Ashburton Shield

The Ashburton Shield was presented by Lord Ashburton in 1861 for competition between the Junior Officers' Training Corps that were run within public schools. This remained the case until the 1948 merger of school cadet units into the Combined Cadet Force.[3] It was first contested at the National Rifle Association's second Imperial Meeting.[4] It was mentioned by Edward Walford in 1878 when he wrote of the Meeting, then at Wimbledon:

"These annual gatherings are attended by the élite of fashion, and always include a large number of ladies, who generally evince the greatest interest in the target practice of the various competitors, whether it be for the honour of carrying off the Elcho Shield, the Queen's or the Prince of Wales's Prize, or the [Ashburton] shield shot for by our great Public Schools, or the Annual Rifle Match between the Houses of Lords and Commons."[5]

The Meeting is considered the pinnacle of inter-school shooting in the UK, and British Pathe featured the event in multiple newsreels.[6][7][8]

The Schools Meeting is held annually, with the exception of 2020 and 2021, when the Schools Meeting was placed in abeyance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Epsom College hold the record for the most wins, at 15.[9]

Notable winners include 2018 ISSF World Champion Seonaid McIntosh, who was a member of the 2013 winning team from Dollar Academy.[10] McIntosh individually won the Schools Hundred competition.[11]