On Wednesday 19 July, our u13 boys cricket team took on The Bay in the final of this year’s competition which was held at Arreton CC. 

Carisbrooke won the toss and elected to bowl.  Liam G opened for Carisbrooke and limited The Bay to only the odd single and eventually broke the deadlock in the 5th over by bowling their opener.  As the innings progressed, all of the boys took it in turn bowling and all performed well taking a further 6 wickets including two caught and bowled efforts from Daniel P.  The Bay posted a beatable target of 78 and, as Carisbrooke walked out with Jack E and Lincoln O, the team felt confident they could chase the runs down. However, with an early run out and then a couple of surprise early wickets which included Liam G and Daniel P, Carisbrooke fell to 8 runs for 3 wickets and looked like collapsing early on.  However, Charlie G and Wilfie T steadied the ship and got Carisbrooke up and running, putting together a partnership which took us past the 40 mark. 

With only 6 overs left, Charlie then got out to some good bowling from The Bay. However, with Harvey P who was stepping in and playing up a year due to some late withdrawals on the day from the regular squad, there was still hope.  Harvey played some nice shots before getting bowled but stayed out in the middle with Wilfie as the last batter.  Wilfie continued to swing at everything and at one point it felt like it was meant to be, but then with only just over two overs left, an unlucky shot which was played onto his own wickets finally allowed The Bay to take the win.  Final score: The Bay 78 Carisbrooke 55.  

Well done to all of the boys for their efforts and for taking part with such a good spirit and togetherness.  

Individual highlights:
– Liam was a great captain who never stopped talking when behind the wickets.  
– Daniel was outstanding with the ball in hand and really needs to come back to the game full time.  
– Wilfie demonstrated consistency with the ball and the grit he showed with the bat was truly inspirational.
– Jack bowled a lovely over and prevented numerous boundaries out in the deep.
– Lincoln also bowled a great over and put his body behind some well hit shots.
– Charlie with some excellent wicket to wicket bowling and Mr Calm and collective when batting.
– Harvey did a superb one-hand pick up in the field nearly resulting in a runout and, for a student younger than everyone else, showed exactly why he is never out of his depth in sport.  

On Tuesday 11 July, students from Carisbrooke College were treated to a day out at Newclose watching a ladies professional cricket game. 

The game was between Hampshire Vipers and Nottinghamshire Blaze.  During the day, the students got to see some real talent on show and the game lived up to expectations with Nottinghamshire winning with only two overs left to play. 

During the day, students also got to take part in activities for a bit of fun with one of our students Wilfie T winning the batting challenge.

Congratulations to all of our winners!

Year 7 student Matthew C recently went on a humanitarian aid trip to Moldova with Island-based charity, MAD-Aid, which his parents work with. 

Matthew told us this about his trip, “I liked helping to deliver food, medical aid, children’s clothes and even toys to people at some of the many projects that MAD-Aid supports.

We visited the Mother and Child Institute – a hospital in Chisinau – where MAD-Aid has pledged to raise money to renovate two neonatal wards which haven’t been upgraded since 1986 and are in a bad state. At the hospital, I met British ambassador for Moldova, Steven Fisher, as well as Gabriel Nebunu, a famous Moldovan pop star who was born at the hospital. My mum and dad were interviewed by a television crew too!

One of the things MAD-Aid does is collect medical equipment which is no longer needed from across the UK and deliver it to those in need in Moldova – this includes wheelchairs, mobility scooters and much more.  We delivered a mobility scooter to a young man in a village who had never had one before – he was so excited, and it means he can leave his home and go to the local shop!

We also did two food shopping trips and delivered the food to families in need, as well as to a Ukrainian refugee centre in Mihaileni in northern Moldova.  Here I met two Ukrainian children, and I offered them a choice of toys and other items. The little boy gave me the biggest smile as he ran off with a packet of sweets and the girl chose colouring pens – when we went to leave, she gave us each a drawing she had done.

I visited MAD-Aid’s Phoenix Centre in Riscani, which includes a day centre for children with special needs. I enjoyed a concert and a craft workshop with the children. I was also able to have a swimming lesson with some of the children who have disabilities.

The trip has made me appreciate how lucky I am and how different life is in Moldova, which is one of the poorest countries in Europe.”

Matthew did some sight-seeing too – he visited the National Theatre in Balti, as well as the monastery and caves of Orhei Vechi and several orthodox churches.

During the last school holiday, Matthew joined Ukrainian families on a visit to Cineworld in Newport, as part of MAD-Aid’s work to help Ukrainian refugees living on the Isle of Wight.

Well done Matthew!  Hard work for a very worthy cause.