PUBLISHED 05 July 2022
After a break of 2 years AKS were delighted to welcome over 180 guests from across the AKS sporting community to their Sports Presentation Evening to celebrate what has been a superb year of sport and even more thrilled to have GB and England Hockey legend and Olympic Gold Medallist Alex Danson-Bennet to speak and present the awards to the winners.
Director of Sport Mark Walmsley welcomed Alex and all the guests and gave a brief overview of another tremendous year on the sports field for AKS in a wide range of sports from rugby to tennis and hockey to athletics. Many team successes at local, regional level and National level , with 3 hockey teams reaching quarter finals of National Competitions and the U13 Girls Athletics team reaching the final of the English Schools Cup, as well as individual international honours for present and past pupils, reflected the tremendous opportunities and success enjoyed by pupils at AKS over the past year. Special mention to current pupils Tristan W (Rugby), Anya J ( Hockey ) Evie F ( Archery ) and Gracie G (Dance) who have represented England in their respective sports.
At the start of the evening five of our Yr. 7 sporting ambassadors spoke superbly giving us an insight into their experiences during their first year in AKS sport. All five speakers blew the audience away with both their delivery and insight into the values of sport and they set the tone for what was a tremendous evening.
It was also a time for senior pupils Toby M, Tristan W, Freya W and Prisha R to reflect on their sporting journeys, memories and accomplishments as they progressed through the school with many highlights on the sports field that they will take with them as they move on to the next chapter of their lives.
Our guest speaker, Ms Alex Danson-Bennett who has 306 GB & England Caps, has scored 115 goals and has won Olympic Gold and Bronze medals as well as a host of Commonwealth, European and World medals was introduced to the audience with the help of some footage from the memorable Rio Olympic Games and then gave a presentation detailing her journey from a motivated young school player to her ultimate success, Olympic Gold in Rio 2016,( she did have her medal to show everyone) and the accolade of being one of the top players in the World. Alex spoke with passion about the values of sport and the many characteristics needed to succeed. She challenged every pupil in the room to set high targets, work hard and aim to be the best version of themselves. A truly inspirational message which many will remember as they continue along their sporting pathways.
After the superb speeches Alex presented awards to all the different winter and summer sports ‘Players of the Season’ and ‘Most Improved Players’ and there were big smiles and hearty congratulations as the pupils went on stage for the opportunity to receive their awards and shake hands with a true sporting legend. At the end of the presentations many pupils were keen to get their hands on the Olympic medal and get a photo with Alex which will definitely be ‘one for the album’ to look back on!
Congratulations must go to all of the award winners ( Details of award winners in attached document ) on the night and a big thank you to everyone who supported the event.