63 swimmers from years 3-8 took to the water on Monday evening in the Swimming Gala against a strong Orwell Park squad. The two-hour meet turned out to be a huge night for record-breaking swims and showcasing what amazing depth we have in our squads.
In the individual events, 4 new school records were set by Pip Stimpson (U9 Girls 20m Butterfly 15.86), Emily Brayshaw (U11 Girls 40m Backstroke 31.38), Tilly Wayman (U11 Girls 40m Front Crawl 28.17) and Fraser Johnson (U13 Boys Individual Medley 1.06.44)
In the team events, 6 records went tumbling with the U9 Girls team (Jess Lamprell, Pip Stimpson, Evie Tassell and Mia Spaull) breaking both the 4 x 20m Freestyle and Medley records. Similar success for the U13 boys team (Will Lamprell, Fraser Johnson, Wilf Sheepshanks and Archie Shelley-Taylor) smashing the 4 x 40m freestyle and 4 x 40m Medley records. The U11 Girls of Tilly Wayman, Beth Gardens, Florence Collins and Emily Brayshaw swam a fine race to break the 4 x 20m Freestyle relay record and the U13 girls ( Anna Cogdell, Amy Orford, Amy Spaull and Maddie Blunden added another record with the 4 x 40m Freestyle event.
Of the 56 PBS set, three of note came from Walter Bruce-Miller, Freddie Lamprell and Maddie Blunden who have been attending squad sessions regularly since September. They all took large chunks off their times. Walter swam 40m Backstroke in a time of 37.11, Freddie shaved 5 secs off his 40m Freestyle (28.87) and Maddie took a whopping 10 secs off her 40m Freestyle (31.34).
We also had further PB success from our large crop of emerging talent in our U9 teams with all our Year 3 and 4 boys (Arthur Carmen, Oliver Russell, Sam Jackson, Toby Orford, Thomas Uthwait- Bouverie, Oak Sledmere) all gaining PBs in at least 1 swim. For the girls; Grace Gurr, Xanthe Eilledge and Evie Tassell added to the tally of PBs.
Swimming Galas are not just about records. For some it was the first time they have represented the Prep School in a swimming gala and this can be a nerve-wracking experience. Congratulations to Lottie Bell, Fergus Blyth, Grainger Muir, Thomas Uthwait-Bouverie, Xanthe Cartwright, Holly Archer, Myles Gurr and Lucy Tacon who swam with guts and determination. Other newcomers included Florence Collins who joined FCPS in January 2018 and made an impressive debut with her contribution to breaking the 60s barrier in the U11 Girls’ 4 x 20m Freestyle relay. Archie Shelley Taylor also made an impressive debut – swimming a fantastic 26.50 in his 40m only to go and beat it in the relay by doing 26.36 as his split in the record-breaking 4 x 40m U13 Boys’ Freestyle relay.
Lastly, special mention to Mia North, Yr 5, who stepped up to the plate and swam her first ever 40m Breaststroke race. Although she found the distance hard, she put in a determined performance and didn’t give up.
All three Fram teams were superbly captained by Amy Spaull and Wilf Sheepshanks leading Fram A team to victory.
