Skiers from New Hall School, Chelmsford, have returned triumphant from Pila, Italy, with record haul of 10 medals from the Artemis Inter-School Ski Challenge 2018. As a new entrant to the race five years ago (when the school came last), New Hall School received a special commendation from judges for winning 3rd place out of 90 British schools. To rapturous applause, judges said that this rate of advancement of a school ski team was “truly exceptional”.
Training on a 180m-long dry ski slope in Brentwood, New Hall ski team competed against schools from throughout the UK, including some that are internationally-based, with Alpine locations. Channelling their inner Chemmy Alcott and Graham Bell, 36 New Hall students, aged 7-17, took part in demanding Slalom and Giant Slalom events across the two race days.
New Hall now has the largest school ski team among the British schools competing. The sport has received significant investment in recent years and Principal, Mrs Jeffrey, accompanied the team to cheer them on to this most recent success. Mrs Jeffrey said: “We are incredibly proud of the resilience and collaboration shown by our dedicated ski team. All 36 of our skiers gave of their best. To be awarded 3rd place out of 90 schools and to win 10 medals – the most ever – was a brilliant result. It was a great reward for all their hard work and it was a joy to celebrate with the team.”
Gold and silver medal winner, Allegra Martin, recently returned to the slopes after a battle with cancer, conquered the Italian slopes, taking home a gold medal and two silvers, finishing as one of the top medal winners of the competition. Prior to the competition, Allegra said: “I had cancer in February and was unwell for six months. It was a difficult time for me. To win three medals and to be part of the New Hall team winning 3rdplace overall, was very special.”
Other New Hall ski team success this year have included: winning 1st place overall at the British Independent Schools Ski Racing Indoor Championships at Hemel Hempstead; Lulu Brown (Year 3) becoming the U8 Girls champion and Alice McLeish (Year 12) becoming the U18 Ladies Champion at the Hemel Ski Race Club Championships; and, at the English Schools’ Ski Association (ESSkiA) National Finals, the U16 girls team coming 1st and the U14 girls team finishing 3rd. New Hall ski team is now also competing in international competitions.
Alongside a successful academic programme, New Hall School provides excellent facilities and training for budding sports stars and fantastic music and performing arts provision. The Catholic boarding and day school for students aged 3-18 has a distinctive ‘diamond model structure’ and a strong ethos of pastoral care, which supports students in their endeavours, allowing them to achieve success in a wide variety of fields.