By Daisy S, Year 8

On the 27th of January four swimming teams went to the Guildford Spectrum leisure centre to compete in the GDST Swimming Rally.  Guildford Spectrum is a fantastic leisure centre and it was a very good choice of venue for the Gala. It has four pools: the leisure pool, the 25m pool, the teaching pool and the diving pool.

We met at 7 a.m. outside of school for the coach trip there. There were 16 GDST teams competing in this Gala from as far as Shrewsbury and Portsmouth. When we first arrived, we all warmed up and then prepared for our races. In the morning we took part in the individual race heats and 10 swimmers, six from the junior school and four from the senior school made the finals.

After lunch, the finals took place. Violet from the U11A team placed first in the 50m backstroke and Daisy from the U14 team placed 3rd in the 50m Backstroke. All the swimmers in the finals were cheered on by the rest of the team. Once the finals were completed we took part in the relays. Each age category had a Medley relay team and a Freestyle relay team. Everyone did very well in the relays and a number of teams placed in the top five. In the final placement, the U11A and U11B teams placed 5th and the U14 team placed 4th.

After the competition we travelled back to school and we were all very happy with the results we had been given. Overall it was an excellent day and everybody enjoyed it.