When we left you in the May "Beadle" report, our boys’ 6-a-side team was preparing for the Flybe Community Cup finals at St Mary’s Stadium. On the day, the boys did the school and themselves immensely proud by winning their group stage and then battling through the quarter and semi-finals to the final itself. A closely fought game against Hulbert Junior School, Waterlooville, ended 1-1, but sadly our team was pipped to the title by one point from a corner advantage. Nevertheless, the boys earned great respect and credit by not only their performances on the field, but in the manner in which they conducted themselves throughout both the regional qualifying tournament and the finals. It was a tremendous achievement and congratulations go to our squad of Luke McCarthy, Lewis Oliver, Alex Bampton, Max Brady, Dominic Collicott, Jack Lowman, Sam French and Connor Bloomfield. A massive thank you goes also to coaches Paul Lowman and Dave Bampton and parents and families for their invaluable support.

Sports Day this year sadly fell victim to the weather in spite of several attempts to get it underway. The "Dash for Ash" charity event, which was to be held in conjunction with the school sports, still took place, however, and £144 was raised for the children’s cancer charity CLIC Sargeant. The "Egg Challenge" did not rely on the weather though. This year’s challenge was to decorate an egg and place it in an Olympic setting. Although entries were limited, the ones that did come were hilarious—skiing eggs, high jumping eggs, a shot putting egg and a sailing egg! Well done to prizewinners Charlotte Fricker, Yr 3, Millie Evans, Yr 5, and Aysha Monroe and Keely Meade from Yr 6.

Several outings have taken place as part of the children’s understanding of the curriculum. Groups have visited Hampton Court, Portsmouth and the Spinnaker Tower, Marwell and Winchester to give pupils a practical insight into various parts of their subjects. Year 3 has had the "Gamelan Experience"—an Indonesian orchestra as part of their world music experience. The instruments are of ancient origin and consist of bells, gongs and drums, producing quite a haunting and unique sound, much loved by the children.

Year 6 Leavers’ Evening was highlighted by an outstanding performance of the children’s musical "Bugsy Malone". The show was produced by Miss Chegwin and Mrs Hartley, but the pupils themselves contributed the choreography and much of the action and humour.

Some exceptional talent was on display, which augurs well for their secondary schools. After their performance, all the children were presented with a commemorative book of their choice by guest of honour Mr Mike Pratt, our former caretaker, who, although rumoured to have retired, still devotes much time to helping the school and the children.

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