Friday Headlines
the weekly newsletter from EHS
Team EHS Make ESSA Finals
26 November 2021
EHS swimmers and PE staff are still flying high after attending the finals of the 63rd ESSA Secondary Schools’ Team Championships that took place at the London Aquatics Centre, host to the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics swimming competitions, last weekend.
Our journey to finals began at the start of the Autumn Term, our U13 team consisting of Willow Bevan, Tiffany Latham, Isla Batchelor and Cleo Hayes swam a superb race in the qualification event hosted by Bromsgrove School, achieving a time of 2.06.44 for the freestyle relay and 2.26.90 for the medley relay. After an agonising three week wait, we found out that we had qualified for national finals in both events, a first for Team EHS! Due to the ongoing pandemic, qualification was even more difficult as only the top 20 schools in the country would be selected, rather than the usual number of 30, so we were already very proud of our swimmers.
Swimmers and staff travelled down to London after school on Friday afternoon before heading out for a team dinner later on in the evening. Conversation soon turned to PBs and school records but all girls were extremely excited to get in the water and compete against some of the best swimmers in the country.
With its Olympic-sized swimming pool, the iconic London Aquatics Centre was incredible. After a water familiarisation session and land-based warm-up, EHS were ready to swim in the first event which was the freestyle relay. The girls were fierce competitors, giving 100% and ensuring smooth changeovers at each end, resulting in a time of 2.05.13, an improvement on qualification. This moved us up the leader board from 17th position to 12th best school in the country, an incredible achievement. Next was the medley relay and although we did not manage to improve on our qualification time, the girls made the most of the opportunity and achieved some excellent individual performances.
We are so proud of the team: their achievements will go down in EHS swimming history and are a testament to their hard work and commitment. Bring on next year!
Swimmers Make ESSA Finals
Click image for full view
