Epic Épée

We are delighted for our Year 11 and 12 Fencers, Charlotte and Lauren, both of whom represented Alleyn's at the Public Schools' Fencing Championships held at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre this week.

It was an exciting day for the students, who represented Alleyn's against a host of competitors from over 50 HMC and GSA schools. They progressed through two rounds of pools followed by direct elimination rounds, with Lauren seizing Silver in the Senior Épée and Lauren bringing home Gold in the Junior Épée.

Assistant Director of Sport, Jen Wilson, said: "Congratulations to our epic fencers! The girls had a great day and represented Alleyn's brilliantly at what is one of the largest youth fencing events in Europe. We are so proud of their efforts, and also grateful to their incredibly supportive parents who enable them to pursue their goals."

Lauren has represented the national squad in both Foil and Épée, held top 15 positions in the GB Cadet rankings and competed in tournaments around the world. Charlotte also represents Great Britain at the Cadet level internationally, and trains 4-5 times per week outside school.

Inside school, both students work with the Alleyn's Sports Department through the APP (Alleyn's Performance Pathway), benefiting from bespoke training and from the school's late specialisation model that strives to develop well-rounded athletes across multiple sports. In fact, Charlotte only began focusing exclusively on Épée in late 2021, when she made GB's Cadet international traveling team.

Over the next few months, Charlotte and Lauren will continue to balance their studies (including GCSEs for Charlotte!) and their sport, with the prospect of the Junior & Cadet Fencing World Championships in April, in Dubai, and the the Commonwealth Fencing Championships in London lying ahead.

The Public Schools' Fencing Championship began in 1890 and has evolved over the past 130 years to include competitions in all three weapons - Épée, Foil and Sabre. By 1937 both boys and girls were involved in the event in varied forms. Currently, Épée, Foil and Sabre fencers compete in three age categories: Senior categories (17-18 year olds) , Junior (15-16 year olds) and Mount-Haes (12-14 year olds). Within the UK and Europe, it is one of the largest youth fencing events with 18 competitions taking place involving 1090 fencers participating during the multi-day event.