Football success

Our big news this week is the success of our under 13 football team (pictured). Here is the report from Ms Goodwin:

The team represented the school in a seven-a-side tournament organised by Croydon SSP and held at Coombe Wood. In our group, we faced The Laurels, where a dominant performance saw us winning 2-0 with goals from Keyanna and Kelly. We drew a very difficult game with Riddlesdown 1-1, where the girls really had to dig in to get the result; some key saves from Imade, a fantastic goal from Soriyah and tenacity from Evie saw us avoid defeat. We finished the group stage with a 1-0 win against Harris Crystal Palace to top the group ahead of Riddlesdown. We then faced hosts Coombe Wood in the semi-final. The girls took control of the game early on. Great defending from Taliyah and Eja stopped any threat from Coombe Wood and Soriyah scored the key goal to put us through to the final.

Coloma were the opponents in the final; another team that had beaten us in the league just before Christmas. Coloma also had a history of success in girls' football. Whether it was the chance to win a medal or the promise of Krispy Kremes, the girls played with a fearless attitude and a determined spirit. Gabby, Lilly and Keyanna never stopped running and Coloma struggled to get the ball from Soriyah.

Despite a couple of chances from either side, the game finished 0-0 and the winners would be decided on penalties – each team taking three each. Soriyah, Evie and Lilly all bravely stepped up and successfully scored their penalties, as did Coloma. It went to sudden death and Gabby also scored. Coloma’s penalty taker slipped on the marker and hit hers wide and we thought we had won. However, after a quick discussion, our girls sportingly allowed their player to retake the penalty. Imade became the hero and saved the retake, resulting in us winning overall!

Hopefully, this is the first of many for these girls. A special mention to each player: Soriyah, Keyanna, Kelly, Gabby, Fatou, Taliyah, Lilly, Evie, Eja and Imade.

Development in action

Izzy Ambrose, our Director of Secondary Education at Greenshaw Learning Trust, visited Orchard Park this week. She has known the school for some years and was keen to see more of our development in action. She saw a number of lessons, and, in all of them, our students showed their brilliance: in maths, their attention to their teachers’ instruction was fantastic, in English we saw year 10 completing extended writing with stamina and focus and in science year 11s and year 7s tackled very challenging work content.

Year 7 rewards breakfast

This morning I had a rewards breakfast with Year 7 students, nominated by their teachers for their work, behaviour and attitude. Well done to Kody, Tinuade, Rheya, Cavarlli, Maria, Reggie, Olly and Rosie: it was the highlight of my week! They provided suggestions on improving the green spaces in our school (they are particularly keen to work on sustainability) and thanked a number of teachers whom they largely described as ‘fun, caring, clear and supportive’.

Speakout Challenge

On Friday, 50 of our Year 10 students will take part in the Jack Petchey Speakout Challenge, receiving coaching in public speaking and the opportunity to write a full speach. Good luck and we hope you enjoy it.

A reminder that our Year 9 parents’ evening is on Thursday 1st February at 4pm. As usual, it is in-person.

Ms C Moran, Headteacher