ISA Midlands Cross Country Championships

On Tuesday 20th January, LCS took a strong team of 37 pupils to Ashley Manor Prep school in Cheltenham, to take part in the School's second ISA Midlands Regional Cross-Country Championships. LCS took part in their first ISA cross-country event in 2025, and 2 pupils managed to secure selection for the Midlands Team and compete at the ISA National Cross Country Championships. It was definitely the aim for many of our pupils to try and break into that top 10, and have the opportunity to compete at a national event next month.

In the first race - the Year 5/6 girls' - our seven competitors all finished the challenging course, which included a tough 80m-long hill climb and windy conditions which made it even more difficult for the runners. Annabelle C finished in a brilliant 5th place and was backed up really well by Poppy R in 14th. In the Year 5/6 boys' race, Daniel M and Henry R were the first finishers for LCS, finishing in 27th and 39th place.

It was then the turn of the Year 7 girls to tackle the tough course, with Emilia R finishing in a superb 8th and was backed up closely by Dollie A in 24th place. In the Year 7 boys' race, we had our highest finisher of the day with Leo N just missing out on an individual medal finishing in 4th place. Billy F finished close behind in 6th place, with Henry P in 14th. All seven of the Year 7 boys performed amazingly, with all of them finishing in the top 30.

Finally, it was the turn of the Year 8/9 pupils, and the girls were up first. Freya A was the first LCS pupil to finish and managed a fantastic 7th place. She was backed up by Ines F and Cerys W who finished in 31st and 36th place respectively. In the boy's race, Alex F just missed out on a top 10 finish, finishing in 11th place with an excellent sprint finish. Ollie W also finished well and secured 18th place.

There were some team successes too, with both the Year 5/6 girls' and the Year 7 girls' teams both finishing third in the team scores. After seven fantastic individual performances, the Year 7 boys were rewarded with a well-deserved second place, finishing just behind Princethorpe College.

All the pupils were amazing and represented the School superbly in tough conditions on a tricky course. Special mentions go out to Emilia R, Leo N, Annabelle C, Billy F and Freya A who have all qualified for the ISA National Cross Country Championships in February, with Alex F as first reserve. A fantastic achievement for 5 LCS pupils to represent the Midlands Region at a National event.

Mr Mayne