On Friday the 9th of June, St Bede attended the Winchester City Penguins School Swimming Gala. 22 schools from across the district were represented, with some very strong squads in attendance. St Bede were confident going in to the competition, with a strong team of 11 children being picked from the 42 pupils who trialled. A massive well done and thank you must go out to everyone who participated and helped in the trials. To have so many children wanting to take part is fantastic, and being able to provide that opportunity was wonderful and only possible because of the support of our volunteers. Thank you very much!  

 

The Penguins' Gala has historically been a fantastic event, with a high level of swimming talent on show. This year was no different. St Bede was able to mix it with the very best throughout. The boys managed to qualify for the finals in the mixed and the freestyle events. The girls finished a creditable third in both of their heats, and just missed out on qualification to their finals, in one case, by 0.2 of a second. However, the disappointment for the girls was short-lived. They had an opportunity to compete in the invitational race, which they duly won by a massive 22 seconds, against 16 other schools. A well-deserved trophy for a team that competed brilliantly.  

 

For the boys, they achieved third place finishes in the mixed and in the free-style. The free-style medal was secured in the final touch on the wall, winning over the fourth place finisher by less than 0.1 of a second. This achievement was made even more creditable by the fact that the two private schools that placed first and second have their own pools.  

 

A massive well done to the team and also to the reserve swimmers who were the biggest team players of all. They sacrificed their time; they supported the team fantastically and were incredibly selfless in their efforts. A great squad and great ambassadors for St Bede!