We were delighted to welcome over 30 Old Churcherians back to Churcher's to play in the OC Hockey and Netball matches on Saturday 29 March. With the sun shining, it was fantastic to see so many OCs, family and friends returning to school, catching up with one another and staff. 

We even enjoyed a circular flypast at 1000 feet from Mark Hubbard (86) in his twin engined Pilatus PC12 aircraft. Mark is a commercial pilot with three decades of experience, who entertained those who had spotted the aircraft by 'waving' the wings of the plane as he flew over!

The first match was women's hockey, which was competitive from the start. The OC team displayed some great passing play and individual skill, enjoying the majority of possession and creating a number of chances. The school team scored a goal early (controversially!) in the second half but the score-line could easily have gone the other way. The final score was 1-0 to the school but it was a great effort from the OC team.

The men's hockey team were up against tough opposition, playing against a strong school side. With only 11 players and the temperature warming up, the OC team put in a heroic shift to recover from going 3-0 down in the first 12 minutes, almost levelling at the start of the second half, to finish the game 7-4. Thank you to Andy Cairns (Former Staff) and Chris Parker (86) for ably coaching the team and a special mention to Richard Bartholomew (91) who was the oldest OC taking part in the morning.

The OC netball team arrived confidently and never looked back. The team looked like they had organised some pre-match training sessions as they easily moved the ball around the court, enjoying a high scoring percentage and demonstrating some great defensive play, capitalising on a number of interceptions and rebound balls. The final score was 29-19 to the OCs, the first win for the OCs since 2019 - well done!

Thank you to everyone who came and took part, we are looking forward to next year already!

Final scores:
OC Women Vs 1XI Girls Hockey: 0-1
OC Men Vs 1XI Boys Hockey: 4-7
OC Women Vs 1VII Netball:  29-19

Pictures from the matches can be viewed here:

Presentation photographs

Action shots