On Saturday 7 February the U14, U16 and U18 swimming teams swam in the English Schools' National Swimming Finals. This is the 12th year in a row that the School has made it to the finals.
This year we were the only school to be represented in all six boys’ events, that is, the Medley and Freestyle age group for all three ages.
The U14 team were the stars on the day. With a solid swim they qualified in 4th place for the Medley final. The team of Seb Smith (bk), Lewis Wiley (br), Luke Sperry (fly) and Jorge Phenix-Coyne (free) knew they had more left in the tank. Harrow School, Trinity School and Kelly College all swam very fast in the heats to qualify faster than the High School team. The final was going to be close and it did look like the National Record would be broken.
In the final Seb gave the team a good lead which Lewis and Luke managed to hold. Jorge had just under a second lead by the time he went in on the freestyle leg. As the finish approached Jorge managed to hold on and the High School team became National Champions for the first time in their history. All four of the boys swam individual personal bests and the team did break the National Record in a time of 2.00.99. In second place were Trinity and 3rd place Harrow School both breaking the old National Record as well.
The U14 team then went on to make the Freestyle final but understandably they were very tired. Luke was replaced by Joe Mellors who swam a personal best on the day too. The team this time however could only manage 7th place in a very close race which saw Plymouth College win.
Our other age groups swam extremely well with the U18 team making the Medley final and finishing in 8th and then going on to finish 11th in the Freestyle event.
At U16 level the team finished in 16th place in the Medley relay and 10th in the Freestyle with a very good swim.
Overall this was a very successful day for the School team who have continued to impress. To win the National Championships is a fantastic achievement, but to break the National record whilst doing it, is just out of this world!
