Catteral Shield 2025

Group of boys standing

 

For almost 50 years Giggleswick School has proudly hosted the cross country competition among prep schools. This year 350 runners from 20+ schools, some travelling all the way from Scotland, gathered on campus. The aim is to involve as many schools as possible to give young cross-country runners from all over the country the opportunity to run and compete in the unique landscape of North Yorkshire and the grounds of our school.

The tradition has been passed on for generations. This year, one of the preschool teachers who participated in the competition in the 2000s brought their pupils to try it out.

The course

There are 3 courses of different length and complexity:

  • 1960m route - U11 boys&girls
  • 2440m route - U13 girls
  • 3260m route - U13 boys 
Map with different courses

Catteral Shield Cross Country Course Map, 2025

The landscape

Participants run a tough course—although there aren’t too many steep climbs, the first field at the start is misleadingly flat. If you start too fast, it can catch up with you later in the course. The second lap introduces loops and corners with trickier sections, including rocky terrain underfoot and some steeper inclines. Therefore, pupils need a good understanding of pacing to succeed.

Tactics

The Catteral Shield is a team competition, and that’s where the next challenge lies. U11: Five in a team, first four to score. U13: Seven in a team, first six to score. To succeed, each team member needs a strong and consistent finishing position. So, a team needs to stay together if they want to win. Which is not that easy.

Weather

The difficult weather conditions become a constant obstacle on the course and should be taken into consideration when choosing a strategy for the race. This year was no exception. The classic Yorkshire weather really shone through!

Three girls standing on the pedestal near boy

U13 Girls Individual Winners of 2025 and Jack Year 12 pupil

Results

The strong running culture of Giggleswick School resulted in inspiring results for our teams:

1st place U13 Girls Team award - congratulations Mia, Poppy, Jo, Martha, Georgia, Betsy and Holly!
1st place U13 Boys Team award - congratulations Archie, Reuben, Tommy, Nevan, Boe and Alfred!
1st  place U13 Girls Individual Award - congratulations Mia!

A huge thank you to all the participants, parents, teachers, and organisers! And special thanks to our Year 12 pupil Jack - member of Great Britain's European Mountain Running Championship team for handing out medals!

See you next year!