Summer co-curricular activities are well underway, with pupils undertaking archery, mountain biking and dragon boat racing, to name a few! Alongside these exciting activities, Shiplake is boasting its first ever shooting team. A number of pupils have joined the weekly activity, learning to shoot targets and clay pigeons. The team recently visited their first competition, heading to Bedfordshire in order to compete in the British Schools and Young Shots competition. Thank you to Mr Paul Green, who has instigated shooting at the school as an activity, for the following report on the first competition that the newly-formed Shiplake shooting squad have undertaken.
‘The Shiplake Shooting Team entered their inaugural clay pigeon shooting competition at Sporting Targets, in Bedfordshire. The boys represented Shiplake College in the British Schools and Young Shots competition, with a team comprised of Alex Geisler, Carl von Wisenburg, Alex Webster, James Radford, William Bettesworth and Jamie Gibbs. The team were up against the best shots and shooting teams in the country, and performed admirably. It was a very successful day and, despite not managing to bring any silverware back to Shiplake, the boys posted some very good individual scores. It was a fantastic experience for the team, who gained valuable lessons in competing in high pressure competitions. We are looking forward to many more contests to come!
Pupil James Radford, who is showing particular aptitude for shooting, also took part in the Schools’ Challenge 2017 earlier in May. James travelled to Bredon School in Tewksbury to represent Shiplake College in the fourth round of the competition. James shot in the ‘prep’ section - the U15 group, scoring a very credible 39/50. Unfortunately, this was outside a podium finish, but still a very pleasing result. I’m sure that it will not be long before the team collect well-earned silverware.’
