Sport
The school has an excellent reputation as one of the country's leading public schools at sport. The main school sports are athletics, cricket, hockey, netball, rowing, rugby and tennis. The school has over 90 acres (360,000 m2) of playing fields in the heart of North Oxford on land.
The school only has two "real" inter-house events, the School Steeplechase and School Sports Day. The Steeplechase is the school's annual cross country race, it is held once a year and the whole school is expected to take part. The Sixth Form race in the Senior Steeplechase which is a 4-mile (6.4 km) race across Port Meadow the floodplain of the River Thames, accessed from the school grounds via the Oxford Canal towpath. The Junior Steeplechase, meanwhile, confines itself to within the school grounds. School Sports Day is held in June, and is a much less significant affair, with many events having been removed from the programme on grounds of 'Health and Safety'. Sports day is usually cancelled due to the track being flooded and so has not run for the last four years.
The school has a regular fixture list against other major UK public schools. Some of the fixtures on the fixture list have been played on the same weekend each year for decades. In boys' sports the schools main rivals are Radley College and Marlborough College.
In rowing the school has won The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta as well as having had a number of rowers row for Great Britain at junior level before going on to compete in the annual Oxbridge boat race or at Ivy League Universities.
Recent successes in hockey have included making the National Finals for both boys' and girls' hockey.
St. Edward's is regarded as a rugby school. The 1st XV of 2007 were only beaten in one game, becoming the first team to do so since 1998 and there are some 6 former or present pupils in their respective age group's England development squads/teams including James Forrester. The school has in recent years had an 82% success rate in Rugby Sevens.
St. Edward's has a strong rivalry with Radley particularly in rugby. The school also has a somewhat informal local rivalry with Cherwell, the local state school, however the school do not play them in sport.
A book about sport at the school, "Come on Teddy's" has recently been published.
- Facilities
Sports facilities include:
- Indoor Sports Hall
- 2 All Weather Astro Turf Pitches
- 9 hole Golf Course
- Boat House located on the River Thames in the nearby village of Wolvercote
- Purpose Built Netball Courts
- Basketball Court
- Indoor Rifle Range
- Clay Pigeon Shooting area
- 15 Rugby Pitches
- 8 Cricket Pitches
- Swimming Pool (within Esporta/St. Edward's Sports Centre)
- Indoor Tennis Courts (within Esporta/St.Edward's Sports Centre)
- Squash Courts
- State of the art gym (within Esporta/St. Edward's Sports Centre)
The school is home to an Esporta Health Club. This was built on the site of the school's former sports centre (The Douglas Bader Sports Centre) and outdoor swimming pool in 1999 and opened in 2000. Within the club the school has its own sports hall, named the Douglas Bader Sports Hall. As part of the agreement between St. Edward's and Esporta, pupils have free access to the club's gym.
- Overseas Tours
The school also go on an overseas tour once a year. Tours have operated since 1996. Recent tours have included:
- 2012- South Africa- Cricket
- 2011- Canada- Rugby and Girls' Hockey
- 2008- USA - Boys Rowing
- 2008- Barcelona - Boys Hockey
- 2008- South Africa - Cricket and Netball
- 2006- South America - Rugby and Girls' Hockey
- 2005- Sri Lanka - Cricket
- 2004- South Africa - Boys' Hockey
- 2003- Australia - Rugby and Girls' Hockey
Teddy's also host touring schools. The most notable of these is The King's School, Sydney who come to St. Edward's to play rugby once every two years when on their UK tour.
Read more about this topic: St Edward's School, Oxford
Famous quotes containing the word sport:
“Drag racing is a sport of egos, and it’s all male egos.”
—Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney (b. 1940)
“For generations, a wide range of shooting in Northern Ireland has provided all sections of the population with a pastime which ... has occupied a great deal of leisure time. Unlike many other countries, the outstanding characteristic of the sport has been that it was not confined to any one class.”
—Northern Irish Tourist Board. quoted in New Statesman (London, Aug. 29, 1969)
““Justice” was done, and the President of the Immortals, in Æschylean phrase, had ended his sport with Tess. And the d’Urberville knights and dames slept on in their tombs unknowing. The two speechless gazers bent themselves down to the earth, as if in prayer, and remained thus a long time, absolutely motionless: the flag continued to wave silently. As soon as they had strength they arose, joined hands again, and went on.
The End”
—Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)