Autumn Football at Prep
It’s been a busy and exciting term of Football at Headington Rye Prep.
The footballer have had numerous fixtures against other schools, including for the first time – mixed boys and girls matches.
The season kicked off with an away fixture against SS Mary and John School in Iffley Road. The U11 girls put in a battling performance to secure a 3-2 win with goals from Merope, Imi and Gwen.
The Prep School hosted its first ever U11s mixed match at the new Headington Rye Prep site in October against New Marston Primary. It was a hard-fought contest which finished in a 4-1 win for New Marston with Merope scoring for Headington Rye.
November proved to be a very busy month for the footballers. First, the U10s mixed team produced a cracker of a game v John Henry Newman Academy, losing 5-3. The Headington Rye goals were scored by Alfie (2) and Tom. The U11 girls were also in action, losing 4-0 to a clinical Oxford High School side.
Later that month, both U11 sides (girls and mixed) took part in the National League Trust Cup hosted at Oxford City FC.
The girls’ team produced wins against Cumnor and Wood Farm before securing respectable draws against SS Mary and John and St Nicholas Primary. They were then pitted against Windmill Primary School in the quarter finals, drawing 1-1 (goal scored by Bea) before losing 2-1 on sudden death penalties.
A big shout out goes to goalkeeper, Eseld, who saved two penalties to keep the team in the shoot-out for so long.
The mixed U11s side demonstrated excellent resilience against strong opposition, losing 4-0 to Cumnor and then suffering narrow defeats to Eynsham (2-0), Bladon (1-0) and Barton Park (2-1). They also secured a battling 0-0 draw against a strong St Michaels’ side. The pick of the goals was scored by Alfie who flicked his header over the opposition goalkeeper from Dana’s fantastic throw-in.
In December, the footballers rounded off the Autumn Term with an U10 girls fixture v St Andrews.
It was a close-fought contest with goals being shared between the teams. In the end, St Andrews clinched a 5-3 victory. The Headington Rye goals were scored by Alice (2) and Isabel.
The icing on the cake was a school trip to watch England’s Lionesses take on four-time world champions the USA.
Forty Headington Rye pupils descended upon Wembley Stadium, cheering and supporting the England team throughout the game.
Despite the drab 0-0 result, the pupils’ spirits remained high as they sang Sweet Caroline on the journey home!
Mr Tom Peace, Football coach and Year 5 teacher, said: “I am very proud of everything the pupils have achieved this term. Throughout each training session and fixture, they have demonstrated excellent perseverance, collaboration and outstanding sportsmanship. I look forward to hearing about how the Headington Rye teams get on in 2025.”
