By Community Correspondent Rebecca Oldham.

An age old tradition between Strode’s College and Coopers Company Coburn School in Upminster was regenerated on the 10th of February with over 70 Strode’s students making the trip around the M25 to compete in a varsity competition involving 6 sports. With tradition and pride at stake high levels of Football, Rugby, Badminton, Netball, Hockey, Golf and Badminton were witnessed with a mixture of results.

Strong performances were seen from all teams, in particular from the rugby team who managed to beat Corburn’s 2nd squad 47-5. George Owen at number 10 managed to score 20 points alone, making him man of the match. Strode’s badminton squad also showed attacked flair, winning 8-1 with very strong performances from Greg Cook and Chris Williams. Strode’s domination in college competitions and fixtures wasn’t dented after a 6-1 win, with Josh Finch getting his first hatrick of the season.

Other notable performances were seen from the netball squad who have enjoyed a successful season compared to last. Although getting off to a slow start and good tactical substitutions of Rebecca Oldham and Deya Lidster, Strode’s conceded to a 53-15 loss. The Hockey team’s second game of the season also saw them lose to a very strong Coburn team who had regional representation. A fantastic performance was seen from Slough first team player Inder Daggar who will surely be one to watch for the rest of the season. Finally the golf team of Amy Staniford and James Hopkins lost out in the freezing cold wind by only one miracle shot from Coburn.

Strode’s showed great competition and sportsmanship during the day and will use this varsity test as a confidence boost for the rest of the demanding season, with many teams preparing for the annual league tournaments and British college fixtures.