n It has been another promising year for Junior School Football. With all pupils representing the College, this year saw 26 teams proudly wear the black and blue hoops in a fixture. Across the Michaelmas term, all pupils followed the same principles of play as the senior school looking to use current premier league players as a focus to work on their dribbling, passing, defending and shooting. It was wonderful to see so much improvement from all groups and this was highlighted by the team’s performances on the pitch. In Year 3 and 4, the focus of sessions is on development rather than preparing for fixtures. Enhancing the pupils’ awareness of where to be during game play and building their fundamental ball control skills. Seeing so many pupils out representing the College in fixtures against Eaton House and Hornsby House for Year 3 and DPL, Cumnor House, Bickley Park and Hornsby House for Year 4 were particular high points. In Year 5 and 6, the teams looked to kick on and focus on playing together as a team as they looked to pass the ball quickly and play on the front foot. In Year 5, strong performances against Newton Prep, Cumnor House, Eaton House and DPL saw the teams building on the hard work they put in during Games lessons. In Year 6, after a tough first fixture with DPL, the teams worked hard on their shape in games and saw more positive outcomes against Alleyn’s, Broomwood and Hornsby House. As they head into the Lower School, we all look forward to their continued progression. There were also a number of teams entered into tournaments this year. The Year 3 A and B teams entered the KCS tournament and learnt a lot across the afternoon. The A team progressed through in their group but lost out in the knockout stages whilst the B team performed well against other schools’ A teams. In Year 4, the A team headed to Royal Russell and played some fantastic attacking football across the morning in the round robin group. At Year 5, the A and B teams played in the Dulwich local schools’ tournament. The A team performed well but didn’t score enough goals to reach the cup competition meaning they entered the plate improving with each game. The B team, finished third in their group, entering the shield competition which they came through to win in the final; a fantastic achievement from the team. In Year 6, the A team played in the Royal Russell, the Dulwich Overload and ISFA tournaments this year. A strong showing at Royal Russell saw the team just miss out on top spot whilst at the Dulwich tournament the team adapted to the tactical challenge reaching the semi-finals. At the ISFA regional tournament, Dulwich topped the group and were scoring freely but in a tense quarter final they came up against a strong Thomas’ Clapham who went on to win the tournament. Every pupil who played football at the College this year should be very proud of their efforts. Playing on the pitches in front of the Pavilion is a fantastic experience for the Junior School and one that continues to allow each pupil the opportunity to show the positive development we have seen this year. FOOTBALL
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