The 2019/20 U15 Schools Vase looks like it will be another very competitive tournament, beginning on the week of the 30th September.
Samuel Whitbread Academy made history last year by winning both the U18 and U15 Vase tournaments, and therefore move up to the Cup this year, however the side they defeated in last year’s U15 Vase final, Dartford Grammar, are in the Vase draw again this year, though oddly the side they beat in last year’s semi, Cardinal Newman, have moved up to the Cup.
Dartford reside in London & South East B, where they begin with a trip to St Celere’s. It is a testing section, featuring the likes of St Columba’s College, St Albans, QES Barnet, Colfe’s, Wallington, and Chislehurst & Sidcup, among others.
The sister section, London & South East A is really challenging, Eastbourne College, Worth, Seaford College, and Glyn are all in a tough bottom half of the section, while in the top half St John’s Leatherhead and St Benedict’s stand out, alongside the likes of London Oratory and Merchant Taylors’.
(Follow these links for the other draws: Champions Trophy, U18 Cup, U18 Vase, U15 Cup)
In the North things are equally competitive, North A features Newcastle School for Boys, Gosforth Academy, Yarm, Giggleswick, and Pocklington among its many challengers.
North B meanwhile stretches as far south as Leicester Grammar School, Ratcliffe College, and Nottingham High School, while also featuring sides like Calday Grange Grammar and St Anselm’s College.
U15 Schools Vase Round Dates:
Round 1 – w/c 30th September
Round 2 – w/c 14th October
Round 3 – w/c 18th November
Round 4 – w/c 2nd December
Round 5 – w/c 13th January
Quarter Finals – w/c 10th February
Semi Finals – w/c 2nd March
Final – Wednesday 18th March 2020
U15 Schools Bowl Round Dates (ford those knocked out in Vase R1):
Round 1 – w/c 14th October
Round 2 – w/c 18th November
Round 3 – w/c 2nd December
Round 4 – w/c 13th January
Quarter Finals – w/c 10th February
Semi Finals – w/c 2nd March
Final – Wednesday 18th March 2020
Over in the Midlands Ipswich v Woobridge is a tie in Midlands B that is repeated at U18 level. Elsewhere in that section look out for a run from Northampton School for Boys, Cup finalists last year, plus the likes of RGS Colchester and Wymondham College.
Midlands A is a tough one, King Henry VIII Coventry could face a tie against old rivals Bablake in the second round should they beat Ashlawn and Bablake beat Princethorpe College. With Prince Henry’s, KES Stratford, KES Birmingham, and Stourport also in the section it will be a tough one to get out of too, especially with last year’s semi finalists, Arden Academy, also in contention.
The beauty of the Vase draw is that there is not a Bye in sight, even in the South West, which can sometimes have a few more than is ideal. Torquay Boys Grammar v Plymouth College in South West A is going to be a big opening game in a section that also includes Mount Kelly, West Buckland, and Clayesmore among its contenders.
South West B meanwhile looks really tough, Dauntsey’s love a cup run, while the likes of Bishop Wordsworth’s and Wycliffe College are real heavy hitters usually. It should be a section to keep an eye on.
It looks like being a really strong Vase competition, and with it being so full that should also lead to a better quality of Bowl tournament too. The Bowl will see teams that lose out in the first round head to a parallel knockout tournament beginning on the week of the 14th October, the same week as the second round of the Vase.
U15 Schools Vase Draw:
North A
QEGS Hexham v Austin Friars
Gosforth Academy v Bede Academy
High Tunstall v KES Morpeth
Newcastle SfB v St Thomas More Academy
Ullswater CC v QEGS Penrith
Ryedale v Yarm
Ripon GS v Scarborough College
QES v Giggleswick
Ilkley GS v BBG Academy
Bingley GS v Hayfield
Hill House v Pocklington
Wolfreton v South Hunsley
Haydock HS v Liverpool College
St Edward’s College v Hutton GS
Scarisbrick Hall v AKS Lytham
Standish CHS v Bolton
North B
King William’s College v Castle Rushen HS
St Anselm’s College v Calday Grange GS
Altrincham GS v West Hill
Bramhall HS v Weaverham HS
The Grange v Newcastle-Under-Lyme
St Joseph’s College, Stoke-on-Trent v Bishop Heber HS
Haberdashers’ v Corbet
Wrekin College v The Marches
Wales HS v Lady Manners
Birkdale v Nottingham HS
Lancaster Academy v Thomas Alleynes HS
Queen Mary’s GS v KES Lichfield
King’s Grantham v Priory Ruskin Academy
De Aston v Carre’s GS
Spalding GS v Ratcliffe College
Leicester GS v St George’s Academy
Midlands A
Whitecross Hereford HS v Fairfield HS
Dyson Perrins v Dene Magna
Christopher Whitehead v RGS Worcester
Lacon Childe v Stourport HS
KES Five Ways v Light Hall
KES Birmingham v KES Sheldon Heath
Arden Academy v KES Aston
KES Camp Hill v Kings Norton Boys
Kenilworth v KES Stratford
Pate’s GS v Prince Henry’s HS
Tewkesbury v St Edward’s, Cheltenham
Cotswold School v Burford
Princethorpe College v Bablake
Ashlawn v King Henry VIII, Coventry
Lutterworth HS v Robert Smyth
Welland Park v Pitsford
Midlands B
King’s Cambridgeshire v Hichingbrooke
Mark Rutherford v St Ivo Academy
Tring v Northampton SfB
Ousedale v Redborne Upper
Akeley Wood v Royal Latin
Buckingham v Sir Thomas Fremantle
Cedars v John Colet
Sandringham v Samuel Ryder Academy
Hitchin Boys v Wooton Upper
Saffron Walden CHS v Leventhorpe
St Mark’s West Essex v KEGS Chelmsford
Richard Hale v St Edmund’s College
RGS Colchester v East Bergholt HS
Ipswich v Woodbridge
Thomas Mills HS v Farlingaye HS
City of Norwich v Wymondham College
London & South East A
Great Marlow v Park Academy
Rickmansworth v Merchant Taylors’
Chesham GS v John F Kennedy Catholic
London Oratory v Watford GS
Ranelagh v Gordon’s
Weydon v George Abbot
Halliford v St Benedict’s
St John’s, Leatherhead v Isleworth & Syon
Thamesmead v Grey Court
Teddington v Southborough
Glyn v Rutlish
Stanley Park HS v Carshalton Boys
Seaford College v Dorothy Stringer
Worth v Warden Park
Eastbourne College v Heathfield Community College
Sackville v Royal Alexandrea & Albert
London & South East B
Sir Roger Manwood’s v St Lawrence College
Duke of York’s RMS v Maidstone GS
Tunbridge Wells GS v Oakwood Park GS
Bennett Memorial v Gravesend GS
Wallington CGS v Cedars
St Dunstan’s College v Chislehurst & Sidcup GS
Hurtsmere v Colfe’s
Davenant v Beth’s GS
St Clere’s v Dartford GS
King John v Southend HS
Woodlands v Brentwood
Robert Clack v Hall Mead
Coopers’ Coborn v Wilmington GS
QES Barnet v Bancrofts
St Albans v Hemel Hempstead
Longdean v St Columba’s College
South West A
Fowey River Academy v Penrice Academy
Mount Kelly v Devonport HS
Kingsbridge CC v South Dartmoor CC
Torquay BGS v Plymouth College
West Buckland v Brymore Academy
Holyrood Academy v Exmouth CC
Woodroffe v King’s Devon
Huish Episcopi Academy v Gryphon
Oasis Brighstowe Academy v Clevedon
Bristol Cathedral v Backwell
Aston Park v St Bede’s Catholic College
Mangotsfield v Redland Green
Wells Cathedral v Gillingham
All Saints v Clayesmore
QES Wimborne v Bournemouth
Poole GS v Highcliffe
South West B
Holmeleigh Park HS v Churchdown
Crypt v Marling
Malmesbury v Wycliffe College
Katharine Lady Berkeley’s v Castle School
Royal Wootton Bassett Academy v Hardenhuish
Frome College v Norton Hill
Monkton Combe v Sheldon
St Laurence v Dauntsey’s
Hampshire Collegiate v Bishop Wordsworth’s
Mountbatten, Romsey v Oaklands
King’s Winchester v Bohunt
St Bartholomew’s v Kennet
John Hampden GS v Sir William Borlase’s GS
Lord Williams’s v Sir William Ramsay
Claires Court v Reading
St James’ v Windsor Boys’
