It was with great anticipation that the Year 7 and 8 swimmers entered the pool for the first race of the Swimming 
Gala 2013. Students from all House teams stood expectantly waiting for the starter to release the competitors.
The first race, Years 7 & 8 25m Front Crawl was won by Jack Chipper (Windrush House) in a time of 16.6 seconds.
This was followed by A & B races for all year groups in Front Crawl, Breast Stroke and Back Stroke.
By the time of the relays, Isis House had secured a lead in the standings with Windrush House in a close second.
Outstanding individual performances by Jack Turner, Pedro Naranjo, Clemmie Jackson, Harry Balkwill, Callum Jones and Tim Herring ensured we saw some highly
competitive races.
The frantic pace of the relays proved an entertaining end to the gala, with all competitors producing wonderfully spirited performances with honours split between Thame, Windrush and Isis Houses.
This left the last, and probably the most entertaining, race of the 35 race programme. The ‘Cannon’ is a unique event where one male and one female competitor from each year group compete consecutively in an 8 x 25m relay.
This race was won by Isis and proved to be a fitting display for the team who secured the overall Gala trophy. Tim Herring (pictured) received the award from the Head, Mark Olejnik, on behalf of a jubilant Isis team.
My congratulations must go to Isis in retaining the Swimming Gala Trophy, and thank you to all competitors, spectators and staff, without whom the event would not have the same success.