SHAW Ridge and Westrop competed in the first ever Swindon Primary Schools fencing match.

In the first team contest, Shaw Ridge came out 12-4 winners, but eight of the 16 bouts went to the final hit.

Shaw Ridge were on the front foot from the start, with captain Alyssa Curtis winning her first match impressively 4-0, while Lewis Evans and Daksh Manocha also won.

Left hander Ruby Watkins gave a great showing in her fights, winning two contests from four.

This could have been three from four but she lost one match on the last hit. Libby Warham-Bernardo also secured two wins from four through resolute defence.

The second team match saw all bouts go to extra time. Shaw Ridge’s Finley Moore led the way as they got off to a great start.

Moore and Olivia James won their first bouts, while Tomisin Gbede and Alissa Figueira both came close to winning theirs but fell just short.

Gbede shrugged this off and recorded his first competitive win, before losing his third match by one point.

Figueira gave an encouraging display, never giving up no matter how high the odds were against her. She kept progressing with her attacks, winning a well fought contest 4-2. Moore went on to record a further win, while James lost 4-3 in extra time as Westrop won 7-5.

The third team, led by captain Luke White along with Libbie Croucher, Ben Mortimer and Jessica Curtis battled well but it was Westrop who took the the honours 7-5.

The fourth team match saw the lead change three times and Shaw captain Sam Probyn registered wins, while Billie Basson and Izzy Fotheringham won a bout a piece and left hander Louis Austin took two wins from four.

With time again a factor here as two bouts couldn’t take place, the match ended with an 8-6 win for Highworth.

However, Shaw Ridge took an overall 28-26 victory over Westrop.