{gallery}GCSE Art 2019{/gallery}

We held our annual Kids’ Lit Quiz after school in the LRC on Wednesday 6^th November.  It was attended by teams from Year 7 and Year 8 form groups.  We were helped by members of the English staff, and by Millie Rees of Year 13.  Millie has been our question master for several years.  She has done a great job and we’re very grateful to her.  We had a very supportive audience of family and friends.

The quiz results were of a very high standard and were very close.  In the case of Year 8 we held a nail-biting tie-break.

On Thursday 14^th November our two winning teams travelled to Comberton Village College in Cambridgeshire for the regional heats.  The Year 8 team was made up of Toby Ayres, Jimmy Clarke, Hazel Irving, and Kaitlyn Bray.  Our Year 7s were Liv Turner, Lars Haynes, Lucy Ray and Harry Osman.

There were ten rounds, each containing ten questions.  Between rounds, students were asked individual questions and Liv, Lars and Harry each won a prize.

We were up against some very strong competition from other schools.  However, both our teams did very well, and represented Sponne extremely positively.  The winning team of students, who will go forward to the national heats, were from the host school, Comberton Village College.

On Tuesday 5th November Sponne’s U14 (Year 9) team took part in the County Cup at Oundle after recently winning the qualifying County Plate competition. This competition is known for being very tough and usually consists of the large independent Schools.

Sponne had a tough start to the day against Wellingborough School in very heavy rain, Captain Lily won the toss and Sponne set off quickly to score the first goal. Unfortunately, the rain became heavier and the game slowed right down. Finishing 5-5 we headed into our next game soaked to the skin and very cold. The rain eased slightly and we were able to play some flowing netball, we made some silly errors due to the conditions but with our usual grit and determination we pulled together and won the game against Oundle 10-9. Final game of the day was against Northampton High School and with the first game ending in a draw we knew we needed to not only win but to build up a big goal difference to set ourselves ahead of Wellingborough. As predicted the girls pulled it out of the bag with a fabulous demonstration of teamwork and attitude, winning the final game 21-1

Sponne regularly qualify for these competitions but until now, have been unable to be competitive amongst the private Schools. This year the U14 girls were not only competitive but went on to win the Cup.

After speaking with the Northants Netball County Chair and the Director of Netball at Oundle they advised me that this hasn’t been achieved by a State school in as long as they can remember. As a result of this success the U14’s have qualified for the Regional Finals in Derbyshire on Saturday 25 th January.

Congratulations girls you have worked so hard for this.

Coach Wade

Dear Parents/Carers

We have been directed by County Council to advise you of the following.

Below is the new schedule for the bus service your child travels on.

This will come into effect from today.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Service 522 SMS

Lois Weedon, Church: 07:50, 15:50

Wappenham, Stores: 07:55, 15:45

Slapton, Church Lane: 08:03, 15:41

Bradden, Post Office: 08:06, 15:36

Sponne School: 08:15, 15:30

2nd run Service 522/MR1945

Public Bus Stop, Towcester Rd/Catch Yard Farm (opp Baines Close): 08:25 15:20

Sponne School: 08:35, 15:13

Girls U16 County Cup Football – Thu 17 October

Sponne v Duston – Won 3-2

Players Player – Maddie & Alex

Coaches Player - Maddie

Report by Hannah (Captain)

We started looking strong, in the first 5 minutes we on the counter attack and Alex dribbles past a few defenders and scored from a tight angle and it was 1-0!  A few minutes later they scored which made it 1-1.  Around 10 minutes later a great goal from Mia made us go 2-1 up.  Just before half time, Duston equalised making us even more determined going into the second half.

Maddie volunteered to swap with Sophie and go in goal and did a brilliant job! Both teams were equal with midfield looking strong and defenders shutting down chances at both ends of the pitch.  With 15 minutes to go we sent the ball through and Alex go on the end of it and put the ball in the back of the net for her second goal.  It was a great game and we played hard and deserved the win.  An outstanding team performance!  Thank you to all our supporters that came to cheer us on.

Primary School Games Inclusive Boccia Tournament - Thursday 24 October

Today I was a Sports Leader at the Primary School Games Inclusive Boccia Tournament held at Sponne. Boccia is a precision ball sport, a bit like indoor bowls but played from sitting in a chair as it is for athletes with disabilities.  It has been in the Paralympics since 1984.

It was super fun as we got to help out the young children. At the end of the school day we went down to the P.E. office and got given a T-shirt by Mrs Black which said “Sports Leader” on them.  In the sports hall we got taught how to score and play the game before all the schools arrived. After our quick game, we were given our courts to umpire and our score sheets.

As the schools started to arrive, we helped them to practise and then we all got ready to start the competition. The children were very excited about playing, it was lovely to see a whole mix of children with, and without disabilities because this was an Inclusive Tournament, something we learned about at our Leaders Conference last week.  

When the games started we all broke off into pairs, and then started to play the 1st end. After we had finished all our games, we went onto the semi-finals and the finals.

This year there were two prizes: Medals for the overall competition winners overall and certificates and badges celebrating self-belief, determination and passion for the school that got the highest in each of these areas, which were voted for by The Sports Leaders.

At the end of the tournament we all packed up together before we left...Mrs Black said clearing away is a very important part of Leadership!!

I really enjoyed today because, it was super fun and we got to help the young children play Boccia.

By Scarlett Wheeler

On Tuesday 15th October 2019, 10 Sponne School Students travelled to Kettering Buccleuch Academy to participate in the U14 Northants County Plate. The Year 9 Team have been undefeated in this competition since year 7 so the pressure was on to perform. The girls were amongst 19 schools from around the county and were excited to face the challenge head on. After the first 7 games the strong Sponne team had only let in 7 goals, 4 of which were to a strong Wollaston side so we were feeling confident going into the semis. The girls continued to play with the finesse they had shown previously and stormed to victory in both the Semi’s and Final. Next up… The County Cup on Tuesday 5th November.

Coaches Player of the Tournament went to Izzie C for her relentless work rate and pressure on the opposition. All girls represented Sponne with passion and total commitment to the game. Congratulations on your achievements so far.

Coach Wade

Today we had a leaders conference. At first, we came to Hollick hall and David Hanson introduced the plan of the day.  Then we listened to Tom Judd (ex Sponne student and Sports Leader) tell us about his experience as a sports leader and how it gave him the inspiration to go on and become a Swimming teacher and Tennis Coach.

We got split into 4 groups and went to take part in the different session activities. My group went outside to come up with different warm up exercises to do with primary school children. “I loved doing all the different warm ups and coming up with all different ideas.”

After that, we went into T1 and did a workshop about behaviour, We learnt what to do if a child has challenging behaviour and we had to come up with reasons why they might be doing this. “Mind blowing experience if you have the chance, take it”

After lunch, we went to the first aid workshop where we talked about how to help someone if they get hurt and even how to save someone’s life!  After that we looked at some pictures of people that have hurt themselves and what to do if that situation occurred. ”I liked the first aid especially seeing the pictures of broken bones!”

Next, we went back into Hollick hall and Tony, the lady that works with David, talked to us about people with disabilities and her friend that has a disability. We then played boccia and allocated different disabilities to different people to see how we would adapt it for people with disabilities. Tony was very pleased when my small group mentioned mental health because it is the most unseen disability. “I love the part where we learnt how to include people with disabilities!”

Everyone had a great day and we all learnt a lot about being a young leader and it has been an amazing experience. You don’t learn how to deal with realistic situations very often and taking part in the conference has made situations you wouldn’t normally think of as a big thing, into something maybe bigger than you would have expected. Everyone left with a smiling face and knowing a lot more than what they walked in knowing. ”It was a new side to sport I hadn’t even thought about before.” We all now can’t wait for our first event as Sponne Sports Leaders!

By Mia Black & Lucy Brown 8STW

Year 11 Mock exam timetable is now available for the forthcoming exams being held from Monday 18th November until 4th December. For more information, please view the exams information page.