Alton Convent School had a record number of ten girls qualifying for the ISA National Athletics' Championships held on 24 June at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. The girls formed part of the London West Division team who then completed against all the other divisions in England. All of the school's athletes performed excellently but in particular Alicia in Year 7 threw a personal best of 7.36 metres to take a Silver medal in the shot put.

However the best performance went to the Year 5 girls relay team, consisting of Joanna, India, Abigail and Francesca. This was their second time of qualifying for the Nationals. Last year they were the runners up but this year they took first place on the podium having run their hearts out with some excellent changeovers helping them to maintain their speed throughout.

In the glorious surroundings of the Thames Valley Athletic Stadium in Eton, Alton Convent School took part in the Annual Regional Athletic ISA Championships. Alton Convent athletes produced some amazing performances, many finishing in the top three in their events and were awarded bronze, silver and gold medals.

Seven of Alton Convent's athletes performed exceptionally and as a result have qualified for the National ISA Finals in Birmingham on the 24^th June 2009. From over a 1000 competitors the following girls have achieved fantastic results with many personal bests.

In the ISA regionals Francesca, India Abi and I, and our mums all went up to Eton, for one or two races. When we arrived there it was extraordinarally big. We all waited for 2,3 or possibly 4 hours! Abi ran 600 meters and came first! All of our Mums packed a huge lunch, we barely ate any. We borrowed some money to go and buy some chips, they were delicious!!!

Then I did my ball throw, I came 8th out of 11, but two got disqualified. Year 5 also took part in the Regionals. Then an hour after the ball throw Abi, India, Francesca and I all did a relay it was fantastic but scary. When the man shot the pistol that looked like a gun, I sprinted as fast as I could. When I passed the baton to India I got nervous that I would drop it but I didn't. India also sprinted as fast as she could until Francesca overtook people like India and I did. When Francesca passed to Abi she was phenomenal. At the end we won all of our races. We were all proud of ourselves and so were our Mums. A couple of days later we received our medals in assembly and Abi received two. We enjoyed it very much and we hope we can have another experience like that again.

On the 18th of June 2008, Sienna, India, Abigail and Francesca  went to the ISA championships in Birmingham. It took us three hours to get there, so we stopped for lunch on the way, which was generously provided by Sienna's Mum. When we arrived in Birmingham the weather was nice, but throughout the day it got worse. We were allowed to practice the relay and we also played around in the long jump pit.

We were running for London West, we wore light blue vests, and special shoes with spikes on to make us go even faster. The relay was the last event of the day, so we were waiting about for ages. The race was 4x75 meters, we were set off from the sixth lane by a real gun! We were scared. Sienna ran the first leg, and was in second place when she passed the baton on to India. India stayed in second place in the second leg, and then she gave the baton to Francesca. Francesca also managed to stay in second place, before handing the baton for the last time to Abby. Abby then sprinted down the final straight and came second overall.

At 12:45, as the Upper Prep assembled on the field for this year’s Sports Day, the heavens opened, just like last year. A hasty conference of PE staff and management took the decision to wait things out, and after a quarter of an hour, the rain stopped and patches of blue became visible overhead! With this slightly delayed start, sports day got under way with the grand class relays. Field events proceeded throughout the afternoon, with some particularly impressive long jumps being recorded. Track events kept house supporters and parents on the edge of their seats, with some outstanding performances across a range of distances, up to and including 600m.

The Lower Prep were blessed with very fine weather for their annual sports day. All children from Reception to Year 2 took part in a whole host of different races and events, including a number of serious events, in which some outstanding times were recorded from these fine young athletes (well done Christian!), as well as the now traditional fun races, including the ‘Going Home’ race and the ‘Teddy Bears’ Picnic’. Team events, such as the grand relay and train-and-tender rounded the aft