Old Crosbeian Laurie Sephton has been added to our Sports Wall of Fame after he was selected for the England Walking Football Squad.

Laurie, 47, was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s Disease when he was aged 38. In recent years, he has played as a defender at Northern Lights PD FC, based in Bootle, helping them to win the first Sport Parkinson’s Try-Athlon in 2021.  He also organised and played in a special England v Wales walking football match which has hosted at our Ian Robinson Sports Centre.

Laurie said: “I was delighted to make the England squad and it is a brilliant initiative. I was skipping around the office like a kid when I heard the news. I’ve already been to Singapore where we won an invitational tournament and future plans are being drawn up across the globe where we can make a positive impact on the local Parkinson’s population.

“Parkinson’s is an extremely frustrating condition but when I start playing football it takes me straight back to being a lad. As soon as I step out on the pitch it is like my brain forgets I have the disease. I instantly stop shaking and stumbling when I play football. What’s incredible is that I turn into a footballer – I turn into Laurie – again.

“Other players with Parkinson’s arrive at a game in their wheelchairs or walking with the help of a stick and, just like me, they are transformed too. I don’t know whether it’s your brain overriding the disease or some sort of muscle memory kicking in, but it is an amazing feeling.”

The national governing body, the Walking Football Association (WFA), was launched in December 2016 and helps people with physical or mental impairments to take part in sport. The game is a 6-a-side format, below head height with no running or contact. Walking Football for Parkinson’s is a recent add on.

Laurie, a financial controller at Princes Group, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s after he began getting tremors in his hands. He said: “I had worked in many areas for Princes in Mauritius and Liverpool and had a young family and big plans for the future. Parkinson’s had other ideas. My symptoms got to the point where I couldn’t do everything I wanted to do before. In many meetings I had to sit on my left hand or trap it painfully under the desk to combat tremors.

“Princes has been great and have made adjustments so I can continue doing my job. Work is so important to me as it gives me a sense of worth and I feel like I can be open with my struggles and everyone is so supportive and flexible.”

Laurie has been a football fan since he was a young boy. His father, George Sephton, has been the match announcer at Anfield for Liverpool Football Club for more than 50 years and his grandfather trialled for the club in the 1920s.

We are very proud of Laurie’s achievements and we are thrilled to see his shirt added to the wall.

The development of our new sports pavilion at Hall Road continues apace.

As you can see from the latest photographs, construction of the external structure is now approaching completion and work is well underway to create the various internal spaces, such as changing rooms, toilets and cafe area.

We are excited about the positive impact this new pavilion will have on the sporting experience of our pupils, parents and visitors.

We wish the very best of luck to former pupil Ella Sansbury, who is releasing her debut single Apologise on Friday 14 July.

A singer-songwriter, Ella writes from a very personal and emotional place and her debut release was written about the breakdown of a very close friendship.

She joined forces with Liverpool-based producer and songwriter DSM in his studio, where they wrote and produced the song, and she has huge ambitions and plans for the song.

Ella said: “With this being my first release I am so excited, I cannot wait for everyone to enjoy this as much as I’ve enjoyed making it!

“I also really want to say a big thank you to Merchant Taylors’ for their support.”

Apologise can be found on Spotify, Amzaon Music and other platforms and you can follow Ella on Instagram @ellasandsofficial.

Merchant Taylors’ enjoyed a haul of team and individual honours among our girls and boys at this year’s Sefton Schools Athletics Championship.

Our girls’ teams from Years 9 and 10 were overall winners in their age group categories, while our Year 7 and 8 girls’ teams both claimed a highly creditable fourth place.

Stand out performances among the boys included Ralph Sinclair, who won the 100m in an excellent time that was just 0.3 seconds outside the school record, while fellow Year 8 pupils Jordan Scott and William Delamere were victorious in the 200m and 1500m races, respectively.

Among the girls, Elisa Jashari-Boyle took double gold in the Year 7 shot and discus and there was success for three Year 9 pupils, with Dakota Backhouse winning the high jump competition, Scarlett Adderley taking gold in the hurdles and Maddie Clark coming first in the shot.

Several Year 10 girls and boys were also victorious in their respective categories. In the girls’ competition, Claudia Flanagan crossed the line first in the 300m and Serenne Crosbie recorded the top score in high jump. Tom and Harry Cosgrove were boys’ triple and long jump champions, while Joe Wake took gold in the 800m and Swithin Samarawadika won the 1500m.

It was an excellent performance from all of our athletes, who can be proud of their talent, hard work and determination to drive themselves and each other on to succeed.

The sun was shining for the fabulous Paris Dinner, which took place at the spectacular Cercle de L’Union Interalliée.

Former pupils from Merchant Taylors’ Crosby and Merchant Taylors’ Northwood came together at the event, where they were treated to a champagne reception in the gardens, before dinner in the sumptuous dining room.

Congratulations and thank you to OC Peter Magill for organising the event and to our friends at Northwood for jointly hosting such a special occasion.

Cadets from the Royal Navy section of our CCF paid a visit to HMS Biter.

HMS Biter is one of the 14 Archer Class inshore patrols vessels that form the Coastal Forces Squadron.

The cadets boarded the vessel at Liverpool’s Royal Albert Dock and were able to learn more about its duties and operations.

Its routine tasking includes Maritime Security Operations,  supporting multi-national and NATO exercises and support to fleet currency training for ships and submarines at Fleet Operational Sea Training.

Lancashire Thunder captain and wicket-keeper Ellie Threlkeld visited school to deliver a coaching session to our senior girls.

The session began with a focus on catching, where girls were encouraged girls to adopt the correct stance, head and hand positions to maximise their fielding ability.

Ellie, who also plays for Manchester Originals in The Hundred series, then showcased her wicket-keeping skills, conducting drills with our head of cricket coaching Gary Yates, himself a former Lancashire player and coach.

Girls saw first-hand the speed and accuracy required to play professional cricket.

Finally, girls were coached on batting as they watched Ellie explain the nuances of an effective batting style, both at the wicket and in our outdoor practice nets.

It was a fantastic opportunity for our girls to continue to develop their skills and passion for cricket and we thank Ellie for giving up her time to share her knowledge and experience with them.