“That is how Arnold are … they never give up”

On Wednesday I was privileged to spend the day at Cannock Hockey Club watching our U14 Hockey team compete at the Finals of the National Schools Hockey Championships. When I arrived, slightly bleary-eyed, very early in the morning I could not have predicted the drama and tension that would unfold.  Those of you who followed my tweets (jimkeefe_arnold) would know that my blood pressure certainly felt the strain...

After impressively winning our group with three straight victories against some of the country's leading hockey schools, scoring 7 goals and conceding none, Arnold qualified comfortably for the National Final against Repton. In the final, we took the lead just after half-time, following an impressive solo run by captain Francesca Beeby, but Repton equalised with just over five minutes to go and then broke Arnold hearts with two late goals to beat us 3-1. Our girls were naturally very dejected on the final whistle, but they must hold their heads up high and take great pride in the fact that they are the second best team in England.

They should also take immense satisfaction in the way that they represented themselves and their school. Their tenacity, flair and skill were evident for everyone to see, but more importantly it was their desire to win and their fantastic team spirit that bought a lump to my throat. It shows just what can be achieved when an expertly coached team works together with such synergy and focus. Read more here.

On Thursday and Friday our U18 team was eliminated at the group stages of the National Schools Hockey Championships, but I understand that they too showed the same exemplary attitude in all their games.  I am not the only one who is immensely proud of them; I received the following email today from a member of the Schoolgirls' Hockey Association, which I am delighted to reproduce here:

"I thought I'd write a brief note about the Arnold girls who were at the hockey finals in Cannock last week. I know that you were there for the U14 finals and saw how well they performed and they were amazing.

I want to give special mention and praise to the U18 girls. They travelled to the National finals of the competition knowing they would face Repton (champions for the last six years), Millfield (regular champions and joint tournament favourites) and Cheadle, who beat them comprehensively in the North final. I wasn't sure how they would perform when they were such obvious underdogs and hoped that they didn't suffer any crushing defeats.  I needn't have worried.  

They were fantastic, demonstrating the same spirit and togetherness that had taken them to the finals.  They never gave up and worked their socks off in both the Millfield and Repton games. On Friday they went out to face Cheadle and played the game of their lives. They created more chances to score in that game than in the other two together, and were very unlucky not to score at least once. Facing teams with multiple international players seemed to galvanise them. I have watched that group of girls since Year 7 and their determination and teamwork was remarkable. I cannot single out any one girl for special praise as every one of them gave their best, and never stopped running.

I was not alone in my admiration; several of the England Hockey personnel commented on their pluck and remarked that "that is how Arnold are... [they] never give up."  At the end they all had huge smiles on their faces and were proud of themselves. I wish more schools exhibited that sporting attitude and magnanimity in defeat and Arnold can be very proud of those girls and of the staff that accompanied them.

I hope you can pass on my thanks to the girls and staff for making the journey to Cannock so worthwhile."

Our U13 rugby team also enjoyed a fine week as they qualified for the Lancashire Cup Final with a 27-22 victory over St Edward's College, Liverpool. This result is even more significant because the same side had lost 24-7 to St Edward's just a few weeks beforehand. The self-belief of the team and its willingness to carry the game to the opposition were central to this outstanding performance. Well done boys.

It has also been a busy few weeks for our representative rugby players. 1st XV player, Ben Perkins, played for the U18 North of England side in the Inter-Divisional Festival over half term and Elliott Fackey, Will Nickson, Richard Whiteside and Matthew Radley all had the honour of representing their county in the last fortnight. Click here to read more.

On another exciting note, it is now only two weeks until our annual Choral Society Concert on 22nd March. This year we will be performing Rutter's 'Magnificat' and Faure's 'Requiem'. The soloists are two Arnold sixth formers, Lauren Au and Robert Brocklehurst, who have both received offers of Choral Scholarships from Oxford and Cambridge respectively. This will be a special night and is not to be missed. Tickets are available from Alison Taylor on Reception. Click here for more information. I hope to see you there.

Best wishes

Jim Keefe, Headmaster

PS Arnold Bear is now writing a Junior School blog. To read about his antics, click here...

  • “That is how Arnold are … they never give up”