Double joy for school (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Double joy for school

STUDENTS at Shipston High School have achieved the remarkable feat of winning two mid-Warwickshire basketball titles.

The Year Seven team won their title after an exciting final against Warwick School, eventually beating them 58-38. The team includes Jenine Francis, the only female member of an otherwise all-male team.

The Year Nine team had an equally successful run of matches, losing only one match in the series by the narrowest of margins. They eventually beat Southam Sports College in the final 58-32.

Although the Year 11 team did not bring home a piece of silverware, they reached the semi-finals and after a very close game eventually lost to their old rivals from President Kennedy School in Coventry.

Tony Meeking, head of physical education, said: "Our three basketball teams did fantastically well. We're only a very small school in comparison with the others we played against but we have built up an enviable reputation for success in a range of sports.

"We are fortunate, too, in having some exceptional players in our school. The key to our success is the dedication and tight discipline of our players. All the training for our school teams takes place before school at 7.30am until 8.30am and our students are totally committed to turning up and training hard."

Such has been the success of the three teams that two of the school's star players in Year 11, Jake Harris and Robert Perry, have been accepted on a full-time National Diploma course in Sport and Development/Fitness at Warwickshire College's Basketball Academy in Henley-in- Arden.