On Tuesday 1 May we held our first Kayaking and Wakeboarding activity at Hilsea Lido.

As of the start of May, kayaking and wakeboarding are available to Years 10 and above, through Adventure College at Hilsea Lido.  Although numbers are limited, the activities are already proving to be extremely popular. 

On a glorious afternoon at Fields on Wednesday 28 March, the Under 11 Rugby and Netball teams brought their respective seasons to a close with both ‘A’ and ‘B’ fixtures against Sherborne House.

On Friday 16th March, a squad of U13/U14 netballers travelled to PGL Liddington for a weekend netball tour where they took part in the two-day netball tournament against other school from across the country.

On Thursday evening, the Under 11 hockey team completed their fixtures in the Portsmouth Schools’ Hockey League.

This weekend the U12 & U13 teams played against Lord Wandsworth College, traditionally a very strong school. 

Our U13A played against their Junior 1st team and went down 6-3 but battled excellently throughout, with some good performances from Dan McKeown and Matt Coles in particular. Their heads never dropped and were a credit to themselves and will have learnt a lot against an opposition of this calibre.

Having run a couple of half marathons already Simon Priestley, former St John’s Pupil and Head Boy, is now preparing to run the London Marathon this year, for Team PB (Prostate and Breast Cancer).  In addition to running 26 miles, Simon has the challenge of raising £2012 for the charity.

On Wednesday March 7 the Under 11 7-a-side rugby team travelled to Oakwood School to compete in their annual Sevens’ tournament, an event that attracts the best rugby playing schools in Hampshire and West Sussex.

The U12s and U13s represented St John's very well in the Embley Park Sevens, held at Hampshire Collegiate School.

At the weekend St John's played their first ever 1st XI match against Christ's Hospital. For some, it was a baptism of fire, and the nerves were evident beforehand. With our team being predominantly Year 10 players, we knew we were up against it.

After the half-term break the Under 13, 14 and 15 teams had matches against Warminster School. Unfortunately the opposition were unable to raise a team at Under-12 level, however they had a good training session.

The Under 13 team travelled to Warminster. Unfortunately they lost their match 4-1, with Ed Gomesz scoring the team’s only goal. Warminster played some very good Hockey throughout, and conceding two goals in the last ten minutes meant that the scoreline flattered the opposition somewhat.

Congratulations go to Elliott Wells in Year 7 for winning a Havant Borough Sports Association Award recently.

Havant Borough Sports Association held their 32^nd annual sports awards at Park Community School on Wednesday 22 February.  There were 17 award categories covering all ages and aspects of sport, with guest speaker ex-Olympian Hockey player David Faulkner.

On Tuesday 7 February the Squash team travelled to Wycliffe College in Gloucestershire to play in the 2nd Round of the National Schools Squash. We were up against a very capable team – Wycliffe College won the National Championship seven times in the last eight years and they have two international players in their ranks.

With much excitement, and after several weeks training, the first ever Saturday Hockey fixtures for St John’s College took place at the weekend. 

The U14 and U13 teams travelled to the Isle of Wight and unfortunately came away with two losses. The scores do not however reflect the commitment and effort that both teams showed against some excellent opposition. It was commented that they stuck to their tasks well and showed a grit and determination that is fast becoming synonymous with St John’s College pupils.

St John’s pupil and tennis player Blu Baker has been nominated for the Portsmouth News Young Sportsman of the Year Award.  

Blu, currently in Year 5, has been playing tennis since he was three years old, now at the ripe old age of 10, he is nationally ranked.

The final Rugby weekend saw St John’s play the traditionally very strong Chichester High School for Boys. Unfortunately, due to the opposition not being able to raise a side, there was no match for the Under-14 and Under-16 teams. As such, the 1^st XV match was adapted to a Development XV match, giving the coaches an opportunity to try different combinations and look at next year’s 1^st XV, as well as give our Year 13s and leaving Year 11s the send-off they deserve after several years of service to St John’s Rugby.