March 19th 2022
A key part of a Moulsford education is ensuring boys are prepared and ready for life beyond the school, particularly with regard to preparation for their senior school. This journey takes many forms, with particular focus on the pastoral, academic and extra-curricular side.
One area we’ve adjusted in recent years is our approach to sport, with the main thrust being a determination to ensure that Moulsford games is completely inclusive, and that all boys have access to excellent coaching and the opportunity to represent the school in fixtures on a regular basis. We have also revised the sports programme to give more ‘airtime’ to hockey, as we recognise both the growing popularity of this sport, and the huge advantages to boys at senior school if they have played the game at prep school.
Participation numbers of Moulsford boys playing hockey has continued to grow steadily, with the majority of boys now choosing hockey as their Spring term sports option from Half-Term onwards. A number of boys are also playing hockey for Berkshire and Oxfordshire county teams.
For the past four years, we’ve been using the full size Hithercroft Astro in Wallingford to train and this year we have been able to secure the venue to play matches, which has allowed us to run ‘block’ fixtures against other schools, thus giving more boys exposure to competitive hockey. We are very grateful to Wallingford Sports Club at Hithercroft for this super collaboration.
I should also point out that there has been very significant success in the hockey results this term with perhaps a highlight being the U13s winning the Stowe Tournament, competing against eleven other schools. However, as we often remind the boys, it’s not all about the winning, but how they develop both as team players and individuals. Instilling the values of sportsmanship, so that sporting integrity becomes ingrained at this age, is also absolutely key.
