Oakham’s Indoor Hockey season has been the most successful in Oakham history, with four teams securing a place at the Regional Finals, two for the 10th year running, and three finishing in 2nd place! The teams in 2nd place did not get through to the National Finals for the first time only due to a competition restructure.
The U18 Boys’, U16 Girls’ and U16 Boys’ teams all finished 2nd, with the U16 Boys missing out on a place at the National Finals on goal difference. The U18 Girls finished 5th in the Regional Finals, getting knocked out after a tense three-way sudden death penalty shootout!
Oakham’s Outdoor Hockey teams have also seen success, with the U14 Girls winning the County Cup to qualify for the Regional Finals. They finished an impressive 4th, narrowly losing the semi-final to the eventual winners. The U16 Girls reached the last 16 of the Tier 1 National Cup, and the U18 Girls are currently 5th in the National League with three games to play.
National Honours have been awarded to Hanna and Evelyn, with Hanna having been selected for Germany U16 and Evelyn for England U16.
The Girls’ 1st XI has had a fantastic first half of the season, with particular highlights being a strong victory over local rivals Stamford (7-0) in block fixtures and a tough away victory to Kirkham Grammar School (3-1) in the National Championships. With some excellent performances ending in draws, it sets the girls up for an exciting second half of the season with more National Championship fixtures to come.
The Boys’ 1st XI has started the National Championships with two tough fixtures against Ipswich and Norwich School. Still, with a young squad, it will be an exciting second half of the season when we return in January following the success of the indoor season.
This term, the U16B girls have been the pick of the teams, winning their League having gone unbeaten throughout the season. A huge congratulations to the girls! The U16C, U15C and U15D girls also recorded unbeaten seasons finishing 2nd in their respective leagues.
The Lower School girls have had great success with our Lower 1 girls playing their first-ever hockey fixtures. It has been pleasing to see their season develop. They gained confidence and ended their season with a fantastic victory over Witham Hall, turning around a tough result from earlier in the season, showing their progress and development. Coach, Isobel Beighton, said, “I’m so proud of the girls; many of them had never played hockey before. It’s been amazing to see them improve so much during the season.”
OO Success
Fresh from the Tokyo Olympics, OO Alex Stadler (’15), has continued his fine form in the German Bundesliga and has gone from strength to strength, having started the indoor season more recently.
It was exciting to see former 1st XI Captains Kathryn Lane and Maddie Pearce compete against each other as captains of their clubs (Clifton Robinsons & Loughborough Students Respectively) in the England Hockey Premier League. With OO Alice Huddlestone also captaining Nottingham Trent University while playing for Beeston in the England Hockey Premier League, it is brilliant to see the girls achieve great things.
On the boys’ Old Oakhamian side, last year’s 1st XI captain Ben Collinson (’21) made his Premier League debut for Beeston and he has been involved in the Great Britain Elite Development Squad assessments. Matthew Ramshaw quickly made his Premier League debut, followed by his European Hockey League Debut for Hampstead & Westminster Hockey club. He goes from strength to strength with his goal-scoring having scored in just his second European Hockey League appearance. In the Premier League, OO Lucas Ward has also been having success with his club Oxted, closing the first half of the season in their highest ever league position. We wish both Lucas and Matthew the best of luck as they continue their Great Britain Senior squad assessments, with the final squad being announced in January.
