The 1st VII and U11A boys’ hockey recently enjoyed a wonderful tour of Cambridgeshire. On the Friday we played the Cambridgeshire U11 and U13 champions, the Perse. As expected against a school the size of the Perse these were tough fixtures where despite our best efforts and despite enjoying a lot of possession in the U11 fixture the Perse, who were wonderful hosts came out on top. In the evening we met up briefly at the St John’s Chop House with the girls netball teams who had been playing at King’s Cambridge. After a terrific supper it was off to the YHA for a well earned sleep.
The next morning saw us play our second round of matches, this time against St John’s. For the second time in twenty hours, the 1sts came up another excellent side and were defeated. However the U11s battled hard and recorded a well earned 3-2 victory.
Again we enjoyed such a friendly reception from our hosts, but soon it was time to leave and experience a walking tour to discover more about Cambridge’s history and culture. Our tour guide, Jessie, who was newly arrived from Arizona, gave the boys an engaging and informative tour of some of Cambridge’s most notable landmarks, including the Corpus Clock, the Mathematical Bridge and King’s College.
After lunch it was it was off to another one Cambridge’s great landmarks-the Abbey Stadium, home of Cambridge United. The Abbey has a reputation for being one of the friendliest football grounds in the country and this reputation is well deserved. After watching a cracking game we headed home for Suffolk.
We enjoyed an excellent tour, where the standard of hockey was high, but also where the conduct and engaging nature of the Framlingham Prep boys made us many new friends, both on and off the pitch.
Enormous thanks to Mr Marland, Mr Cutting and Mr Greenhall for accompanying the trip, parents and friends who came to support us, the boys for their excellent behaviour and to our hosts the Perse and St John’s.
