School Sport: Havering crowns badminton best

Sacred Heart won the year 10/11 girls title at the Havering Schools Badminton Championships (Image: Archant)

Coopers, Hall Mead and Sacred Heart will represent Havering at the county finals of the Center Parcs National Schools Badminton Championships in the new year after winning the borough finals at Hornchurch Sports Centre.

The junior girls event went down to the very last point, after Hall Mead and Coopers topped the qualifying groups ahead of Sacred Heart A and B teams respectively.

Coopers beat Sacred Heart A 5-0 in their semi-final, while Sacred Heart B edged past Hall Mead 3-2 in a tighter contest.

And the final was just as tense, before Coopers beat Sacred Heart B 15-14 in the deciding match.

Coopers won the year 7-9 boys title at the Havering Schools Badminton Championships (Image: Archant)

The senior girls event included nine teams in three groups of three, with Coopers, Bower Park A and Sacred Heart qualifying for the play-off round, which Sacred Heart then won to qualify.

The junior boys event was won by Coopers A, who topped their group ahead of Hall Mead and then beat their own B team in the semi-finals.

Emerson Park won the other group and beat Hall Mead 5-0 in their semi-final,before winning the top singles match in the final.

But Coopers hit back to win the other four matches to be crowned champions.

Coopers won the year 7/9 girls title at the Havering Schools Badminton Championships (Image: Archant)

Hall Mead got their reward in the senior boys event, after topping their group and beating Campion in the semi-finals, before defeating Coopers 4-1 in the final. Abbs Cross won the third-place play-off against Campion.

Havering community coach Amanda Austin said: “It was great to see so many schools enter the competition. The standard was really high overall. Hopefully the Havering Schools will go on to do well in the latter stages of the competition.”