From 3rd to 5th August, two boys and one girls’ team from St Paul’s attended the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Champs held in Palmerston North.

The Boys A team consisting of: Temwa Chileshe, Jack Collins, Brendan Hunt, Lachlan Cowley and Pat Jirapanyayut had comfortable wins in their first two games against Francis Douglas and Gisborne Boys’, before going down to Tauranga Boys’ in the quarter finals. The boys bounced back after the loss to beat Christchurch Boys’ 4/1, before going down to Whangarei Boys’ High School and finishing sixth overall.

The Boys B team of: Raymond Chen, Luke Henderson, Charlie Jackson, Herman Wei and Divakrin Naicker lost a very close encounter against Orewa College 3/2 in their first round. After a tough loss, they bounced back to win their remaining four games against Avondale College, Palmerston North Boys’ High School 2, Marlborough College B and Rongotai College, winning the Consolation Plate.

The girls’ team made up of: Nicola Boyd, Tyler Steer, Jessica Tod, Rachael McLanachan and Daisy Wang also had a hard loss against Orewa College in their first-round match up. Wins against Palmerston North Girls’ High School, Katikati College and Ruapehu College and a close loss against Kamo High School, meant the girls won the Consolation Plate.

Temwa Chileshe was selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ team as the Number 1 – an outstanding effort.