News from the Scottish Schools U18 and U16 Championships

Scottish Schools U18 and U16 Championships 2025

Fettes College, February-March 2025

Richie Murby reports on the three Scottish Schools Championships 2025

The Boyd Trophy for U18 Singles

Group Stages

Group A – 1st: Reggie H (MCS); 2nd: Monty D (Fettes); 3rd: Freddie J (EA); 4th: Ben L (Fettes)

Group B – 1st: Jock L (EA); 2nd Chris T (Fettes); 3rd: Archie B (Loretto); 4th: Jamie D (EA)

Group C – 1st: Archie F (Fettes); 2nd: Tom J (EA); 3rd James R (MCS); 4th: Max R (EA)

Group D – 1st: Weems H (EA); 2nd: Geordie M (Fettes); 3rd Oscar Z (EA); 4th: Nazar B (Loretto)

Quarter-finals: Reggie H (MCS) bt Chris T (Fettes) 15-11; Geordie M (Fettes) bt Archie F (Fettes) 15-10; Jock L (EA) bt Monty D (Fettes) 15-11; Weems H (EA) bt Tom J (EA) 15-13

Semi-finals: Reggie H (MCS) bt Geordie M (Fettes) 15-13; Jock L (EA) bt Weems H (EA) 15-13

Final: Jock L (EA) bt Reggie H (MCS) 11-4, 11-4

McKeown Plate Competition for U18 Singles

Quarter-finals: Freddie J (EA) bt Jamie D (EA) 11-6; James R (MCS) bt Nazar B (Loretto) 11-2; Archie B (Loretto) bt Ben L (Loretto) 11-5; Max R bt Oscar Z (EA) 11-6

Semi-finals: James R (MCS) bt Freddie J (EA) 11-6; Max R (EA) bt Archie B (Loretto) 11-3

Final: Max R (EA) bt James R (MCS) 15-13

A banner day for the Edinburgh Academy… and for left-handers!

Richie Murby reports: 16 players from four schools donned the gloves for this, the 8th instalment of the Boyd Cup. The draw felt wide open this year, and so it proved — every quarter-final was won by 5 points or fewer, and both semi-finals were won and lost by only two points. This degree of parity made for an unpredictable and highly entertaining day of fives.

With Merchiston’s top player Lucas F out with an injury sustained on the eve of the tournament, it was left to Reggie H and James R to fly the flag for their school. James, the youngest player at the tournament and a balanced striker of the ball, did well to reach the Plate final — but he was pipped by EA’s creative left-hander, Max R.

Meanwhile Reggie, having sailed through the groups with his high-octane hitting and sharp retrieval, had to fight resolutely to fend off two Fettes opponents in succession; first, the vastly improved Chris T played his best-ever fives to run Reggie close; then in the semi-final Geordie found an escalator of his own, constructing rallies superbly and bringing himself back from 5-12 down to almost take the match. But Reggie held firm and managed to break the 13-13 deadlock to win by two points.

His opponent in the final, EA’s Jock L, had come through the groups relatively smoothly, and faced his first stern test against Monty D in the quarter-finals. Monty’s big right hand, zany angles and measured inside-out drives down the line caused problems, but Jock was canny enough to make the necessary adjustments.

In the semi-final Jock was run close by fellow EA player Weems, who hit plenty of low, hard fizzers into the corners, but at times undid some of that great work with unforced errors against a slightly more consistent opponent.

Jock’s dominant hand, his left, was now swollen and his fingers bruised, but if it was bothering him, it didn’t show in the final. He was able to get on top of Reggie’s serve, and he played intelligent, patient but aggressive fives against the excellent defending of his opponent, who began to tire under the pressure. He competed valiantly but Jock was too steady to let his lead in either game slip — and he was able to close out the match 11-4, 11-4, to claim the trophy and become the EA’s first Boyd Cup champion.

The U18 Doubles Championship

Quarter-finals: Ludo C & Josh T (EA) bt Ben L & Chris T (Fettes) 15-9; Monty D & Geordie M (Fettes) bt Jack D & Lyall R (MCS) 15-7; Prannav J & Murray M (EA) bt Archie B & Jakob S (Loretto) 15-2; Reggie H & Lucas F (MCS) bt Archie F & Tom M (Fettes)15-4
Semi-finals: Monty D & Geordie M (Fettes) bt Ludo C & Josh T (EA) 15-8; Reggie H & Lucas F (MCS) bt Prannav J & Murray M (EA) 15-3
Final: Monty D & Geordie M (Fettes) bt Reggie H & Lucas F (MCS) 9-11, 11-5, 11-5

Plate Competition
Semi-finals: Jack D & Lyall R (MCS) bt Ben L & Chris T (Fettes) 15-3; Archie F & Tom M (Fettes)15-4 bt Archie B & Jakob S (Loretto) 15-0
Plate Final: Jack D & Lyall R (MCS) bt Archie F & Tom M 16-14 (Fettes) 16-14

Richie Murby reports: Fettes was the venue once more for a Scottish Schools competition — this time the U18 doubles. A flurry of call-offs from EA’s senior squad handed two of the school’s U15 pairings the chance to pit their wits against older opponents. Nor were they satisfied to just make up the numbers, as both pairings won their quarter-finals convincingly — Ludo & Josh overcoming a spirited Fettes III, and Prannav & Murray bossing matters against Loretto.

Despite EA’s efforts, Fettes I and Merchiston I were favourites to meet in the final – and were not to be denied. The two EA pairings played well in their respective semi-finals but found themselves boxed out by older opponents and rocked back onto their heels. This made them vulnerable both to cross-court drives and to running-balls, and they learned the hard way how crucial positional astuteness is when you’re in a fast game against heavy hitters.

In the first set of the final, Merchiston’s Lucas F & Reggie H used excellent high-octane hitting to similar effect as in the semi-finals, as Fettes’ Monty D & Geordie M positioned themselves too deep and too upright to be able to spring forward and pick up Lucas F and Reggie H’s impressive running-ball attacks, and too static to track down their drives round the walls.

By the time Fettes had tuned into this the first set was gone, but they returned for the second confident that they had made the right adjustments. And so it proved, as they were increasingly able to get into phase with Merchiston’s pace and begin to get on the front foot, turning defence into attack and finding widths and nicks. As Merchiston mistakes crept in and home-court muscle-memory kicked in for Monty & Geordie, the latter were able to bring the ship home 9-11, 11-5, 11-5.

Archie F and Tom M looked poised to complete a Fettes Cup and Plate double, up 14-4 as they were in the one-to-fifteen Plate final against Merchiston II. The latter, consisting of the impressive young Colt Jack D and his tough partner Lyall R, survived umpteen game balls through a combination of their own tenacity and the profligacy of Fettes. As the rallies wore on the deficit closed, and with unease growing, the red bar became a magnet for Fettes; Merchiston, meanwhile, minimised their error count and pressed patiently, playing the percentages and keeping their cool to score a famous 16-14 comeback victory.

The U16 Doubles Championship

Main Competition

Quarter-finals: Louis M & Lochie F (Fettes) bt Jack R & Nazar B (Loretto) 15-2; Max R & Jamie D (EA) bt James R & Hamish F (MCS) 16-14; Oscar Z & Weems H (EA) bt Jonty C-W & Felix U (Fettes) 15-4; Freddie A & Beau W (Fettes) bt Angus R & Logan M (MCS) 15-13

Semi-finals: Oscar Z & Weems H (EA) bt Freddie A & Beau W (Fettes) 15-5; Louis M & Lochie F (Fettes) bt Max R & Jamie D (EA) 15-8

Final: Oscar Z & Weems H (EA) bt Louis M & Lochie F (Fettes) 11-8, 11-2

Plate

Semi-finals: James R & Hamish F (MCS) bt Jack R & Nazar B (Loretto) 15-2; Angus R & Logan M (MCS) bt Jonty C-W & Felix U (Fettes) 15-5

Final: James R & Hamish F (MCS) bt Angus R & Logan M (MCS) 15-7

Richie Murby reports: As is the traditional format for this competition, 8 pairs from four schools made up the draw and gathered for an evening of knockout fives at the Fettes College courts.

Both EA pairings looked strong from the outset. EA II, comprising Jamie D & Max R, sprang something of an upset against a capable MCS I outfit, squeezing through a tense match by a score of 16-14. They fell at the next hurdle, however, as Fettes I, in the form of Lochie & Louis, played a smart tactical game in the semi-final, finding ways to exploit the opposing pair’s left-hander/right-hander dynamics, including at times consciously overruling the classic coaching instruction not to hit the ball down the middle!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the draw, Weems H & Oscar Z, despite not being a regular partnership previously, found themselves in sharp form as a unit. The accurate hitting of Weems and the steady work of the experienced Oscar, cannily playing an “anchorman” role, proved decisive as they marched into the final, overcoming a somewhat green but potential-filled Fettes third pair in the form of Felix & Jonty, and then fending off a lively effort from the increasingly confident and gelling Fettes II pairing of Freddie A & Beau W in the semis.

In the final, then, EA I found themselves playing a Fettes team for the third time in three matches. The latter played well and found themselves in strong positions in many of the rallies – but couldn’t always find the shots to convert pressure into points, particularly with the quality of Oscar’s defending. Weems, aided by the intelligent support play of his partner, was able to produce pressure and winners at the right times, and the two won an entertaining final 11-8, 11-2.

In the Plate competition, MCS I recovered from their early cup exit by beating Loretto’s technically and organisationally developing duo of Nazar & Jack, and setting up an all-Merchiston final. With a solid 15-7 victory over their teammates they secured bragging rights down at the Merchiston courts, and, almost as significantly, the Plate itself!