Private School News

BEDFORD MODERN SCHOOL STUDENT, RAESHAN DOWNER, SELECTED AS MEMBER OF THE ENGLAND NATIONAL HANDBALL YOUTH SQUAD

Bedford Modern School Year 10 student, Raeshan Downer, has been selected as a member of the England Handball Association’s National Youth Squad’s programme. Raeshan will be involved in a preparation camp on 5th June in Warrington in readiness for the Olympic Solidarity Training Camp and Partille Cup, taking place in Sweden from Sunday 27th June until Monday 12th July.

The Partille Cup is the World’s largest Youth Handball Tournament. Preparation camps also allow members of the England National Youth Squad to train with other young players from as far away as China and Brazil.

“Handball is a mixture of four different sports including hockey, basketball, football and rugby. It is played on a court either indoors or outdoors. The hockey element is with the goal, the basketball element is in the dribbling, rugby brings the contact aspect and football brings the skill to the game,” said Raeshan.

Raeshan trains with the Bedford Hawks every Saturday morning and at Cranfield University on Sunday mornings. “Games last an hour and are split into two half-hour segments. At student level, matches are usually played over 25 minutes each way. A handball team consists of seven players; six outfield and one goalkeeper. Teams pass a ball to throw it into the goal of their opponent’s team. I really like the speed and adrenaline rush that comes from taking part in each handball game,” added Raeshan.

Patrick Jerram, Director of Sport at Bedford Modern School said, “Representing your country is a great honour and I am delighted for Raeshan. Whilst handball is not one of our bigger team sports in this country, it is very popular around the world and hopefully Raeshan will get the opportunity to compete on this international stage.”

Photo: Bedford Modern School Year 10 student Raeshan Downer