After a brief hiatus, Shiplake College’s Festival of Sport, formerly the much-loved FieldFest, made a triumphant return on Saturday 13 September, bringing together pupils, parents, staff, and Old Vikings for a vibrant afternoon of sport.

This year marked an exciting new chapter with the introduction of a netball tournament, held on our newly developed Paddocks pitches. Four mixed teams featuring current pupils, parents, and Old Vikings took to the court. With many girls and mums playing side by side, the tournament was a wonderful display of community spirit.

A huge thank you goes to Miss James, Mrs Dunn, and Miss Cochrane for their superb organisation and umpiring of the tournament. After a series of lively matches, it was the Green Team who emerged victorious!

The afternoon also saw the return of our traditional Touch Rugby Tournament, a staple of the event. Eight teams made up of staff, Old Vikings, pupils and parents competed in two pool phases, each team playing three games.

The semi-finals saw Blue Team vs Orange Team and Green Team vs Purple Team, with Blue and Purple advancing to a fiercely contested final. After a nail-biting match that ended 2–2, the game went into golden try territory. Victory was clinched by Mr Jones, who scored the winning try for the all-staff Purple Team.

We extend our thanks to In2Touch for providing referees and to the Parents’ Association for their invaluable support with merchandise and event logistics.

No Shiplake event is complete without great food and drink, and this year was no exception. The BBQ by Thomas Franks and the Rebellion Brewery bar were crowd favourites, keeping spirits high and appetites satisfied. Despite a few brief downpours, the glorious weather that the afternoon ended with was the cherry on the cake. 

Head of Community and Development, Natalie Spearing, who organised the event said "It was great way to continue our 65 years of sport at Shiplake. Nice to see a bit of healthy competition alongside lots of fun and laughter - you could say it looked like everyone was having a ball!"