Helen Frostick, a member of staff in Year 5, has recently competed in and won the World Senior Team Chess Championships in North Macedonia as part of the English Women's Team.  

Helen has enjoyed playing chess from a young age and writes:

Chess has featured in my life since I was 10 years old. I learnt at home, later at Wimbledon Chess Club, in the Surrey Girls Team and finally, the English Women's team and the European Championships. It has taken me round the world. In September, I was selected to play in the World Senior Team Chess Championships in Struga, North Macedonia. The 4-board team played over 10 days. 

The England women's team played well, narrowly finishing first ahead of the Chinese in an exciting tenth round. 

Chess has taught me many useful skills in life; lateral thinking, problem-solving, strategies for learning, overcoming difficulties, and self-discipline, as well as meeting some interesting people.

We are all very proud of Mrs Frostick and the children in 5S (who followed her journey in real time as she shared a blog with the class whilst in Macedonia) were thrilled when her team won! This has been a thrilling journey for Mrs Frostick and for the children who have been inspired to explore all the wonders the game of Chess has to offer.