Shiplake Introduces Basketball

Sport is an important part of the timetable at Shiplake, and with many different options available throughout the year pupils are never stuck for choice. However, a sport that hasn’t had a big presence is basketball: until now. Mr Darius Bluck took it upon himself to introduce the sport to the Shiplake pupils, with tremendous results. Starting last year as a hobby for Year 13s to participate in during the evenings, a great number of pupils have since signed up to play the sport and fixtures are being booked into the calendar.

Due to the popularity of the sport, it was scheduled as a Tuesday activity and proved very popular amongst Year 11s, 12s and 13s, one of a range of activities provided this year. After a term and a half of training and building up a team, Shiplake had its first basketball fixture take place at the end of last term. Taking on a team from Leighton Park School, the match proved to be incredibly competitive. A large crowd gathered together in the Sports Hall, to watch Shiplake battle it out on the court against a local rival in the inaugural game.

It was incredibly competitive, with some fantastic baskets from both sides. After a tough and nail-bitingly close match, Leighton Park just pipped Shiplake to the post, with 33 points to 30. However, despite not walking away with a victory, the team were determined and slick, communicating well and thoroughly enjoying their first match together. Mr Bluck is looking forward to training up a new team next year, and organising more fixtures with a range of different schools.