Lightspeed Systems Sponsors Tour

Many thanks to Lightspeed Systems for providing much needed sponsorship for the tour.

The Three Peaks

On the 14th June a group of 22 staff, students and parents set off to Horton to conquer the Three Peaks. The walk is a 25 mile round trip that climbs the three Yorkshire Peaks of Pen Y Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough.

The Friday night was enjoyed a little bit too much by some who after only a few hours sleep doubted their ability to complete the challenge. Despite early apprehension we set off up Pen y Ghent at 6:30am.

The first group reached the summit in an hour where Ben Booth reacquainted himself with his breakfast - nice!

As others staggered to the top of the first mountain everyone began to appreciate the reality of the situation and how tough the challenge would be. At that point I predicted only half the lads would complete it but I was proved to be very wrong.

Nine hours later 16 of the 22 had completed the walk. Kyle, Sam, Will and his dad Shaun (who usually runs the 3 Peaks) completed the challenge in 7 hours and 50 minutes. Large parts of the course were run as Shaun used his knowledge of the area to guide them through the course on the best tracks. 10 minutes later came Steve Booth who put in a late charge to the line to finish in 8 hours. A further 15 minutes later the staff (Sprott, Christian and Fryer) crossed the line followed shortly by Harry, Ben and Antony.

I left Josh and Danny at the bottom of Whernside who said they were calling it a day. However not to be outdone by the rest of the lads they decided to give it a go and battled on up Ingleborough to complete the challenge in an excellent 10 hours with Andy Womersley, Lee Harrison and John Hall.

Well done to Teresa, Joanne, Karen, Dan, Tom, Ricky, Shane who all completed two of the Peaks and Teresa’s dogs who must have ran 50 miles each!

A big thank you to Mr and Mrs Hall who acted as the support team picking up anyone who had had enough and providing refreshments at checkpoints.

I was really proud of the determination of everyone who gave it a go. It was a fantastic team building experience as well as a good work out. You now have until the 30th June to collect your sponsors. Good luck.

Mr Sprott

Revised Training Plan

I hope the four week gap in training has allowed students to concentrate on exams and work experience and come back fully refreshed and ready to work hard for the final 4 weeks.

I cannot stress how important it is that we have 27 lads at every session from here on in. We have to come together and build our game plan and our playing patterns. Friday sessions are equally important to gaining an understanding of the team ethos and culture of the tour.


Tues 17th June: Whole team session on defence and turnovers

Thurs 19th June: Run through lineout and backs moves then a full team run through

Fri 20th June: The Lions Tour - creating a successful tour culture

Mon 23rd June: Rishworth match

Tues 24th June: Video Analysis of Rishworth match

Thurs 26th June: Forwards on lineout and back row moves. Backs on attacking ball at pace from 2nd and 3rd phase

Fri 27th June: Analysis of the Experimental Law Changes and team tactics meeting.

Tues 1st July: Whole team session on running lines.

Thurs 3rd July: Tag rugby tournament - emphasis on running lines and hitting ball at pace

Fri 4th July: South Africa history lesson and a guide to successful billeting

Tues 8th July: Forwards on lineout - backs on backs moves

Thurs 10th July: Forwards - Scrum session at Ossett. Backs - counter attack

Fri 11th July: Etiquette at team functions.

Tues 15th July: Brief run through lineout and backs moves then a full team run through

Thurs 17th July: No training. Team meeting with final messages regarding conduct and ethos

Fri 18th July: Departure (am)