Years 1 and 2 Football Festival success 

THANKS to everyone who attended to annual Years 1 and 2 Football Festival at Mark Hall Academy this morning; the children had great fun and the 16 teams were thoroughly excited despite the wet and blustery conditions. With four smaller size pitches, the children played 5-a-side matches, with the intention of developing skills in a non-competitive environment. The players thrived throughout the morning on the all-weather pitch, improving their tackling, passing and running with the ball. 

School Games Organiser (SGO) David Stacey praised the enthusiasm of the participants and thanked the attending school staff for their willingness to adapt matches to keep scores respectable and everyone involved. SGO support staff and referees Gill Pardoe, Jack Stacey and Harry Stacey reported some fantastic examples of sportsmanship and play within their groups. 

The 16 teams involved were: Church Langley x 2; Fawbert and Barnard x 3; Cooks Spinney; Roydon; Freshwaters x 2; Pemberley Academy x 2; Holy Cross x 2; and Henry Moore x 3 

Years 3 and 4 Football Festival Fun 

Following the success of the morning’s football for the younger pupils, the Years 3 and 4 pupils demonstrated a high standard of play throughout the afternoon session on the all-weather pitch at Mark Hall Academy. 20 teams took part in 40 matches and, despite a couple of heavy downpours, the weather held out. Mirroring the morning’s sportsmanship, the school staff were on hand to manipulate games to ensure all pupils were included and score lines remained respectable.  

School Games Organiser (SGO) David Stacey praised the efforts of the SGO support staff and referees Gill Pardoe, Jack Stacey and Harry Stacey, who witnessed some fantastic goals and awesome goalkeeping. 

The 20 teams involved were: Church Langley x 2; Fawbert and Barnard x 4; Cooks Spinney x 2; Roydon; Freshwaters x 2; Newhall x 2; Holy Cross x 2; Henry Moore x 3; Water Lane; and Nazeing.