Two Xaverian students, Ben Haughton, previously a student at West Hill School and studying A Levels in Biology, Geography and Psychology and Reuben Rowbotham-Keating, previously a student at Chorlton High School and currently studying Biology, Geography and BTEC Sport, gained outstanding bronze and silver medals at the Arena Lisbon International Meeting on February 11th and 12th 2023. The event was held at the Swimming Complex at the National Sports Center in Jamor, Lisbon and was open to competitors aged 16 and over.
Both students competed in a number of events, with Reuben winning a silver medal in the 400 Individual Medley and four bronze medals, as well as Ben winning bronze medals in the 4×100 Freestyle Relay and 4×100 Medley Relay.
Both students have represented Swim Lancashire and medalled on multiple occasions at Lancashire counties and North-West competitions. They have also competed in multiple British and English National Championships, with Reuben winning a silver medal at last summer’s European Championships for juniors, and Ben winning a gold while competing for Greater Manchester against other swimming associations in the Northwest region. Back in November 2022, Reuben was also named the Junior Sports Achiever of the Year at the Manchester Sports Awards.
Some of their biggest achievements include Ben having won over 150 medals at various galas across the UK and Reuben holding 13 national titles in both short and long-course competitions.
Both students chose Xaverian College due to its close proximity and ease of travel to the Aquatics centre on Oxford Road, with their training starting at 4pm every weekday.
Ben said: “Taking part in swimming competitions is a huge commitment to take on and means that I attend training nine times a week whilst attending College to study A Levels. It’s a lot of hard work but I am still maintaining the high-level grades I achieved last summer.”
“I enjoy the thrill of taking part in swimming competitions and my highlight has been coming out of the Covid lockdown and qualifying for four events at the 2021 British Winter Nationals. My goal is to swim at a high level in national competitions and to continue to reduce my times in the pool. I also intend to take full advantage of all the opportunities open to me as a swimmer and as a student at Xaverian.”
Reuben commented: “When I started at Xaverian I chose BTEC Sport as one of my subjects as this would enable me to understand different sports and the theory behind performance and psychology in sport. During the course, I have found a lot of links between what I am learning and swimming. I’m hoping to compete at a higher level in the future, as well as completing my A Levels this year.”
As one of the largest providers of post-16 education in the region, Xaverian College offers a large variety of A Levels in addition to several BTEC courses, including BTEC Sport, which gives students the opportunity to develop teamwork, interpersonal, leadership and presentation skills. It is also the perfect way to enrich a student’s life with challenges and projects that give real-world experience, the BTEC offers both theory and practical lessons giving students an excellent stepping stone to further study or careers in sport. Visit xaverian.ac.uk to find out more.
