Tuesday 1^st March

Fair Oak entered a boys team and a girls team into the first qualifying tournament of the Premier League Primary Stars Football Competition held at Goals in Millbrook, Southampton. Only the winners of each group would make it through to the next stage which will be held at Stoneham later in the month. Both teams performed brilliantly throughout. Our girls team lost their opening fixture to Knightwood but then beat Cherbourg, Weston Park, Nightingale and The Crescent to finish on twelve points. Our boys team won their opening four fixtures against Cherbourg, Fairisle, Shakespeare and Nightingale but lost their last match in a closely fought encounter to Weeke. This also put them on twelve points. The final group tables were as follows:

Girls group:

Boys group:

What a fantastic set of results! Mr Stredwick was delighted with the way that all of our players performed today and was particularly impressed with the attitude of both of our teams. They really made our school proud!

Wednesday 2^nd March

Today our upper school swimming team travelled to Bishops Waltham to take part in a swimming gala. 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:

Well done to our fantastic upper school swimming team!

Thursday 3^rd March

Our girls football team had qualified for the County Finals football competition by winning a previous tournament and played today as the South Eastleigh and Winchester representative team. How well our morning fixtures went would depend on which group we would be placed into in the afternoon fixtures. First up were Poulner. Unfortunately our opponents scored the only goal of an even game with the very last kick of the match. Next our girls beat Meon three nil and then followed that up with two nil nil draws with Netley Abbey and St Michaels despite dominating both fixtures. These results meant that the team just qualified into one of the two Super Leagues and would have the opportunity to reach the semi finals by finishing in the top two of these new leagues. Weeke were our first opponents of the afternoon and again the match ended nil nil. There then followed two more nil nils against Hearne and Four Marks but in both games Fair Oak had much the better of the match. The final group fixture saw us play Netley Abbey once more. Just as in the first encounter, Fair Oak dominated but could not find the goal our play deserved and in a break away right at the end, Netley Abbey scored with the last kick of the game for the second time in the tournament! Fair Oak therefore finished fourth in the group. Our girls should be proud of the way they played throughout the event. It is a fantastic achievement to get so far into a tournament filled with the best teams in the county. Well done girls!

Monday 7^th March

Fair Oak entered six teams into a girls tag rugby tournament held on the Fair Oak Junior School field. Great credit must go to all of the players who participated. They were all superb in both their attitude and rugby skills! The competition took a league format where every team played every other team. The side with the most points at the end of the tournament would be crowned champions. After all of the fixtures had been played, the final league table stood as follows:

Well done to all of our fantastic tag rugby players. There really were some outstanding performances today!

Tuesday 8^th March

Five of our best cross country runners had previously negotiated their way through a gruelling qualifying competition to make it to the Cross Country Championship finals race which was held today at Down Grange in Basingstoke. Our athletes were up against well over one hundred of the very best runners in Hampshire and all of our runners performed brilliantly. Our boys finished 19^th, 28^th, 38^th and 66^th while our female runner finished 33^rd. What a fantastic effort!

Fair Oak entered two teams into a hockey County Finals qualifying tournament today held at Swanmore College between local schools. Only the top team in each of the two pools of schools would qualify! Fair Oak 1 began their group matches with a comprehensive four nil win against Shamblehurst and then beat Botley three nil. A nil nil draw with Freegrounds followed that with a one nil win against Hamble in their last fixture. Fair Oak 2 started with a one nil loss to Freegrounds 2 but then won three in a row against Botley 1, Berrywood and Droxford. Their last game ended nil nil with Upham. These results put both of our teams on ten points and meant that they would both go though to the County Finals as their group winners! Well done to both teams for representing the school so well throughout the event.

Wednesday 9^th March

Fair Oak entered two teams into the girls football Under 11s Schools Cup hosted by Eastleigh Football Club today. The winning team from the event would go on to represent Eastleigh at the Southern England Finals. After all of the group fixtures had been played, Fair Oak 1 finished in second place and Fair Oak 2 finished fourth. This meant that they would both play in the semi finals with a chance to make it through to the final! Fair Oak 2 played first against Halterworth. The game was a close one and despite Fair Oak 2 battling hard they could not convert any of their chances and it was Halterworth who progressed to the final by a scoreline of one goal to nil. In the second semi final, Fair Oak 1 played Springhill. Our girls dominated the fixture but could not get the goal their play deserved so the match went to penalties which ended in a two one win for Springhill. Despite these semi final results, both of our teams should be proud of their performances today. Well done girls!

Friday 11^th March

Both our boys and girls football teams played their Premier League Primary Stars finals tournament today. Only the winners of the boys and girls competitions would go through to represent Southampton FC at Vicarage Road, Watford later in the school year. Our boys began with a comfortable two nil win against Shamblehurst in their opening group game and followed that up with another two nil win over Crescent. In the final group game, Bartley Whites were beaten by a goal to nil which meant that our boys finished top of their group and qualified for the quarter finals. Our girls opened with a nil nil draw against Shamblehurst, then another nil nil with Herne before drawing again, this time one all with St Patrick’s. These results also put our girls through to the quarter finals. The quarter finals saw our boys up against Bartley Blues. The game was a tight one with both teams cancelling each other out. No goals were scored in normal or extra time so the match went to penalties where unfortunately, our boys lost. In their quarter final, our girls played Crescent and ran out deserved one nil winners to set up a semi final with Herne. The match was evenly contested and again, no goals were scored and so penalties would decide who would progress. Our girls held their nerve and won the shoot out! In the final, Shamblehurst were the opponents. The game was again very tight with little to choose between the teams. With no goals scored, the match went to extra time and it was Fair Oak who went closest to winning it when they rattled the post but could not put the rebound away. Therefore, the final also went to penalties which Shamblehurst won three two. Well done to both of our teams who were brilliant throughout. Mr Stredwick was so proud of each and every player today!

Wyvern was the venue for an indoor athletics event between year five and six pupils from local schools. The winners would go through to the County Finals later in the school year. Competitors scored points depending on how well they did in their track and field events and these points were collated to give an overall team total. The boys and girls points were then added together to give a school total. When our athletes had finished their events and the calculating was completed, Fair Oak ended up in first and fourth place and have now qualified for the Hampshire finals event! The final standings were as follows:

What a great effort from all of our athletes.

Monday 14^th March

Our girls football team played their Hampshire Cup semi final today against an extremely strong St Peters side. In an evenly contested first half it was St Peters who showed a little more composure in front of goal and at half time, it was the visitors who found themselves two goals to the good. In the second half St Peters took control of the game, scoring another five goals without reply. Despite the result our girls never gave up, showed a great attitude throughout the match and should be proud to have got this far in the competition. Well done girls!

Tuesday 15^th March

Fair Oak played in the County Finals hockey tournament today at the Sports Centre in Southampton. Both our A and B teams had made it through from our area qualifying event which is a fantastic achievement. Our sides were placed in different pools in the morning matches. Our A team won one game and lost two while our B team won one and lost three meaning that they both went into the Plate competition for the second phase of the tournament and were placed in the same group for these matches! In these afternoon fixtures, our A team began with a closely fought two one loss to Springhill. They then beat Queens Gate two nil and Hasleworth six nil. Our B team began with a nil nil draw with Queens Gate and then lost another close game with Springhill, one nil. They then beat Hasleworth four nil. In the last group fixture our two teams were up against each other and in a game played in a great spirit, the match finished two nil to Fair Oak A. This meant that Fair Oak B went into a play off match for fifth place where they unfortunately lost two nil to St James. Fair Oak A played in the Plate semi final against The Butts. The match was extremely even and despite Fair Oak having some good chances, it was our opponents who ran out one nil winners which left our A team to play against Springhill for third place. In this last match, Fair Oak just came up short, losing by a goal to nil. Well done to both of our fantastic teams who finished fourth and sixth in the Plate event!

Friday 18^th March

Our girls football team took part in the Premier League Primary Stars Regional Plate tournament today organised by the Saints Foundation at Stoneham Lane Football Complex. The two finalists from the event would represent their clubs at Vicarage Road, Watford later in the school year. Unfortunately our girls were slow to get going in their first group fixture against Portsmouth and they conceded from a corner to lose the match one nil. Next up were Yeovil and our girls looked much sharper and were unlucky not to win by more than the final one nil score line. The final pool match was a close affair with Woking and this game ended nil nil. These result meant that Fair Oak would play Reading in the quarter finals. Our team played really well and won the match. The two one result was a little flattering to our opponents. This set up a semi final with Brighton who had looked extremely strong throughout. The winners would be guaranteed a place at Vicarage Road no matter what the result of the final. In a sensational performance, Fair Oak put Brighton to the sword and scored the only goal of the game with a quite superb strike across the keeper into the bottom corner of the net! In the final our opponents were Bournemouth. The match was very even but it was our Dorset neighbours who scored a late goal leaving little time for Fair Oak to respond. The match ended one nil but our girls now have the exciting prospect of playing at a Premier League ground which quite rightly they are extremely proud of. Well done to all of those who took part. You represented our school brilliantly and we are all looking forward to the next stage of the competition!

Monday 21^st March

Fair Oak entered seven teams into a mixed tag rugby tournament again held on the Fair Oak Junior School field. Just like the girls event earlier in the month, the competition took a league format where every team played every other team. The side with the most points at the end of the tournament would be crowned champions and would take The Mike Warrior Cup! After all of the fixtures had been played, the final league table stood as follows:

Well done to all of our amazing athletes. There really is so much tag rugby talent in our school!

Tuesday 22^nd March

Fair Oak entered two teams into a year five and six golf tournament today which was held at Wildern. All participating teams worked their way around a series of stations which were designed to improve every element of their game from putting to driving with points being scored depending on how well the teams performed at each activity. At the end of the tournament when the team totals had been added together our B team finished in seventh place with 743 points while our A team finished fourth with 816 points. Well done to our golfers for a great overall team performance!

Wednesday 23^rd March

Our year four and five cross country runners were entered into a cross country race held at The Gregg School in Southampton. The standard of competition was extremely high and all of our athletes performed brilliantly. Eight of our twelve competitors finished in the top eight of their races. Our year 4 girls team finished in fifth place overall, just two points off third, while our year 4 boys finished first! Our year 5 girls finished in second position while our year 5 boys finished first!  Well done to all of our athletes. What a lot of cross country talent we have in our school.

Tuesday 29^th March

Our annual Invitation Cross Country Relay Race took place here at Fair Oak Junior School. Fourteen schools participated in the event with around four hundred runners in total competing. Our school entered multiple teams into the four races which was great to see. The highlights for our school were our lower school girls B team who finished sixth, our lower school boys A team who finished in third, our upper school girls A team who also finished in third place and our upper school boys A team who won their race. What brilliant running by all of our fifty three participating athletes!

Fair Oak entered a team into a year three and four golf tournament today which was held at Wildern. Just as for the year five and six tournament last week, all participating teams worked their way around a series of stations which were designed to improve every element of their game from putting to driving with points being scored depending on how well the teams performed at each activity. At the end of the tournament when the team totals had been added together our team finished in second place with a total of 835 points. Well done to our golfers on another great overall team performance!

Wednesday 30^th March

It was the turn of our boys teams to participate in the boys football Under 11s Schools Cup hosted by Eastleigh Football Club today. The winning team from the event would go on to represent Eastleigh at the Southern England Finals. After all of the group fixtures had been played, Fair Oak 1 finished in second place and Fair Oak 2 finished fourth. This meant that Fair Oak 1 progressed through to the semi final where they would play Springhill 2. In a tight match, it was Fair Oak who got their noses in front and managed to see the match through to book their place in the final where they would play St Francis 1. Unfortunately in this fixture it was St Francis who were victorious by two goals to nil but our boys should nonetheless feel proud of their performance. Well done to all of our participating players!