
• The Sturrock Trophy for outstanding sporting achievement – Hannah (Upper VI) 

Here what some of our students had to say about their experience:

“Every year I find that the Sports Dinner is a great way to celebrate everything positive that sport promotes: self-worth, achievement and team spirit. It was wonderful to spend an evening enjoying a lovely dinner with my friends and listening to Sophie Drakeford-Lewis who inspired us all with her thoughtful insights and story. What I found particularly interesting was how she kept as many sports going for as long as possible, something I particularly identify with (being a multi-events athlete myself). I was lucky enough to receive the Middle School PE Trophy this year, a prize that means a lot to me as I always try my best to inspire others to find joy in the sports that I myself get a lot out of”. Carys (Upper V)

We must thank Sophie once again for her remarkable speech, and also the support staff that made the event possible. We look forward to hosting our Sports Awards for Lower School students later this term and to seeing the continued success of our students this Summer term, and into next academic year. PE and Sport Department