I am delighted to report that at the North of England Gymnastics Competition held recently both our teams (six gymnasts in all: Grace Evans, Sophie Mugridge, Ava Teixera, James Mould, Evie Smith and Lennon Gamble) won 1st place in their events. Grace, James and Evie won the Under 13 competition and Sophie, Ava and Lennon achieved the same at Under 16 level. The latter group, you will realise, are all 12 or under.
This is a remarkable achievement and a great tribute to Mrs Henderson as well as to the hard work and skills of the gymnasts. Many of you will recall my promise, based on my confidence in Mrs Henderson, that very soon we would be competing in National Finals. It has happened more quickly than even I expected and all six will now compete at Stoke in the National Finals in March. The standard will of course be sky high but you never know what we might be able to achieve.
It is worth noting that we were up against schools and clubs which have the very best facilities and venues imaginable. Our gymnasts work in what is essentially a large classroom and are using decent but fairly basic, and certainly not brand new, equipment.
This in many ways is what IGS: Durham is about: the very highest levels of achievement with decent but modest physical resources. As ever, it is people and commitment that make the difference, not huge amounts of money!
Gold medals are in the post - we’ll post photos soon.