Sigma Sixth students celebrate double sporting success

A Colchester sixth form is celebrating unprecedented sporting success after beating all-comers in both football and rugby.

The Sigma Sixth Football Academy, in partnership with Colchester United, went the whole season unbeaten – winning the EFL Community and Education League with 16 wins and two draws from their 18 games.

They then achieved a league and cup double by beating beat Grimsby Town 2-1 in the EFL final, which was played at the home of Championship side Stoke City.

Not to be outdone, their rugby counterparts enjoyed similar success after winning every game to pick up the Association of Colleges league championship.

Following a faultless season, the head coaches of both sports were understandably proud of the success of their students – on the pitch and in the classroom.

Ryan Salter, director of football, sport development and Key Stage 5 coordinator, said: “I am immensely proud of the boys, for what they have achieved and the resilience they have shown throughout the season.

“They deserve all this success as they have worked incredibly hard and shown fantastic dedication to both their sporting achievements and in the classroom.

“To cap it off with a cup final at Stoke City was just an amazing moment for the boys. It was a great occasion in such an impressive stadium and to then win the final was a very special memory for the boys and the coaches."

Winning the title for the second consecutive year, the football team have now gone a total of 40 games unbeaten over two league campaigns and also achieved county cup success this year by beating Southend-based South East Essex College 3-0 in the final.

Sigma Sixth’s director of rugby, Pete Le Marquand, hailed Sigma Sixth’s rugby team after they won the Association of Colleges championship for the second consecutive year.

He said: “At the start of the season, we wanted to do all we could to make it our most successful season ever and we have achieved that in terms of the league.

“We have created a very successful culture which has ensured that we don't just have strong rugby players, but also very good students and people as well.

“I always think very highly of all the students who sign up to our rugby programme and this cohort has worked very hard to achieve such success.”

As part of their development, the rugby team also took part and enjoyed success in rugby league competitions with one student now signing for the London Broncos rugby league team while others are on a pathway with the prestigious Northampton Saints rugby union side.

Anyone interested in finding out about the sports programmes at Sigma Sixth, which also include golf, basketball and netball as well as studying BTEC or A-levels, please contact admissions@pmsc.school.