On Thursday the 12th of May, fifteen of our U18 swimmers travelled to Uppingham to compete against their 1st team. This was a match that really could have gone either way; our teams have always been pretty evenly matched. We managed to win our previous fixture against Uppingham earlier this academic year.

In what was an extremely competitive match, the U18 Boys managed to emerge victorious; the U18 Girls were sadly unable to do the same but it was a truly admirable effort from them nonetheless! The match, as a result, culminated in a draw. Ten personal bests were achieved but no school records were broken, which some of the swimmers were quick to blame on the different diving blocks used in the Uppingham pool.

I would like to give a special mention to the following swimmers, without whom these results would not have been possible:

• Alex Menshutkin (Sc 3) for his outstanding as always performance in the 50m Backstroke, placing first- a remarkable achievement considering the competition he faced!
• Julian Lee (C 5) for his strong performance in the Individual Medley, placing second- again no mean feat given the difficult nature of the event
• Chuan Lim (F U6), for placing first in both the 50m Freestyle and Butterfly
• Margaux Lefebvre (L 3) and Sophie Pickering (L 3) for their efforts in the Individual Medley, managing to come 2nd and 3rd against U18 swimmers from Uppingham

I would also like to take this opportunity to individually thank the 5th form for not only stepping up an age bracket, which is highly commendable in and of itself, but also for giving up their time so close to their GCSEs:

• Julian Lee (C 5)
• Mathis Combalot (StA 5)
• Jamo Morrill (StA 5)
• Ava Brammer (L 5)
• Doireann Hockel (L 5)

Though it may not have been the result we were necessarily hoping for, it was an extremely strong set of performances nonetheless- a testament to the hard work that so many members of the team put in day after day. I very much look forwards to our next match- Saturday cannot come soon enough.

Aidan Wong (Captain)