Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• Year 5/6 Football - Oakridge v Merton

  Wed 03 May 2023 Coach Jordan

  On a glorious afternoon for football, our year 5/6 boys football team hosted Merton looking for our first win since the corresponding fixture back in November. We had our entire squad available, and I set them out in a 2-3-1 formation to be able to press the opposition.

   

  It was an evenly matched game in the opening stages, with both teams creating good chances to score but their goalie and Miguel made some fine saves to keep the score at 0-0. We won ourselves a corner midway through the first half, which Luca fired low and hard into the box. When you execute these corners well, the ball can bounce anywhere, and luckily for us, it came off a Merton defender to make it 1-0 to us through an own goal. At times we left ourselves a little bit open in the first half. However, Merton couldn't take advantage of that, and we managed to capitalise on a defensive error as Tommy cooly slotted past the Merton keeper to take the score to 2-0 heading into halftime.

   

  The message from me at halftime was clear: we needed to be a little tighter at the back. I briefly chatted with our defenders about how to go about this, which they took on board very well. We also just needed to be a little quicker with our decision-making in the attacking 3rd, whether moving the ball on quicker or getting a shot off at goal. 

   

  Early in the second half, we were starting to dominate the play more and creating numerous chances to score. At this point, I wanted to say that the goalkeeper was their player of the match, which is a huge credit to how many chances we created, and he was making some fabulous saves to keep us out. Merton did create a few opportunities, but some excellent defending and a few smart saves from Riley managed to keep them at bay. One of the lighter moments in the second half was George's 'interesting' attempt to score an overhead kick from the touchline, I'm sure he knew exactly what he was doing, but it did give us all a chuckle. We managed to see out the game from here and keep the score at 2-0, which meant our first clean sheet. Being a gk myself, I was over the moon that we didn't concede any.

   

  Overall, the boys were excellent. We created so many chances, had some wonderful passages of play, pressed well and defended as a unit. They thoroughly deserved that victory, and I hope they all enjoyed playing in the game as much as we all enjoyed watching it.

   

  Team: Miguel, Riley, Adam, Zach, Henry, Oskar, George, Teddy, Luca, Tommy and Theo.
   

• Year 6 - Portals to the Past WW2 Workshop

  Tue 02 May 2023

  This week, year six had the wonderful opportunity to have a WW2 expert visit the school. We had a whole history day to kick off our new unit, which some of us were very excited by. 

   

  Throughout the day, we learning about the history of the war, why events took place and what the knock-on effect of these events were. In the morning, we took part in a WW2 quiz to show off all out newly acquired knowledge, looked at incredible artifacts and even had the chance to become bomb disposable experts. 

   

  In the afternoon, we looked at all the equipment a WW2 solider would use - even the weapons. We understood why and how they were used and then had a chance at trying to break the famous Enigma machine. We all agreed it was a great day. 

  

• Year 5/6 Girls Football - Oakridge v South View

  Thu 27 Apr 2023 Coach Jordan

  Our girl's football team hosted South View here at Oakridge on a damp Thursday afternoon. With this being our second game, we went in with more confidence and determination and were striving to improve on the result of our first outing. I took 2 teams of 7 consisting of year 5's and 6's.

   

  Both teams started the game well and were limiting each other to very few chances, with both defences getting the better of the opposing attackers in the early stages. South View then started to take control of the game and created some good chances, which Sophie managed to keep out with some good goalkeeping. South View then won a throw-in, and we struggled to pick up their players, which allowed their number 9 to get free and put them 1-0 ahead. Not phased by this, we continued to battle but couldn't create any real scoring opportunities, leading South View to catch us on the break to make the score 2-0 heading into half-time.

   

  The mood amongst the girls was very positive at half-time, and I could sense that they knew we shouldn't have been 2-0 down which I completely agreed with. We identified that we just needed to make sure the defenders were moving up and down with the play, and our attackers needed to shoot more, which was my main message to them as we readied ourselves for the second half.

   

  Straight away, we were on the front foot, and it became all one-way traffic in the second half, with us grabbing two excellent goals through Taiyah and Willow to make the score 2-2. After this, we created numerous goalscoring chances that we just couldn't put away for one reason or another. The girls fought all the way to the end to try and get the winner, relentlessly pressing the South View defence, which stood firm against our attackers to finish the game at 2-2.

   

  On another day, I truly believe we would have won this game; we were dominant in the second half but couldn't find that finishing touch. Each team member worked their socks off in tough conditions, with the rain pouring down for most of the game. They all seemed to thoroughly enjoy it though, and did themselves and me extremely proud!

   

  Team: Sophie, Evie, Delphi, Keirah, Nadia, Eliza, Taiyah, Ella D, Ella M, Chelsea, Willow, Rosie, Millie and Amelia

• Year 5 Treehouse - Monday 24th April 2023

  Tue 25 Apr 2023

  This week we were fortunate enough to have a visit from the Treehouse Theatre company to complete a workshop with us about the Greeks. We were split into 4 groups and we each learnt an act in a play called 'War and Peace in Ancient Greece'. We were given specific roles to act out, with some of us having lines to say. Each group practiced in the morning and then in the afternoon, we came together. We were given costumes and we learnt a song. Then we each performed our act to the other groups. 

  

• Earth Day

  Fri 21 Apr 2023

  On Friday 21st April, Oakridge Federation celebrated Earth Day! Together we learned about our planet, how special and fragile it is and how we can protect it. Year groups across the school participated in various activities to find out and research about the day, the children also all made a pledge, promising to do something to help save the environment. Many of these can be seen around in the windows of our school buildings. The nursery also got involved, making Earth day crowns and crafting their own Earths too. 

  

• Year 6 Netball Match - Oakridge v Four Lanes

  Thu 20 Apr 2023 Coach Jordan

  On Thursday afternoon, we competed in our second netball match, this time going to Four Lanes, looking to bounce back from a defeat last time out. We identified in the previous game that we needed to be more aggressive, needing more desire to retrieve the ball, win the 50/50's and win it back from rebounds. Whilst netball is a non-contact sport, we were overpowered in our last game, so I worked on this with everyone the day before the game and it certainly paid off this time.

  Understandably we were all very excited. In sports, it's all about controlling that excitement and remembering to do the right things. While we started well, we rushed our passes, not taking time with our shooting. We should have stuck with our markers when defending. Luckily for us, Four Lanes couldn't take advantage of this, and the scoreline remained 0-0. After a frantic 5 minutes, we started to settle down and regained our composure which led to us scoring a couple of well-worked goals through Evie and Nadia. At the end of the first quarter, we found ourselves 2-0 up, and I had a chance to tweak a couple of things. I reminded the team to use their 4 seconds if needed, to find the right pass and steady themselves before taking their shots at the goal. 

  The second quarter was a frantic one, with us adding 3 more goals to our score through Nadia x 2 and Tessa. Four Lanes also started to find their feet and grabbed two goals for themselves to make the score 5-2 to us heading into halftime. In this break, we talked about sticking with our opposing players to limit their chances. As we headed into the 3rd quarter, we started to assert our dominance within the game, Sourya and Eliza were defending excellently, and Four Lanes didn't manage to score a goal in this quarter whilst up the other end we were running riot with three more goals coming from Evie and Tessa x 2 to make it 8-2. After a brief chat about taking our time in the last quarter, I set out an objective for us not to concede another goal. Into the last quarter, we managed to get another 3 goals through Nadia x 2 and Evie to complete the scoring. The match finished 11-2 to us, and we achieved the objective of not conceding another goal.

  The team were exceptional today, with some top-draw defending from Sourya, Eliza and Ben. Chloe and Rosie were brilliant as centres supporting the attack and defence. Nadia, Tessa and Evie were ruthless and linked up well with their shooting. They all fought for every loose ball, stuck with their opposing players, and all gave 110% to earn this victory.

  Team: Nadia B, Rosie T, Chloe E, Tessa A, Sourya B, Evie C, Eliza B and Ben N.
   

   

• Year 3/4 Football - Oakridge v South View

  Mon 03 Apr 2023 Coach Jordan

  On Monday afternoon, we hosted South View for a Year 3/4 football match, still looking for our first victory as a team. Whilst we had performed very well in our last two outings, we didn't quite manage to be on the right side of the scoreline. However, this was the day that it finally did go our way. 

  We set up with an attacking 3-2-1 formation with the wingbacks instructed to get forward and support the attack, this very quickly paid off as we managed to press their back line, and Tommy scored a goal to make it 1-0. We kept using our energetic press to our advantage, pinning South View back in their half, and grabbed 3 more goals through Finley x 2 and Isaac to head into halftime with a 4-0 lead. The boys were deservedly elated at halftime as we were so dominant and limited South Views' chances to score.

  Heading into the second half, I encouraged the boys to keep doing the right things, and there would be more opportunities for goals. When you start to win a game convincingly, everyone wants to get on the scoresheet. Because of this, we seemed to lose our way in the first 5 minutes of the second half, and their number 9 carved through our defence on 2 separate occasions to make the score 4-2. This was the wake-up call we needed, and we quickly reorganised ourselves. After this, we won a free kick near the halfway line, and Finley stepped up to take it. I encouraged him to shoot as he has a thunderous left foot, and wow... did he shoot... He unleashed a vicious strike that nestled into the top right corner of the South view goal, which knocked the wind out of their sails. From here on out, we had numerous chances to score, and we ran away with the game, with the final score ending up being 9-2 to us, with goals coming from Ethan P, Jack x 2, and an own goal.

  I was incredibly proud of our performance. The boys worked and pressed as a unit throughout, took their chances well, had some wonderful passages of play and ultimately all gave 110%. I am starting to see them understand and implement the tactics I am giving them, which is making them more cohesive as a team and will ultimately lead them to more success. Ethan and Antony were exceptional in goal, making some fine saves and building out the play from the back. Jackson was a rock at centre half and had a great battle with their striker. The wingbacks, Blake, Oscar and Ethan P, all showed so much energy to support the attack and defence. Tommy, Finley, Jack and Isaac had some phenomenal link-up play in the middle of the park and going forward.

  Team: Ethan P, Blake M, Finley P, Tommy S, Ethan W, Jackson W, Jack W, Isaac L, Oscar A and Antony M-K

• Year 5/6 Boys Football - Oakridge v South View

  Wed 29 Mar 2023

  This week the year 5/6 boys had a match against South View, looking to bounce back from a way below-par performance and result from the last time out. Unfortunately, this being the third match report I have written, it's a case of Deja Vu. We did not start the game well and found ourselves 4-0 down within 10 minutes. My mission is to understand why this is happening to all our teams, as it's not putting us in a position to dominate and win a game. We couldn't get near their technically gifted forward players as they reaped havoc through our team.

  Shortly after this, we were awarded a penalty, and Teddy stepped up to power it past the South View keeper, which breathed new life into our team. We then started our feet in the game. We started to string together some passes to create some good goal-scoring opportunities that we, unfortunately, couldn't put away. South View then broke on the counterattack to make the score 5-1 to them heading into halftime. 

  We had a good chat about how to deal with their forwards at halftime. First, we realised we needed to put stronger tackles in and engage them earlier in the phase so they had less time to turn and run at us. Secondly, I reemphasised the importance of trying to pass the ball through the team, as this is how we created most of our chances.

  Heading into the second half, we took more control of the game by tightening up at the back and moving the ball more efficiently, as we looked a lot more dangerous on the attack. We clawed a couple of goals back through Teddy and Luca again to get the score to 5-3. South View then won a free kick, which was expertly placed into the top corner, and another chance to score 7-3. However, our boys did not give up. We got two more goals in the second half, with Luca firing in from a corner via a deflection, and then an own goal took the final score to 7-5.

  Whilst the score line didn't end in our favour, this game was 100x more pleasing than the last time out. All the boys worked their socks off and continued until the final whistle. I could sense from them that they enjoyed it much more and knew they played much better this time. Suppose the boys keep applying themselves by doing the right things, staying positive and working hard. In that case, they will all succeed in football here and in their local football teams.

  Team: Miguel, Riley, Zach, Teddy, Luca, George, Oskar, Tommy, Adam and Henry.

• Oakridge's World Book Day

  Fri 24 Mar 2023

  We celebrated World Book Day a little later this year on the 24th March. 

  As usual we thoroughly enjoyed the day, getting involved in treasure hunts, book picnics and even visiting Waterstone's travelling book shop! 

  The costumes were fabulous- we even had a real life dinosaur in year 6! 

  Reading for pleasure is so important and World Book Day promotes exactly that. We're looking forward to next year already!

  

• Girls Football Match (Oakridge V Merton)

  Mon 20 Mar 2023 Coach Jordan

  Firstly it was so pleasing to have over 30 girls come forward and say they wanted to be a part of this team. It shows how much the Lionesses winning the Euros last summer has inspired young girls to play football. In the end, I took 14 girls to play with two teams of 7.

  Unfortunately, the game didn't get off to the best start, the nerves got the better of us, and we found ourselves 4-0 down quite early on. After ten minutes, we changed the 7 that were playing and soon began to find our feet within the game by preventing the opposition from scoring too many more. We identified that we needed to close down their number 9 (an excellent footballer and scorer of most of their goals). Once we did this, we were able to get a foothold within the game. We did come in at half-time 5-0 down, after another wonderful bit of play from the Merton attack. After a good chat at half-time, we came out in the second half with renewed energy and started creating more goal-scoring opportunities. Whilst we were attacking well, we couldn't find the back of the net and ended up being 6-0 down. This kicked us into gear, and soon Rosie found herself through on goal and coolly slotted home to score our first goal as a team! The girls reacted amazingly to this, and Rosie had another chance to make it 6-2 and grab her second of the game. In the closing moment, Taiyah scored a goal to make it 6-3, which was the final score.

  I am beyond proud of the girls as we didn't ever give up, kept cheering each other on and worked extremely hard until the final whistle. We only had 1 practice together and 2 team meetings, so all things considered, we did very well. I look forward to the next game and hope to see the girls give it another good go!