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St Christopher’s School won the basketball tournament and schoolboy Callum Dawson was judged the ‘most valuable player’ at the 11th British Schools in the Middle East (BSME) Games staged in Abu Dhabi.
The school’s football team also reached the final of an eight-a-side competition only to slip-up 2-0 in a nail-biting penalty shootout against tough-tackling Modern English School Cairo after a goalless encounter.
It was a heartbreaking conclusion to a game in which the Bahrain schoolboys hit the woodwork three times during normal time and couldn’t get the vital breakthrough in a sun-scorched extra period of seven minutes.
It proved to be one penalty shootout and one extra-time too many as St Christopher’s had secured their way to the final thanks to an energy-sapping semi-final victory over Doha English Speaking School.
The school’s basketball players, however, basked in glory after winning their final against Cairo English Speaking School 8-0 after losing to the same side during the group stage.
The school’s netball team finished eighth and the swimmers and athletic squads both finished in fourth spot.
Mark Holness, head of PE-BSME, was joined by teaching colleagues Ronan Armstrong, David Ross, Giles Dawson, Rebecca Lambert, Rebecca Lodwig and Yavor Zahariev on the sporting adventure.
Mr Holness said: “I am extremely proud of all the competitors this year. They were graceful in defeat and magnanimous in victory and it was a real pleasure to take them to Abu Dhabi. All of the months of hard training paid off and I couldn’t be happier. I would also like to thank our sponsors, Seef Properties, for supplying us with kit bags, water bottles and team T-shirts.
“The children were selected before Christmas and started intensive training in January. They were chosen from trials, sports day and PE lessons. The children view it as the pinnacle of their sporting career at the junior school.”
The tournament featured 12 schools. Alongside St Chris were the British School of Kuwait, Doha English Speaking School, Dubai English Speaking School, Modern English School - Cairo, Cairo English Speaking School, Sherbourne Academy Qatar, Kuwait English School, British School of Muscat, Al Khor International School, El Alsson - Cairo and hosts Brighton College Abu Dhabi.
St Chris came in joint third place with Modern English School Cairo on 44 points. Overall the competition was won by Doha English Speaking School with 52 points, narrowly pipping Dubai English Speaking School on 48 points.
Formed in 1982, British Schools in the Middle East (BSME) provides a quality-assured network of schools helping heads and teachers share best practice and keep abreast of the latest educational developments.
BSME runs its own accreditation system, annual head teachers’ conferences, continuing professional development programme of over 100 courses per year and a range of inter-school sports, music, arts and other events.
The St Christopher’s School playing squad was made up of Callum Dawson, Fritz Tautenhahn, Digby Rushton, Lucy Hendy, Madelyn Harrison-Mirfield, Adrienne Smith, Michaela Taggart, Amy Brereton-Stuart, Charlotte Pilgrim, Danielle Doherty, Karmena Moriarty, Charlotte Axtell, Finley Matthews, Colby Altman, Mohamed Al Shehabi, Hamad Al Khalifa, Joel Watts, Louis Mulleague, Stan Szecowka, Faris Al Khalo, Laura Adamson, Arabella Rushton, Hugo Barraclough, Luke Williamson, Charles Rudman, Victoria Harper, Ahmed AlArrayed and Ibrahim Khalil.
All the children had to be 11, or under, and represent Years 5 or 6.
