Headteacher: Mrs Carol Taylor
Phone: 02380 843162
SPORTS AT ORCHARD
Our aim is to provide ample opportunity to our students to experience as many sports as possible during their time at Orchard Juniors. Entering in to the New Forest School Sport Partnership competitions, Southampton Football Leagues and Cup, as well as hosting numerous sporting events throughout the year ourselves at Orchard Juniors with other local schools; to provide a range of opportunities and events from inclusive festivals to competitive pathway events to allow opportunities for all levels of sports participation.
Children are encouraged in assemblies to attend lunch time training sessions for upcoming events, from which we select our teams.
Football Tournament Report
Today, our superb Boys’ and Girls’ Year 5 & 6 Football Teams travelled a short distance to Staplewood Training Ground, home of Southampton FC, to compete in the Southampton Regional Finals of the Utilita Cup and Premier League Primary Stars tournaments.
It was a fantastic day of football, showcasing the incredible talent from schools across Southampton. With the winners earning the chance to represent Southampton FC at the Southern Area Finals, the stakes could not have been higher.
Both competitions followed a modern, Champions League–style group format. Each team played five randomly selected opponents from an eight-team league table, with the top four progressing to the knockout stages. Semi-finals and finals would then decide the overall champions.
Girls’ Team
Our Girls’ team made an excellent start to the tournament, recording two wins, two draws and one defeat in the group stage. This strong performance secured 4th place and a well-deserved spot in the semi-finals.
In the semi-final, the girls faced St Francis in a closely contested and exciting match. Despite a huge effort and a determined performance, they narrowly lost 1–0 to the eventual tournament winners.
The girls then competed in the 3rd/4th place playoff against Hook with Warsash. After a tense 0–0 draw, the match was decided by penalties. Orchard held their nerve, with a brilliantly taken spot-kick from Olivia and a superb save from Isla in goal sealing the win.
An outstanding achievement — 3rd place in Southampton. Congratulations, girls, we are incredibly proud of you.
Boys’ Team
The Boys’ team took a few games to settle into the tournament but soon found their rhythm, playing some excellent football and controlling matches with confidence. They finished the group stage with two wins, one draw and two losses, placing 4th and securing a semi-final spot.
In the semi-final, the boys faced Crescent. After a hard-fought 0–0 draw, the match went to penalties. Calm finishes from Spencer, Brody and Jenson, combined with an excellent save from Ben in goal, sent Orchard through to the final against fellow New Forest school, Bartley.
The final was a true spectacle and a fitting end to a high-quality tournament. Both teams played with immense spirit, determination and attacking intent. After going a goal down, our boys showed great resilience to level the match at 1–1, but heartbreak followed in the final moments as Bartley managed to score a late winner.
Congratulations to Bartley, and we wish them the very best in the next round. Our boys could not have given any more — they represented themselves and our school brilliantly. 2nd place in Southampton is an incredible achievement. Well done, boys!
We are incredibly proud of both teams, well done teams!
Remember football lunchtime clubs Tuesday (boys) & Friday (girls) with more football opportunities coming up very soon.
Today, our Year 5&6 Boys' and Girls' Football Teams were up early this morning to travel to Wide Lane for the 1st qualifying rounds of the Premier League Primary Stars and Utilita Cup Tournaments hosted by The Saints Foundation.
We are very proud to announce that both our Boys and Girls teams have advanced to the Southern Regional Finals tournament taking place at Staplewood Training Ground next week. Both teams performed excellently this morning, showed brilliant teamwork and respect for their opponents.
Congratulations Teams - Good luck next week!
New Forest Schools Basketball Competition
On Friday last week, we took five basketball teams to Noadswood School to compete in the New Forest Schools competition. After practicing throughout Autumn 1 in PE lessons, the children were excited to showcase all their hard work and learning in a competitive setting.All of our teams were excellent throughout the afternoon, demonstrating a high level of teamwork, resilience, skill and respect for their opponents. Mr Ramsey was particularly impressed with the children’s behaviour and the way they supported and encouraged one another.
With five teams playing simultaneously, there was a lot to keep track of, but every team performed brilliantly. Four of our five teams (Teams B–E) qualified from the seeding round into Tier 2, which was a fantastic achievement and showed just how evenly matched they were. However, this did mean that with four Orchard teams and one St Luke’s team in Tier 2, we had several Orchard vs Orchard fixtures. All teams competed strongly and showed great quality, with our B Team claiming the Tier 2 medal after winning all four of their games.
Our A Team had a flawless start in the seeding round, winning every match and progressing into Tier 1 to compete for the overall winners’ medal — something Orchard has not achieved for a very long time. They continued their unbeaten run and finished 1st overall after a very tight final match against Blackfield. With an incredible 8 wins from 8 games, our A Team claimed the gold medal and have now qualified for the County Finals in May.
An outstanding achievement from all involved — well done to every player who represented the school so brilliantly. 🏀👏
On Wednesday, we took two very enthusiastic teams to the New Forest Dodgeball Festival at Testwood School. Both teams competed in two rounds of matches against other schools, demonstrating fantastic teamwork, skill and bravery throughout.
In the final round, our teams faced each other in what proved to be a really fun and entertaining encounter! Well done everyone, it was great fun to watch!
On Monday, our three Table Tennis teams travelled to Basingstoke for the County Finals at Blue Coat School, having qualified last month to represent the New Forest.
As always, the standard at the County Table Tennis Tournament was exceptionally high, and our young players gave their all as they competed against the best in the county throughout the morning.
Each team experienced both wins and losses, showing excellent skill and remarkable resilience in some very tough matches.
Both our Girls team and Boys B team narrowly missed out on reaching the knock-out stages, but they should be incredibly proud of their performances and determination.
Our Boys A team progressed to the quarter-finals, where they faced the tournament favourites. Despite showing outstanding resilience and determination, they were knocked out at this stage, finishing in a very respectable joint 5th place.
Well done to everyone who took part!
Round-Up of Our Recent Sports Fixtures and Events
Last week, we took two teams to the Orienteering Festival at Tile Barn.
The challenge required pupils to navigate their way across the course, locating a series of checkpoints and finishing at the correct destination as quickly as possible. Both teams worked brilliantly, demonstrating excellent teamwork, communication, problem-solving skills and resilience. Great job, everyone!
We also travelled with two boys’ football teams to Calmore Junior School for an afternoon of matches. All four games were tightly contested, each ending either in a draw or with just a single goal separating the sides. Our boys competed fantastically, showing real passion and teamwork throughout – well done!This week, our focus shifted to Athletics as the indoor season began with back-to-back events.
On Wednesday 12th November, we took three teams to the first New Forest qualifying event at Testwood School. It was a spectacular competition, full of talent and strong performances. Our athletes were outstanding, achieving numerous personal bests in both field and track events – and setting five new school records in Boys’ Long Jump, Boys’ Relay, Girls’ Speed Bounce, Girls’ 1-Lap Sprint and Girls’ Chest Push. Congratulations to our record-breakers!Results:Orchard C performed brilliantly, securing many personal bests and finishing 14th.Orchard B delivered an excellent team performance, finishing 5th and qualifying for the January finals. Orchard A produced the performance of the day, taking 1st place and the gold medal, setting all five school records along the way and earning a place in the January finals.Excellent work, everyone!
We can’t wait to take three more teams to the second qualifying event next week and look forward to the finals in January, where we hope to see even more Orchard teams earn their spot.
Finally, yesterday we returned to Testwood School for the first round of the Indoor Athletics League. Eight of our athletes competed in the first of three meets, taking on additional events including triple jump and shot put. We were delighted to see another school record – this time in the Girls’ Triple Jump – bringing us to six school records in one week!
We currently sit in 2nd place overall, a fantastic start to the league as we head towards Meet 2 in the new year.Well done to everyone involved – you represented our school brilliantly and should be extremely proud of yourselves.
Girls’ Football Festival at Applemore College
On Wednesday, two of our girls’ football teams travelled to Applemore College to take part in an exciting football festival.
Over the course of the afternoon, the girls played 10 matches against teams from schools across the forest. Both of our teams were outstanding — dominating possession, showing confidence on the ball and playing with great energy and teamwork throughout.
Our Yellow Team made a strong comeback after a narrow defeat in their opening game, going on an impressive nine-match unbeaten run. They showed real determination, learning quickly from that first game and applying the skills they’ve been developing in PE lessons and lunchtime clubs. Their teamwork and defensive discipline were exceptional — conceding only one goal all afternoon, and that came in the very first match!
Our White Team were in top form, finishing the festival undefeated. They played exciting, attacking football and impressed with their quick transitions — working tirelessly to win the ball back and launch fast, creative counterattacks. Their efforts were rewarded with plenty of goals and plenty of smiles.
We’re incredibly proud of both teams for their fantastic performances and are already looking forward to the upcoming tournaments later this year.
Girls — get involved!
Join Mr. Ramsey and his Football Clinic coaching team this half term here at Orchard Junior for a Girls’ Player Development Day. This special session, designed exclusively for girls, will be led by experienced coaches from the Football Clinic Development Centre — a great opportunity to learn, improve and have fun! See attached flyer for more information.
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