Pistol Shooting Success

By Mrs Anna Spaul, Head of Prep PE

On Friday 22nd November, Ipswich High School hosted the British Shooting East of England Regional Schools Pistol shooting competition. 35 schools were represented travelling from 13 counties across the UK with just over 100 competitors. There was strong competition across the 60 Juniors (Year 6-8), 24 Intermediates (Year 9&10), and 17 Seniors (Year 11-13). The Individual Regional competition consists of 20 shots across 4 targets. All targets are added up and the 8 with the highest scores go through to a knockout final. It was brilliant to see pupils from Ipswich High School represented in all of the finals.

Qualifying for the Junior Regional Final in 1st place was Rebecca E (Y7), along with Molly S (Y7), Annabel B (Y8), and Freya W (Y6). The girls took a further 10 shots, and then in groups of 2 shots, the places were finalised. Annabel finished in 8th place, Molly in 7th, Freya 6th, and Rebecca 5th. As a result, Rebecca qualified for the National Finals in the Individual event.
The Intermediate Regional section saw Alexis R in 2nd place, Georgina S in 6th and Emilia W in 7th position. Following the knockout final, Emilia placed 8th, Georgina came 7th and a fantastic 1st place went to Alexis. Alexis and Georgina have both qualified as individuals in the National Final. The Senior Regional results placed Issy C 4th, Tilly S 5th, Matilda W 6th, and Annie F 7th.

Moving into the final, Matilda scored a very impressive 50/50 on her second target. Final results achieved were Annie in 8th position, Tilly 6th, Matilda 4th and a brilliant win for Issy.
The formation of School Teams are based on the results from the Regional round, and we are delighted to report that all three categories were won by Ipswich High School and these teams also qualify for the National Final. Issy came 1st in the Senior Event and Alexis came 1st in the Inter Category. Both are competing in the National Finals as individuals representing Ipswich High School.
New for this year was a Youth Team section where teams could be made up by any means, and the top scoring Team qualify for the National Finals.

IHS Athletes and friends formed various teams:
5th Essex & Suffolk PC: Annie, Georgina and Alfie
3rd Felixstowe Young Guns: Molly, Rebecca and Freya
2nd Felixstowe Older Guns: Emilia, Matilda and Tilly

Junior Teams

1st Rebecca, Molly, Annabel
2nd Freya, Martha, Willow 3rd Jemma, George, Stefan
6th Olivia, Joseph, Etta
7th Felix, Charlotte, Jonty 9th Albert, Freddie, Oden
10th Elizabeth, Lucas, Connie
Darcy, Gethyn individuals

Intermediate Teams

1st Alexis, Georgina, Emilia
2nd Anna, Alanna, Gabriel
Emily individual

Senior Teams

1st Issy, Tilly Matilda
2nd Annie, Max, Kathryn

Complete results are available from the British Shooting website. Best of luck to those who have qualified for the National Final in February 2025.

The day was a huge success with positive feedback received from both parents and schools. Well done to everyone who took part in the competition and for achieving such fantastic results. Special thanks to Chris and George from Norwich City Target Club, Sean, Hannah, Andy, and Rika from Felixstowe Rifle Club, SallyAnn and Thalia from Cambridgeshire Pony Club, Andrea from Area 13 (Hampshire) Pony Club, Lauren from British Shooting and our very own parent helpers Arabella Ward, Fiona Ford and Anita Steel.