Rydon pupils run for House in annual event

The sun was shining, almost perfect for running, when the pupils came to school in their PE kit ready for the afternoon race. Every pupil in school ran the cross country course and every member of staff was out making sure the pupils knew where they were going.

On a glorious afternoon, we had 6 races which would all contribute to the overall total at the end of the day.

The Year 7 boys went out first and set the fastest time of the day with Thomas Page of Arun House storming home in a time of 11 minutes 02 seconds – the fastest time of the day.

He was followed by two pupils from Weald House with Cameron Reynolds in second and Harry Kent in third.

The Year 7 girls were next out with another fantastic performance by Maisy Bounds from Downs House, again winning by quite a distance. The second place battle saw Lottie Regan of Chanctonbury House pip Freya Liley of Weald in the home straight to claim second.

Next out were the Year 6 girls for their first taste of the Rydon cross country. Natasha Duxbury of Arun showed her class by winning the race with ease over two girls from Downs, with Melissa Green in second and Holly Corrall in third.

The winning time was 15.17. The Year 6 boys were also experiencing the race for the first time and Alex Ewers produced an excellent performance winning the race for Chanctonbury in a time of 12.30. Thomas Charlwood came in second representing Downs followed by Harvey Algar in third representing Weald.

The Year 8 girls were next, setting off for their final time cross country at Rydon. This was a very competitive race with Katie Appleton of Weald winning the race in a time of 13.53. Katie was followed by Lauren Fisher of Chanctonbury and Georgie Russell of Downs.

The final race of the day was the Year 8 boys. With several outstanding runners, this race was one of the closest finishes with the top 5 coming across the field at the same time.

The race was won by Jacob Cann of Arun House in a time of 11.45. He was followed by a group of boys with Daniel Allam claiming second place for Downs and Harry Hartigan in third representing Arun.

Race organiser and Head of PE, Mr Irwin said, “A huge well done to all the pupils for their efforts and behaviour during the race yesterday and a massive thank you to all the staff for their help too”. The overall winning House was Downs, followed by Chanctonbury, Weald and Arun.

Pictured is Tom Page (centre) Cameron Renolds & Harry Kent.

Report and picture contributed by Rydon Community College.