"All Pull Together"

As we rush towards the end of term, and towards the next chapter of our story co-education, we are reminded that time has a curious habit of accelerating. Moments that once felt transformative gradually slip into history and become the natural fabric of school life.

Nothing captures that better than our June social media post. Featuring the 1990 photograph of the Girls Athletics team, it highlights the challenges that came with the early days of co-education and the determination and spirit that emerged from them.   

It’s true to say that despite the best of intentions and despite the inclusion of girls in all year groups from 1995, for the first ten years of co-education the girls were often disadvantaged in most House competitions because of their small numbers. This was especially the case on Sports Day when there was no other girls House for them to compete against.  

In 'The Breconian', Anne-Marie James (seated far left in the featured photo) described the experience of participating in Sports Day.   

For Sports Day, the de Winton “All Pull Together” resurfaced. We entered everything possible, even the triple jump (thanks to Mel Rees for organising the team) and the relay (which had three members!). Although we were running against the middle boys, we came last in every event. In spite of this, we had a brilliant time! After all, it’s the participation, not the winning that counts!

Anne-Marie’s words will be familiar to Sports Day participants of any era. And then, as now, there were other sporting arenas that allowed the girls to reveal their dedication and competitive spirit. Despite the inevitable absence of the chance to compete inter-house, the girls were unswerving when it came to competing in inter-school athletic events and the same “the de Winton All Pull Together” became deeply ingrained. 

When Donaldson’s re-opened as a girls House in September 1998, girls were able to take part in every aspect of school life in more equal numbers. The establishment of a second house for girls also had a transformative impact on House competitions. On Sports Day 1999, two girls Houses were able to compete against one another for the very first time.

In 1999 Chris Webber explained,

This year's competition was somewhat different. The delay until the end of term brought us warmer and drier conditions, but the main difference was the new format. Previously girls had been allocated to one of the Senior Boys' Houses, but this year with two Girls' Houses we had two separate competitions. The boys of School House, St David's and Orchard competed for the boys' cup, and the girls of de Winton and Donaldson's competed against one another for the first time.

By all accounts, it was nail-biting stuff and the girls' competition in 1999 couldn’t have been closer. With Donaldson’s just two points ahead, de Winton won the Medley Relay to snatch the competition with a three point margin.

In 2026 it is the most normal thing in the world for current pupils to experience Sports Day as a competition between individuals, between Houses and between boys and girls, with points won being added to the tally for the House Competition.

Though the colours and the kit may be different, the determination, enthusiasm and nail-biting wait for the announcement of the winners of the annual House Competition on Prize Day would be recognisable to every Old Breconian of every era.

De Winton. Ready for battle. Sports Day 2026. 

De Winton. Overall winners. Sports Day 2026.