There was similar levels of stunning success to report back on for our U15B / U13 rugby teams. Our U15B team have had a glorious unbeaten season which they crowned off on Wednesday with a hard fought County Cup Final win over Magdalen College by 22-19. Our U13s also posted a remarkable unbeaten run at the Rosslyn Park Sevens followed by the prestigious Caldicott Tens in the holiday period - narrowly being pipped to second place by a Dubai team on points difference in the latter despite not losing a game, but still finishing ahead of a raft of top sides from all over the world. 

Tuesday saw one of the first competitive outings of the season for our NSB Golf Team at the schools County Championships, from which we came away laden with silverware. Mr Bradbury reports on an impressive day out at Oundle Golf Club:

Northamptonshire County Schools Golf Competition

The Northamptonshire County Schools Golf Competition took place at Oundle Golf Club on Tuesday 14th April, bringing together a strong field of 93 golfers representing 21 schools from across the county.

In highly competitive conditions, our team delivered an outstanding performance across multiple categories, securing both individual and team honours.

A major highlight of the day was victory in the Gross Team Event, where Jadon Pham, Cameron Black, and Adam Haywood combined superbly to post a total of +5 using the best two scores from three. This excellent result places the team in a strong position, with potential qualification for the National Finals pending results from other counties (with the top nine teams nationally progressing).

Individually, the team also achieved significant success.
Harry Odell demonstrated exceptional precision to win the Nearest the Pin competition and also claimed Best Gross in the U15 category, securing qualification for the Individual National Finals.

In the Net Competition, Thomas Gotch produced a strong performance to finish 3rd overall, adding to the team’s impressive medal haul.

The overall County Championship standings further highlighted the team’s dominance. In the Northamptonshire County Champion (Overall Gross) category:

1st place was secured by Jadon Pham with an outstanding round of 74.

2nd place went to Cam Black, just one stroke behind with 75.

Both players demonstrated consistency and composure under pressure, finishing at the top of a very competitive leaderboard.

As a result of their performances, four players have earned selection to represent the region:

• Jadon Pham (year 13)

• Cameron Black (year 12)

• Harry Odell (year 7)

• Ollie Golby (year 8)

Overall, it was an exceptional day for the team, marked by high quality golf and individual excellence.

Keep an eye on the horizon as there’s more golfing opportunities to come this year.

Our Cross-Country runners have also enjoyed competing at the very highest level of school competition in Liverpool - Mr Taplin reports:

Recently nine NSB students represented Northamptonshire at the ESAA Cross Country Championships in Liverpool. This is the pinnacle of the cross country season and, short of international representation, is the highest level of school sport in the calendar. It was a fast course with one or two technical, boggy areas and it proved to be a phenomenal level of competition.  

Although there were no podium finishes this time, every NSB student competed brilliantly - proudly representing the County vest:

 

Our Bronze and Gold Duke of Edinburgh students have recently been put through their paces for their respective practice expeditions. The 38 Gold students returned from a deeply challenging couple of days yesterday having coped admirably in tough weather conditions. The Y9s excelled with Mrs Rutherford sending through the following report:

During the last weekend of Term 4, 86 of our Year 9 students took part in their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition, and I could not be prouder of how they conducted themselves throughout the challenge.

The boys demonstrated resilience, teamwork, and tremendous character, particularly on Saturday night when temperatures dropped sharply. Despite the freezing conditions, they remained positive, focused, and determined to complete every aspect of the expedition.

Our colleagues from BXM, who led the practice, were incredibly impressed by the boys’ attitude, maturity, and co-operation across the whole weekend. They spoke very highly of how well our students supported one another and how confidently they tackled each task set before them.

This experience is an important milestone in their Duke of Edinburgh journey, and they have laid a strong foundation for their qualifying expedition later this year. We hope they feel proud of what they have achieved—because we certainly are.

A huge thank‑you as well to the staff who gave their time to supervise the weekend and ensure that every student was safe, supported, and encouraged throughout.

Well done, Year 9—an excellent effort all round!!!

 

We always like to hear of the inspirational success of our former students and we were delighted to hear that Charlie O'Neill who left NSB two years ago, landed a place with probably the most well established Dance Company in England (Rambert Dance Company) and is currently on tour in China with their Peaky Blinders production. Charlie was one of only four chosen from his year group (he attends the widely acclaimed Rambert Dance School) to join the tour which lasts for eight weeks, visiting seven cities including Beijing.  

 

Richard Bernard

Headteacher