Head's Blog: Old Moles football

We had a very special day on Sunday 5^th March as we welcomed Old Moles and their parents from the class of 2018 back to Moulsford. The boys are now in the Upper Sixth at their senior schools, working hard for their A-Levels and we hope that their day with us gave them a well-earned break from their studies. Edward Bush was a 2018 leaver, and we started the day by gathering the community together to remember him.  We agreed how much he would have enjoyed the day, and recalled the wonderful times he had on the Moulsford grounds over six happy years. We then all observed a minute’s silence.

The 2018 Old Moles (average age: 18) then took on the Staff Football team (average age: 34) in an eleven a-side game. After five minutes of play, the Old Moles took advantage of their squad system by sending four pairs of fresh legs on to the pitch, and continued to rotate their players throughout the game. This was greatly welcomed by the teenagers as many of them had been at 18^th celebrations the night before. The staff looked longingly to their substitutes’ bench to find it empty, and things were looking bleak at half-time as they found themselves 1-3 down, with 30 minutes still to play and no reinforcements to hand! However, James Springer’s half-time team talk will be talked about for years to come and the second half will surely go down as one of the greatest comebacks ever seen on the Moulsford pitches, with the staff winning the match 7-4.

As we always remind the boys, the result is not as important as the journey and never could this be more true of Sunday. The game was played in exactly the right spirit, and was followed by an excellent ‘Match Lunch’ in the marquee. It was such a pleasure to see the boys and their families five years on, and super for everyone to catch up with old friends. The day gave the staff a different perspective of their huge impact as teachers, was a wonderful validation of all we do at Moulsford, and a reminder of the strength of the Moulsford community. We plan to make this an annual event for Old Moles who are in their final year of senior school.