Keeping Active During Lockdown

Prestige Sports (the company who provide our afterschool clubs) are keen to help keep everyone active during the current lockdown. If you search for ‘Prestige Sports’ on either Facebook or Youtube, you will find some great videos for back garden sport.

Also, each week ActiveSuffolk will be releasing a new "give it your best go" challenge with the aim of supporting everyone to complete new activity at home.

The idea of the challenge is not to compete against anyone else to be the best, but instead to review your own performance of the activity over the duration of the week. The challenge can be found on their website or on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds.

2019-20

On Thursday 16^th January, the Y5/6 swimming team took part in the U11 Primary School Swimming Gala at the Kingfisher Leisure Centre. The team were competing against 15 other schools from the Sudbury area. The team had to compete in 1 individual race, 1 medley relay and 1 freestyle relay each. In our heat, we were competing against Nayland, Glemsford, Gt. Waldingfield and St. Joseph’s; and every heat was incredibly close and competitive. Evie, Belle and Fabian all won their heat (with the girls storming to big wins) and everyone gave massive effort to race as hard as possible.

The relays were equally as competitive! Amelia led the girls team out in both relays and started the race strongly, Ella maintained the pace throughout her leg before handing over to Belle and Evie. Both races resulted in a 2^nd place finish in the heat. The boys weren’t going to be out-swam: Lucas and Jamie put in strong legs before handing over to Fabian and Jake to bring the team home. Just like the girls, both relays resulted in a 2^nd place finish in the heat.

The results were compiled and Mr Gray was very excited to announce that team had finished joint 3^rd in the preliminary standings. However, there were deductions made for incorrect stroke and technique so some teams lost points! This meant that the team actually finished top of the table and have qualified for the County Finals (for the first time in the school’s history) on the 26^th June! Well done to all of the swimmers – we are extremely proud of you all!

2018-19

Well done to the Year 5 and 6 Quadkids Athletics team, who competed against 10 local schools at Thomas Gainsborough School. The team was made up of 5 boys and 5 girls. Each team member had to complete a howler throw, a standing long jump, a 75m sprint and the, dreaded, 600m run.

Everyone did their very best in every event as they tried to earn as many points as possible for their distances and times. There were some astonishingly quick times in the sprints with our athletes either winning or pushing the winners on in each of the heats. The 600m run also showed our team to experts at pacing their running – ensuring that they didn’t race off at the start and saved some energy for a big finish.

The team represented Acton brilliantly and finished 4^th overall behind, the winners, St. Joseph’s, Nayland and St. Gregory’s.

Well done to the U11 Swimming team who took part in the Sudbury Primary Schools gala. The event included 25m freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke events and cumulated in two relay races. Each of our swimmers performed brilliantly in their heats and pushed themselves to achieve the best time they could. The 4 x 25m mixed stroke and freestyle relays were an exciting end to the gala. Both the boys and girls team won both of their heats with some fantastically strong swims which gave them a healthy lead over the competition.

The team supported each other brilliantly and always made sure that they applauded the other schools when they finished – they were a credit to our school. After all the points had been added up , the team finished 3rd overall and should be really proud of themselves.

A team of 19 Year 5 and 6 children had a fantastic, and competitive, afternoon at Thomas Gainsborough School taking part in the Sportshall Athletics competition.

The 9 boys and 10 girls took part in track and field events which scored points for a combined total. There were excellent performances in all of events against some very tough competition. The field events Included: standing long jump, standing triple jump, chest push and javelin. While during the track element, the athletes took part in sprint and longer distance relays as well as over/under and obstacle races.

This is always a noisy event and this year was no different with lots of cheering and supporting from the competitors, their teachers and the parents on the balcony.

The team performed brilliantly: Mr. Newcombe and Mr. Gray were very proud of all of them.

We were very proud to send two teams to the inaugural Key Stage 1 Football Festival on 2^nd November. 5 boys and 5 girls from Year 2 played in the 4 v 4 festival against local primary schools. This was the first opportunity for our KS1 children to take part in an inter-school festival.

After an initial 2 v 0 loss to Bures, the girls soon got the hang of the game and drew 1 v 1 with Woodhall – Ovie scoring Acton’s goal. The girls then played Bures again. This time Turner scored a hattrick as they won 3 v 0. The rematch against Woodhall was another close game which saw Faiers score Acton’s only goal in a 1 v 1 draw.

The girls final game was against Great Waldingfield. The girls performed brilliantly winning 4 v 0 (Turner scoring all of the goals) to finish off a great afternoon.

The boys also played against the same set of schools. Their matches against Bures were just as tight as the girls’ games.  In the first game, Rose put Acton ahead only for Bures to equalise with the final kick of the game. The rematch was settled by a single goal as Peddel gave Acton a 1 v 0 win.

Against Woodhall, the boys were unlucky. Both games were lost by a single goal, despite the heroic efforts of Whybrow to clear the ball off the line with only seconds to go in the second game.

The boys really did save their best performance for the match against Great Waldingfield. After a pre-match huddle (where the secret plan was formed!), the boys won the match 5 v 2 with goals from Osborne, Murray, Rose (2) and Peddel. During this match, the boys played the best football of the festival (in Mr. Gray’s opinion!).

We have a proud footballing tradition at Acton Primary School and, from the performances in this festival, it looks like we have a great football future ahead too!

A team of Year 6s took part in the Tag-Rugby Festival at OSA with children from 9 other schools from across the Sudbury area. The festival was a great way to put into practise all of the skills which they had learnt in their PE lessons over the half term.

During the morning, the team completed 5 different stations which developed their tagging, running and dodging skills. Everyone tried their best and returned to school slightly muddy but happy after a great morning of sport.

The U11 Girls football team suffered a heart-breaking defeat in the final of the SW Suffolk Girls Football tournament after conceding a freakish goal which was scored by the opposition goalkeeper!

The girls started the tournament brightly with a convincing 4 v 0 win against Kedington. Reeve scored her first hat-trick of the afternoon and Fisher got her first goal for the school.

In the second group game, against Pot Kiln, Reeve continued to find the back of the net after tapping in the first goal after great work from Mangion and Allen. Reeve added another 3 before half time to give Acton a commanding four goal lead. Clark and Frost came on from the bench and gave determined performances and they continued to dominate the midfield. Without Reeve on the pitch, Mangion and Bush took up the scoring responsibilities in the second half as they added 2 goals each to give Acton an 8 v 0 victory.

After a games rest, the girls faced two back-to-back games. The first was against Clare, who also came into the game unbeaten. Yet another Reeve hat-trick and goals from Smith and Bush gave Acton a 5 v 0 win.

The final group game was a tight affair against St. Felix to decide the group winners. This proved to be the toughest game of the tournament so far with the defensive unit of Miller, Fisher and Allen having to remain focused and resolute against some very good play from St. Felix. A single goal from Frost, who calmly tucked the ball away from inside the area, gave Acton a 1 v 0 win and meant that the ‘Pringles’ finished top of their group.

As Group 2 winners, Acton faced the winners of Group 1, Long Melford. An early pass/shot from Smith which crept into the bottom corner gave Acton the lead. Reeve then popped up to score a couple to give Acton a 3 v 0 win.  

Victory in the semi-final meant that Acton reached the final for the second consecutive year. The girls ran their socks off and gave every last little drop of energy as they pushed forward to score a goal. Midway through the first half, Acton conceded the first goal of the day and it came from the most unusual source. The Wells Hall goalkeeper launched the ball up the field; it bounced twice before lobbing over Allen in the Acton goal! The girls kept their spirits up as they battled through the second half and tried to get an equaliser. Sadly, they ran out of time and final whistle blew.

Despite the disappointment of losing in the final, the girls should be very proud of themselves. Mr. Gray received so many compliments about how they played as a team and how impressed the supporters and other teams with their attitude. They represented the school brilliantly.

Congratulations to the U11 Mixed Football team who have qualified for the Area Finals on 11th October after finishing the TGS tournament unbeaten and winning their group.

After a largely uneventful 0 v 0 draw with Great Waldingfield in the first match, the team faced a good team from Wells Hall. This game was also a tight affair with Fradley grabbing the only goal of the game to give the Acton Blues the win.

The 3rd group game was against Bures. The team really got their passing together and produced some wonderful openings through slick passing and movement. Two goals each from Warren and Bellward, and 1 from Rose (representing the school for the first time) saw the team cruise to a 5 v 0 victory.

The game of the group was against Stoke-by-Nayland. Knowing that Great Waldingfield had won all of their games, the team knew that they had to win and also have a better goal difference that Waldingfield to top the group.

The Acton Blues couldn't have gotten off to a better start with Bellward poking in the ball in less than a minute after kick off. There were a few nervy moments before Warren scored just before half-time to double the lead. The scoring was completed by the industrious Captain Moss who slotted in beautifully from an angle to make the final score 3 v 0 to Acton.

After the celebrations, and ice lollies from Mrs Fisher, the team waiting the other teams to find out if they'd done enough. The sterling defence work from Miller and Fisher in defence, the terrier-like hustle from Doyle and 'Safe Hands' Reeve in goal proved to be vital (along with all of the goals) as Acton won their group on goal difference.

Despite finishing 2nd overall to Pot Kiln, who won all of their games, the team were thrilled to have qualified for the Area Finals. 

Thank you to the parents who came to support (and provide scouting reports to Mr. Gray!), the team really did appreciate all of the cheering and encouragement!

2017-18

Well done to the athletics team who competed in the Quadkids competition at TGS. Despite the incredibly hot conditions the team took part in 4 different events: Vortex Howler, 600m, 75m and standing long jump. During each event, the children were working hard to score points which were added to our team total.

The 600m race was the one which everyone seemed to be dreading but every member of the team managed to complete the distance without stopping and walking; completing the run in some amazing times.

Overall, the team from Acton finished 4^th out of 10 schools and performed brilliantly. It was great to see the team also cheering on and supporting children from other schools too!

On Friday 15th June, the whole school enjoyed a day of fun and competition as we held our Sports Day. 

The children were placed into 3 teams within each House team before taking part in a carousel of activities on the field and playground including the shot putt, skipping, balance beam and a football obstacle course. It was great to see all of the children taking part and supporting each other. Each team were competing to earn points for their house.

For the first year, we were joined by the Sports Leaders from Thomas Gainsborough School who did a wonderful job in leading and scoring the different activities, as well as being extremely motivating and supportive, all morning.

At lunchtime, we were joined by our families for a picnic lunch on the field before an afternoon of races on the track.

Each year group from Reception through to Year 6 took part in a series of sprint and obstacle races, including the Caterpillars who crossed the finish line dressed as policemen!

For the first time, we had a long distance event too. A boy and a girl from Y5/6 competed for their House over 600m. The combined times of the athletes were added together and the team which had the lowest combined time won maximum points.

We finished the afternoon with the sprint relays, each House was represented by 2 boys and 2 girls from KS1, Y3/4 and Y5/6. The competition was intense and fierce as 200 points were available for the winning team.

Once all the races had been run, the final scores were totalled up and, for the 2nd year running, we were celebrating with the Blue team.

Well done to all of the children who took part and tried their very best. Thank you to the parents who came along to cheer, clap and generally made lots of noise and the TGS Sports Leaders who made the day run so smoothly (and made Mr. Gray's day a lot easier!).

An excellent effort from our Year 5&6 mixed Kwik Cricket squad, saw Acton win 3 out of 4 (75%) of our matches at the Mixed Kwik Cricket Tournament at Sudbury Cricket Club, in May 2018.

It was a sweltering, almost Australian, afternoon and we began by making sure we were all being sun-safe – hats on, sunblock applied, water bottles ready.

Our first match against Barnadiston Preparatory Boarding School was a great learning experience, and we scored 175 runs for 7 wickets. We found out the importance of: clear communication over when to run; keeping our shots down; and bowling accuracy. Acton wished Barnadiston luck in the finals and worked with our four person (!) coaching team on improving our game plan.

In our second match, we scored 250 runs for 1 wicket against Bures, winning the match and growing in confidence by the minute. We focused on hitting boundaries and supporting our teammates loudly, but respectfully.

All the schools were then rearranged into new pools, ready for two more matches. Acton scored 240-1 against St Joseph’s and 240-1 against Clare, winning both matches. The event organiser congratulated us on our team support, saying we were the most enthusiastic team on the day!

The coaches were very proud of Acton’s performance and sportsmanship and each player left with many memories to treasure.

U11 Swimming Gala

Well done to the Y5/6 swimming team who took part in the Sudbury Primary Schools Swimming Gala on the 18th January. It was the first time that our school had competed in the event for quite a few years but we will definitely be making it a regular date in our sporting diary! 

The team (Ava, Charlotte Grace and Megan; Dylan, Jack, Luca and Ted) took part in individual backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle 25m races against 10 other local schools. The gala finished with a team medley relay and team freestyle relay - the girls won their heat in a nail biting finish which separated them and the second place team by less than a second).

Once all of the points had been added up, the team ended up finishing 4th out of 11 and, again, were the highest place 'small' school. Well done to Jack and Ted who were nominated for School Games Values Awards for determination and respect.

It was a brilliant morning by the pool and the children were excellent; they showed great determination and gave 100% in every race.

Congratulations to the U11 Girls Football team who finished 6th in the Suffolk County Football finals - making them the 6th best team in the whole county!

The girls smiled and supported each other through 6 matches on a day of sunshine, freezing temperatures and a icy rain (not to mention a rainbow too!).

It was important that the girls made a good start against Cedar's Park and the game ended up being a very exciting 0-0 draw. The next two games against Dale Hall and Sir Robert Hitcham also finished in scoreless draws.

As the freezing rain fell and the spectators huddled under umbrellas, the girls took on St. Louis. A fortunate strike from their striker saw them take the lead and hang on to win 1 - 0 despite incredible pressure from the Acton strikers.

During the break between games, Mrs. Fisher's cookies and hot chocolate may have saved the day! 

The warmth and sugar from the snacks energised Acton against Sidegate. Finally Acton managed to find the back of the net! Street latched on to a cheeky through ball from Gunn-Bruce to smash the ball into the back of the net (I'm surprised the cheers weren't heard back at school!). Despite heroic defending, Sidegate equalised with minutes to go to level the match 1-1.

The final game saw Acton go behind to 2 quick goals against Westley Middle School. However, the Acton determination shone through and Reeve managed to get one goal back. Acton kept pushing forward but unfortunately the levelling goal did not materialise.

Despite the girls being disappointed with not winning a game they drew with the eventual winners and only lost to the teams which finished 2nd and 3rd. The team must also remember that we were the smallest school at the finals and were competing against school s with 3 times as many Year 5 and 6 girls to choose from. So to finish as the 6th best team in the county is an amazing achievement and they should be really proud of themselves!

Well done to the U11 Sportshall Athletics team for coming 2nd in their competition at TGS. The event, which involved 6 local schools, proved to be a hard afternoon of competitive action and sporting efforts. Both the boys and girls teams competed to earn points for our school total in a range of field events including javelin throws, standing triple jump and speed bounce; and track events such as sprint relays, obstacle relays and the tactical paarluf.

The team were full of smiles and support for each other (we were easily the noisiest school there!) and the other teams when they were competing: applauding until the final competitor finished their race.

It was a great afternoon and the team should be proud of their efforts. We are now waiting to see if our points total is good enough to take us through to the area finals as the best runner up.

A team from Year 6 took part in the Sudbury Primary Schools tag-rugby festival at OSA. The festival involved 7 different activities including Ruckley Tag, Mice and Monsters and Ruckley and Rabbits. 

The team had a great morning competing against Glemsford Primary Academy and learnt many new skills - as well as developing their confidence on the rugby field.

From the smiles on the faces of the team, it was clear that they had a great time.

South-West Football Finals

Well done to the U11 football team who, unfortunately without a poorly Scarlet, took part in the SW Suffolk football finals. After having finished 2nd in Sudbury area final, the team proudly took their place amongst the top two teams from the Great Cornard area competition.

Our first match was against St. Greg's. After losing 2 matches against them in the previous competition (a 4 v 0 loss in the group stage and a 3 v 0 loss in the final) the boys were out for revenge in the first match of the finals.

Acton nearly took the lead on numerous occasions with only the St. Greg's goalkeeper and goal post stopping them from scoring first.

Bellward popped up in the second half to smash Acton into a one nil lead. This was very nearly enough but unfortunately a St. Greg's corner in the dying moments of the game bounced in off the legs of Wallace in the Acton goal. The crowd felt so sorry for him as he had pulled off a number of wonderful saves throughout the match. 

After the 1 v 1 draw with St. Greg's the boys spirits were up (perhaps a little too much) as they went to the second game against Nayland. Two quick first half goals from Nayland meant that the boys from Acton were given the challenge of winning the second half. They gave a battling performance with Fradley, Buggs and Moss all showing great defensive skills to prevent the lead from growing. Sadly, a well-deserved goal never came and the game ended (with both teams truly exhausted) with a 2 v 0 loss.

The final game was against Tudor Road Primary. Before the game even got started Tudor took the lead with a wonder goal which lobbed Wallace in goal (even Mr. Gray would have struggled to stretch high enough to stop it from going in!). Acton fought back and levelled with an equally wondrous goal from Warren. Battling performances from the midfield from Doyle, Pittock and Vincent meant the game was a stalemate until moments into the second half when Bellward curled a beauty past the Tudor 'keeper.

Despite the best efforts of an increasingly tiring team the 3rd goal just wouldn't come and, as the Acton boys pushed forward, Tudor scored two quick goals to take the lead 3 v 2. Which was how the game ended.

Well done to the team who played with heart and determination in every match. The disappointment on the their faces at the end of the tournament showed how much it had meant to them and how much effort they had put in. They represented the school brilliantly showing many of our values and, perhaps most importantly, showed great sportsmanship despite the results not going as they had wanted. Good luck to St. Gregory's as they go on to represent SW Suffolk in the county finals.

Well done to the U11 Girls football team who won the Sudbury Area tournament on Wednesday at Thomas Gainsborough School.

The girls were undefeated in their group games after a 0 v 0 draw against Tudor Road, a 2 v 0 win against Great Waldingfield (goals from Gunn-Bruce and Reeve) and a 3 v 1 win against Nayland A (a stunning hattrick from Reeve).

They qualified for the semi-finals and overcame a well-organised St. Gregory's team with a 3 v 1 win (2 goals for Gunn-Bruce and 1 from Reeve) to set up a rematch against Great Waldingfield.

Despite being absolutely exhausted they roused themselves for one final match. Their efforts saw them win 2 v 0 (both goals, including a wonderful freekick, scored by Reeve) and hopefully qualify for the county finals (although Mr. Gray is waiting for confirmation!).

It was a tremendous afternoon of hard and fast football with half of the team never having played in a competitive match before. The girls (and parents) enjoyed every minute and didn't stop running, smiling and tackling all afternoon! Well done girls.

The U11 Mixed team also had a fantastic tournament on Tuesday 26th September at Ormiston Sudbury Academy.

Despite an opening 0 v 4 loss against St. Gregory's, the team bounced back to win their next 3 games: Woodhall A 0 v 5 Acton (Wallace 2, Warren, Bellward and Pittock); Glemsford A 0 v 2 Acton (Warren 2); and Pot Kiln 0 v 3 (Warren 2, O.G.). 

They ended up finishing 2nd in their group and qualified for the semi-final against local rivals Great Waldingfield.

A tense affair was settled by a wonder goal from Vincent, who dribbled from the halfway line - beating 4 players - before slotting in off the post.

The final was a rematch against St. Gregory's, which. despite a gallant effort, the team lost 3 v 0 and finished 2nd overall. This does mean that they have qualified for the Area finals at TGS on 10th October.

2016-17

We were treated to fantastic day of sport in the sunshine for our sports day.

During the morning, the house teams were grouped into 3 teams including children from Reception through Year 6. Each team took part in a range of different activities from the hurdles to quoit balancing to shot putt in order to earn points for their house.

After a picnic on the field with our families, it was time for the races in the afternoon. We began with the always competitive sprint races. These saw the children hurtling down the track in order to gain a vital 1st, 2nd or 3rd place (and points for their team). We followed the sprinting with obstacle races. For the Reception children this meant putting on/picking up various pieces of equipment/clothing so when they crossed the line they were dressed as police officers!

The children in Key Stage 1 and 2 had to negotiate skipping, an egg and spoon, hoops and sacks in order to cross the line.

With the points closely matched, we finished with the Yr 3 & 4 and Yr 5 & 6 sprint relay. Each team consisted of 2 boys and 2 girls and took place over 40m. These races are always hotly contested and this year was no different - the Yr 5 & 6 race was very nearly a photo finish!

At the end of the days races and activities the scores were:

Well done to the Year 5/6 Kwik Cricket team who took part in the tournament at Cavendish Cricket Club. The team played two matches. The first was against Glemsford B (a close 8 run loss) and then against Burton End (a 10 run loss). Both matches were incredibly tight and really did go down to the final couple of balls.

It was the first experience of competitive cricket for all of the players and they did extremely well. The bowling was accurate, the batting confident (perhaps a little too confident at times) and fielding was fantastic. 

Despite the disappointment, the team enjoyed themselves and are keen to get involved with more cricket in the future (follow the link below for more information about Sudbury Cricket Club).

Well done to the 18 Year 5 and 6 children who represented our school at the U11 Sportshall Athletics competition.

The team competed against children from 9 other schools in the local area and showed great determination throughout a very long (and noisy) afternoon of track and field events.

The boys and girls teams competed in a series of races, including sprint relays, obstacle relays and the endurance 6-lap Paarlauf; and a range of field events including standing long, triple and vertical jumps; throwing of a javelin and medicine ball; and the tiring speed bounce.

Each of the scores from each of the events were allocated a number of points which were totalled up to give an overall score.

Our team finished 3^rd overall and should be really proud of themselves for such brilliant efforts and for being the loudest cheering team in the sportshall!

Ten children from Year 5/6 represented our school at the Sudbury Primary Schools U11 tag rugby festival held at OSA. Although it was a non-competitive festival the team still gave every effort when taking apart in games and drills with other schools. The most important element of the afternoon was that every player competed with a massive smile on their face. For most of the team it was their first experience of playing tag-rugby outside of our P.E. lessons.

The team played two mini matches against Nayland A and Great Waldingfield, and took part in other tag-games and rugby drills.

Overall it was a brilliant afternoon and excellent experience for the team.

Well done to the U11 football team who continued the success from last year by qualifying for the area finals after remaining unbeaten at the TGS tournament.

The boys, sporting their new kit (supplied by A. Rose Removals), began the tournament with a convincing 3 v 0 win over Stoke-by-Nayland B with goals from Smith, Pittock and Parsons. That was followed up with a 2 v 0 win over Boxford. Parsons and Wilson got the goals but the scoreline didn't reflect the dominance of the boys in blue. The second goal was the pick of the day with Wallace picking up the ball in defence before passing to Pittock on the wing. He then slid a pass to Theobald in the centre who sprayed it out wide for Wilson to run on to and unleash a firm shot past the 'keeper.

Two wins from two meant that Acton won their group and went through to the semi-final against local rivals Long Melford. 

A blistering start from the boys resulted in a 2 v 0 lead within 48 seconds with goals from Smith and Wilson. Melford pulled one back before half-time as Acton switched off briefly in defence and Ravat-Chefdeville was beaten for the only time in an otherwise perfect afternoon.

Following a half-time teamtalk, Buggs and Leeks were resolute and solid at the back which allowed Pittock to seal the win with a early second half goal. This saw the Acton Blues win the match and qualify for the South-West Suffolk finals (Date TBC).

There was a special well done for Saul who was nominated for a School Sports Values award for showing determination.