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.
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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Yesterday, our terrific table tennis teams, took part in the New Forest Schools Team Table Tennis Tournament at Testwood School.
With a strong history in this event our teams we're keen to showcase their hard work, with many practicing at home, in break times and after school clubs.
All teams played at a high level, with increasing confidence and understanding of the game.
Resulting in all 4 teams winning a medal in this event. Amazing work everyone!
Boys A - 1st Place (County Final Qualifiers)
Boys B - 2nd Place (County Final Qualifiers)
Girls A - 1st Place (County Final Qualifiers)
Girls B - 3rd Place
Congratulations and keep up the hard work and passion for table tennis!
Our sports teams have been busy in recent weeks! Recently, we hosted Cadland Primary for a Boys Football Friendly. Both teams played with great teamwork, showed respect to their opponents and showcased their individual skills on the pitch. Well done boys!
We've also been out to Testwood School for a Boccia Festival, where our teams took part in a skills practice, followed by matches against other schools. This was a great opportunity to try a different sport and improve their target throwing and rolling skills. Well done everyone, you represented our school brilliantly.
Last Thursday, two of our boys football teams attended the Applemore Football Festival, competing in 9 matches against other schools. Both teams showed excellent teamwork and desire throughout the afternoon. And as always represented Orchard with pride and respect. It was also great to see a number of ex Orchard pupils officiating the games with great confidence as Applemore Young Leaders! Our A Team (white) were undefeated all competition with 8 wins and 1 draw While our B Team (green) improved each match and were hard to beat with 6 draws, 1 loss and 2 wins.
Congratulations to both teams!
Yesterday, our Year 3 & 4 boys took part in the Boys' Football Festival at Testwood School. It was a fantastic afternoon of football in the sunshine, with both of our teams representing Orchard brilliantly.
Across multiple matches against schools from across the forest, our players showcased their talent and teamwork - scoring some excellent individual and team goals, pulling off outstanding saves and making strong defensive contributions throughout.
Well done to all the boys for a great afternoon of football!
A reminder that Boys’ Lunchtime Football Club runs every Tuesday from 12:15–12:45 — don’t forget your football boots, shin pads and kit!
⚽ What a fantastic way to finish the school week!
This afternoon, we took three talented girls’ football teams to Noadswood School for a Girls’ Football Festival. The girls were outstanding — improving with every game and showing incredible passion, teamwork, and determination.
A huge thank-you to Mr Shearsmith (Noadswood School) and his PE Champions for officiating the matches with such confidence and precision.
Girls, keep your skills sharp this October Half Term!
⚽Mr Ramsey’s Football Clinic – Girls’ Player Development Day at Orchard Junior School, Wednesday 29th October Mr Shearsmith’s Waterside Sports Camp – Girls’ Football at Noadswood School on Tuesday 28th October.(see the attached flyer for details)We’re so proud of all our players today, well done girls — keep up the great work and love for the game! ⚽
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Last Friday, we were delighted to take part in the Girls' Netball Festival hosted by Noadswood School and Waterside Netball Club, with 32 enthusiastic Orchard netballers representing our school across a series of matches.
Our Year 4 teams competed in the Bee Netball 4 v 4 format in the sportshall — a fantastic opportunity to develop their attacking and defending roles, as well as practice their footwork and pivots in friendly competition against other schools.
Our Year 5 & 6 teams took part in High 5 Netball (5 v 5), which includes five of the core netball positions. This format allowed our players to build on their attacking and defending knowledge, while also experiencing the responsibilities of each position as they rotated throughout their games.
All of our teams performed brilliantly, showing passion, teamwork and a fantastic attitude towards representing Orchard — well done everyone!For anyone inspired to play more netball, Waterside Netball Club trains every Tuesday at Noadswood School — a great way to keep building those skills!
Sports Festival at Applemore College
Today we had the fantastic opportunity to attend a Sports Festival at Applemore College, organised by members of their PE department, Miss Perkis and Mr Whitehorn. The children enjoyed taking part in competitive games against other schools and each other, while also experiencing what a secondary school PE lesson feels like.
Our first activity was Rugby Netball – a fast-paced game that combined rugby passing with netball footwork rules. The aim was to move the ball to the end zone and score a try, all while defenders tried to intercept and counter attack.
Our Orchard Reds performed brilliantly, finishing 1st place unbeaten, closely followed by our Yellows in a fantastic 2nd place.
Next, we took on Jumanji – an energetic invasion and tag game where teams had to dodge, tag and work together to get their whole team safely into the end zone. This time, it was the Yellows who came out on top, securing 1st place, with the Reds battling hard to achieve a well-deserved 2nd place.
A huge well done to everyone – you represented our school superbly at our first sporting event of the year, showing teamwork, determination and great sportsmanship throughout.
🎉 A Record-Breaking Year for Orchard Junior School Sport! 🏆
Yesterday, we celebrated an incredible year of school sport at our annual Sports Assembly—and what a year it's been! 🙌💥
217 pupils represented Orchard across 57 events, with participation up by 25% per event compared to last year.
🏃♀️ 15 athletics records were broken, and every event was filled with pride, respect and passion from our amazing pupils.
Huge congratulations to our award winners:🏅
Zino – Year 3/4 Sportsperson of the Year - for an outstanding year of Athletics, breaking two school records in Boys' Triple Jump and Boys' 80m Sprint.
🎾 Year 3/4 County Tennis Team – Year 3/4 Team of the Year - 4th in the County
🏃 Year 5/6 County Quad Kids Team – Year 5/6 Team of the Year - Silver Medalists & Record Breaking Orchard Points Total🌟
And our prestigious Sports Achievement Award went to Lydia – a truly deserving athlete.
Lydia has:🏅 Represented Orchard 51 times across four years🎯 Qualified for seven County-level competitions, six this year alone💥 Broken four school records, with three still standing – Girls’ Vortex Throw (43.80m), Girls’ Long Jump (2.05m) and Girls' Quad Kids total points (246)🗣 Served as a dedicated Sports Leader, helping run events and encouraging younger pupils💪 Balanced her incredible sporting commitments with academic excellence, showing the same drive and resilience in the classroom as on the field
Lydia’s journey is the perfect example of commitment, perseverance and passion in school sport. An award so well deserved! 🌟We’re so proud of every child who took part this year. Here's to another brilliant year of Orchard Sport! 💪🔥
Have a great summer everyone!#OrchardSport #ProudToRepresent #SchoolGames #TeamOrchard #RecordBreakers #CelebratingSuccess #SportingExcellence
