College sides show off trophies at awards ceremony

TEAMS from The Henley College who won national sports titles were recognised at an awards ceremony at the town hall.

About 80 guests attended the event including parents the Mayor Rory Hunt.

The Henley College rugby team took the AOC Sport Men’s U18 Premiership, winning the final against Bishop Burton College 33-12.

The football team, who are partnered with Wycombe Wanderers, won 3-0 against Swindon Town Procision in the National Youth Football League Final.

College principal Satwant Deol said: “This is a great achievement for all our boys of dedication, commitment and resilience.”

Head rugby coach Josh Barlow and head football coach Tom Guy also praised their teams’ efforts.

Seb D’Aversa , captain of the football team, said: “Thank you to all the players and staff for all the time and effort you’ve put in and our supporters, especially our parents for driving us to every single game.

“This season has had up and downs but we’ve improved massively from last season and managed to win a national youth trophy and the Oxfordshire College Cup.”

Dylan Walters, captain of the rugby team, said: “I just want to thank all the parents for travelling, especially because I’m from South Wales.

“It has been an honour to play here with the boys for the last two years. I want to say thank you to everyone who has helped us achieve all we have.”

Joe Lloyd, 17, a sports science student who lives in Lambridge Lane, Henley, and joined the football team in September, said: “It’s a great achievement, especially coming up as a first year.

“There have been ups and downs, especially for me personally because the start of the season was a bit shaky. I wasn’t starting many games but the coaches had trust in me and I started getting better.”

Ellis Noel, 18, who was in rugby team, said: “We went through some rough patches but we stuck to it and came out on top. Every single one of those boys worked incredibly hard.

“When we lifted that trophy it was just the best feeling in the world.”

After the ceremony all the players stood on the steps of the town hall as two blue smoke cannons were set off and blue and gold balloons decorated the entrance.