Tuesday 2^nd February

Four teams were entered into a hockey tournament which was held at Wyvern. The competition involved schools from the local area with all teams being split into two groups. Each team played every other team in their group with the overall winners playing each other in a final and the runners up playing against each other for third place. In Group 1, Fair Oak A won three of their matches and lost one and as a result, finished as runners up in the group. Fair Oak B won three of their matches and drew the fourth game which meant that they won the group and would go through to the final! Over in Pool 2, Fair Oak C did superbly to win the group with Fair Oak D ending up in second spot which meant that the final and third place play off matches would be an all Fair Oak affair! In the final, Fair Oak B beat Fair Oak C by two goals to nil to win the tournament. Third place went to Fair Oak A who won their fixture against Fair Oak D, also by a scoreline of two goals to nil. What a great result for our school and all of our magnificent hockey players! 

Friday 5^th February

An inexperienced Fair Oak girls football team travelled to Basingstoke to play a friendly match against Oakley Junior School and despite a brave battling performance, our girls came away with a loss. The match began very evenly with chances being created but not taken by both sides. However, it was Oakley who opened the scoring and then got a second before half time. The hosts added to their tally after the break but this seemed rather unrepresentative of the overall play. Fair Oak pulled a goal back to make it three one but unfortunately our girls conceded two more before the final whistle. However, despite the scoreline, our girls can be proud of the way they fought throughout a tough game.

Tuesday 9^th February

Our Fair Oak basketball team entered a tournament today held at Wildern School. The teams were split into two groups of five with each team playing every other team in their group. The top two in teams would qualify for the semi finals. Our tournament began with a nil nil draw against St Johns despite Fair Oak dominance and then a two all draw with Freegrounds. Our next opponents were Durley who unfortunately beat our team six two. This left us needing a positive result in our last game and for other results to go our way. Fair Oak were up against Upham and duly delivered, winning ten nil. However, despite this great result, our team just missed out by a point on qualifying for the semi final stage. Well done to all of our participating athletes for a great effort!

Friday 12^th February

Today our Lower School Swimming Team travelled to Bishop’s Waltham Junior School to take part in a Primary Schools Aquasplash Swimming Festival. The competition was comprised of a variety of different races including both individual and relay events with points being awarded to teams depending on where they finished in each race. Our team performed superbly and really enjoyed the event. By the end of the gala, the points totals were as follows:

Bishop’s Waltham – 145

Swanmore – 120

Shamblehurst 117

Berrywood – 95

Botley – 95

Fair Oak – 94

Upham – 76

Durley - 55

Well done to our fantastic Lower School Swimming Team!

The County Individual Table Tennis Finals took place today at Testwood Sports College in Totton, Southampton. Fair Oak had previously qualified for this event which was a fantastic achievement, particularly as our athlete was from Year Four and faced the best Year Five and Six competitors in the county! As expected, the standard was extremely high and even though our pupil did not win her group she competed well against tough opposition and should be proud of herself.

Thursday 25^th February

Three teams were entered into a tag rugby tournament which was held at Wyvern. The competition involved schools from the local area with all teams being split into two groups. Each team played every other team in their group with the overall winners playing each other in a final and the runners up playing against each other for third place. In Group 1, Fair Oak A won all three of their group matches which meant that they finished as group winners. Fair Oak B and C were placed in Group 2 and were equally as successful! Just like Fair Oak A, Fair Oak B won all of their matches and while Fair Oak C won two and lost only once, to Fair Oak B! This meant that our B team won their group while our C team finished as runners up. The final would therefore be another all Fair Oak affair between our A and B teams while the third place play off game would be between Fair Oak C and Durley A. In the final, Fair Oak A beat Fair Oak B two nil to become tournament winners. Unfortunately our C team lost out in their third place play off to Durley also by a scoreline of two tries to nil. Another great result for our school. Well done to all those who participated.

Friday 26^th February

Our boys football team travelled to Kings Worthy to play a friendly game today. The match turned out to be an eventful one on a difficult pitch with a final score of three all! The game began brightly for Fair Oak and our boys took an early lead only to be immediately pegged back with a well taken equaliser. However, Fair Oak then took control and went into half time three one up. The second half began the same way with constant pressure from the away side but unfortunately our boys spurned numerous good chances and were also thwarted by some outstanding goal keeping. Kings Worthy pulled a goal back with a minute left and then deep into stoppage time grabbed their second equaliser of the game to leave Fair Oak wondering how they had not won the match. 

What a breath taking day. It would be easy to say that the most inspiring highlight of the day would be the mist during our morning walk. Whilst this was amazing, the most inspiring event for the day has got to be when I walked into the drawing room and the children were playing a game so beautifully on the floor. They were so inclusive, so kind, so polite and having so much fun. For me this was definitely the highlight of this group's residential to Avon Tyrrell.

Last night the children took part in the night walk. Why have a night walk? Quite simply so that the children see and hear the beauty of the forest at night time and get used to natural light but also so that they can conquer their fear. Some children - and some of us adults - are scared of the dark. I was so proud of all the children who took part and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Back to this morning - As I said earlier, the walk was amazing. The children gasped when they saw deer and the mist hovering along the path they were about to venture down. The gasps turned into excitement when we successfully navigated the course through icy bogs and frosty ground. However, it was cold! So cold that when we returned to the first bog it had iced over. All was well when the children tucked into the legendary Avon Tyrrell breakfast - surely the best hash browns this side of Fair Oak?

During the day the children have enjoyed the two activities - Problem Solving/Shelter building and Trekking & Tracking. A lot of fun was had by all - including the adults with the water pistol!

So, what next? Dinner tonight will be a BBQ - burgers and hotdogs. After this, we move down towards the lake to enjoy our expertly lit (hopefully!) campfire - not to mention the s'mores.

Your children have been a delight. They have worked so well, tried their best and succeeded with all asked of them. We are very proud of their achievements and, more importantly, the amount of fun we have all had. I'm sure you'll hear all about your child's time at Avon Tyrell and I know that you will be proud of our children.

A huge thank you must go to the staff who joined us on Wednesday, but an even bigger thank you must go to my team who have stayed the whole week. I won't quote our OFSTED report in this blog - I'll simply say...thank you.

What a superb afternoon. It started well with hot dogs and wedges for lunch. This was followed by orienteering. During this session the weather ranged from 'must have rain coat' to 'so hot - take off the coat'. That being said, the weather is now calm and I sit here in the drawing room whilst the children compose their diary entries looking out at the sunset.

The children have been fantastic this afternoon and all have tried their best and were determined to finish their orienteering course - some at breakneck speed (not literally).

So what next? BBQ ribs and Macaroni Cheese followed by the night walk. Tomorrow the children have their morning walk before the feast that is the Avon Tyrrell breakfast.

Group 1 have left the building!

Your children were an absolute delight and really demonstrated the best of Fair Oak Junior School. I hope you enjoy having them back. We will miss them hugely but we are looking forward to group 2. Thanks also to all the adults who helped in the first part of the week.

It was interesting to find out how many of our children are 'morning people'. The morning walk started very well, but got increasingly muddy. We had great fun walking though bogs - with some children realising that the game 'stuck in the mud' does in fact have a literal meaning! Whilst we're on the theme of walks, the night walk went very well last night. It's amazing how well our eyes cope in the dark.

Back to today. After the walk we enjoyed the hugely anticipated Avon Tyrrell breakfast. It did not disappoint. After our hearty feast we moved onto our morning inspections. I'm pleased to say that the bed sheets stayed on the beds! Thank you to all the parents for teaching the children how to make their beds.

The children enjoyed their activities today - problem solving/shelter building and Trekking and Tracking. I don't want to go into too much detail about what clues the children were looking for during the trekking and tracking sessions, but they had a great time with this newly-planned event.  Whilst navigating the site during the sessions today, it was really obvious to see the children's enjoyment. It truly is incredibly beautiful at Avon Tyrrell and, I'm pleased to say, the children do appreciate it.

This evening we look forward to our burgers and hot dogs (especially after our healthy lunch of Pizza and chips) and the camp fire, including S'mores!

I know that the children are looking forward to returning home to you tomorrow. It's been great to get to know the children better during these two days.

How windy? The short answer is - VERY. I sit here typing this blog while the children are writing their diary entries. We've had a superb first day. The children have enjoyed the vast space of the Avon Tyrrell site, explored by them all through the amazing orienteering event. It was great to see them working as such collaborative teams.

Lunchtime went really well with the children enjoying the carbonara and/or red pesto and camembert (!). I'm sure that dinner will be equally as delicious - Ham and Chicken pie.

We've still got our night walk to look forward to and my attempt at showing the children star constellations! I'm sure the real highlight of the evening for the children will be the hot chocolate!