Both Nicholas (Fifth Form, GG) and Clara (Remove, WW), who finished fourth and fifth respectively in their categories at the London Schools Athletic Association Cross-Country Championships at Wormwood Scrubs in February, have earned a spot on the starting line for the English championship races in Kent this March, representing both themselves and London.

The London event saw a team of 19 runners from Westminster compete against young athletes from dozens of schools from every Borough in the capital. The challenging 12km course was set over grass and dirt and through woodland and open country.

It was an exciting opportunity for all pupils taking part to represent the Westminster school, especially for the pair who will now run for the English title. Nicholas said: “This was the first time I had represented Westminster in a race against other schools. The London Schools Cross Country Championships is a very big event, and so I felt a mixture of excitement and nerves. It was quite daunting to see so many other competitors and my first experience of a starter pistol came as a bit of a shock. It made a big difference to be cheered on from the sidelines by my teammates, Mr Wurr, and Mr Walton. I was delighted to come 4th which meant I qualified for the English Championships, and I am greatly looking forward to representing London in March.”

Sam (Sixth Form, HH) finished 12th in his race and will now be a reserve for the March championships. He said: “It was a nice mild day and the ground was firm. I was a slightly fatigued going into the race as I had played a full football match against Harrow the day before. I also wasn’t sure what to expect or what pace to go as my last race was the 2020 London Schools championships. So, I ended up just pacing on how I felt. The race itself went really well. I was a little daunted in the moments before the race but once the gun went off the fears evaporated. The pacing went exactly to plan and after pushing through the middle few kilometres, I finished strongly. It felt really good representing Westminster school. I think we had amazing team spirit and cohesiveness with everyone cheering each other on. All in all we put in a strong showing for the school. I am very proud of my achievement. If I did end up running for London, all I could hope for is to do my best. To represent London and the school at the English Championships would be an amazing feat which I hope to accomplish next year.”

London Schools Athletic Association Cross-Country Championships
Wednesday 2 February 2022
Westminster School Results

Junior Boys – U14
4th                          Nicholas (Fifth Form, GG)
30th                        Joe (Fifth Form, GG)
36th                        Evan (Fifth Form, CC)
45th                        Rohan (Fifth Form, AHH)
70th                        Sami (Fifth Form, DD)

Inter Boys – U16
23th                        Oliver (Upper Shell, GG)
24th                        Aidan (Lower Shell, PP)
37th                        Mathias Adler (Upper Shell, AHH)
43th                        Kabir  (Upper Shell, MM)
48th                        Matthew (Upper Shell, RR)
54th                        Denis (Upper Shell, WW)

Senior Boys – U18 (in order of finishing time)
12th                         Sam (Sixth Form, HH)
13th                         Alexander (Remove, BB)
18th                         Toby (Remove, CC)
21th                         Benedict (Remove, GG)
30th                        Theo (Sixth Form, BB)
32th                        Peter (Remove, DD)

Senior Girls – U18
5th                          Clara (Remove, WW)
9th                          Elodie (Sixth Form, HH)