Jessica Ross (8CP) has just been crowned Junior side saddle rider of the year and has been invited to attend the Blenheim International Horse trials to perform in a display of Champions. Congratulations Jess from us all here at Sponne.

Elliot Hutton scored a sensational seven-minute hat-trick as Sponne Sixth Form convincingly beat Silverstone UTC in their opening fixture of the South Northants Sixth Form Football League season.

A Sponne win never really looked in doubt as their midfield trio of Mitch Walker, Matt Thomas and Matt Woods dominated play, with Silverstone lacking the cutting edge prevalent in Sponne’s attacking football.

The home side were very quickly out of the blocks with Will Fraser shooting narrowly wide inside the first 50 seconds of the contest, and it was to be just five minutes in when Matt Woods opened the scoring for Sponne with a smart chip shot over Silverstone goalkeeper Bunce.

Woods soon doubled Sponne’s lead as he outpaced Silverstone defender Micallef to a long ball played through by Sponne captain Mitch Walker, rounding Bunce and finishing well.

Silverstone struggled for momentum having been pegged back early by Woods’ brace, their problems worsening after the UTC’s centre-back Witchman fouled Will Fraser inside the box with a cynical shove. Referee Steve Edwards awarded a penalty kick for the foul and Walker converted it in textbook fashion with a powerful low shot into the bottom left corner of the net to put Sponne in a commanding 3-0 lead.

Despite their strong start, Sponne were reminded of the threat Silverstone could pose when UTC striker Goyoki went through on goal, his run only thwarted by Callum Anderson’s last-ditch clearance.

As the game reached the 25 minute mark, Sponne struck again with Jack Swales scoring the goal of the match. A well-worked pass from Matt Woods was controlled by Swales who finished emphatically, shooting through the legs of the goalkeeper to put Sponne 4-0 up.

The first half finished in frenetic fashion, as Silverstone midfielder Dotteral clawed a goal back for the UTC through a penalty kick after Callum Anderson’s foul on Anthony Jane-Grey in the box. Sponne striker Josh Murphy managed to restore his team’s four-goal advantage with a minute to go in the half though as he tapped in at close range from Will Fraser’s pass. But the last action before the interval happened at the other end of the pitch when Goyoki blasted a shot wide from five yards out after Sponne goalkeeper Sam Butler failed to claim a high ball.

A 5-1 scoreline at half-time put Sponne firmly in control but their coach Mr Cornelius was determined not to be complacent as he brought on 5 substitutes, including attacking midfielder Elliot Hutton, in a bid to add fresh impetus to the side.

Despite their impressively quick start to the match, Sponne were slow off the mark in the second half as Silverstone struck within two minutes of the contest resuming; Goyoki heading in from a corner kick which might have been defended more robustly.

Just as Sponne began to work their way into the game again, they suffered another setback when Sam Butler, who had looked otherwise capable between the posts, misjudged his smothering of a shot from distance, the ball slipping through his grasp and over the line to give Silverstone a glimmer of hope with the score at 5-3. But Sponne reacted swiftly to extinguish any hopes of a Silverstone comeback, as Matt Thomas punted home a long-range goal, shooting from 20 yards through a crowd of players to make it six for the home side.

Moments after the restart, Thomas went from scorer to provider as he squared a ball into Hutton, who finished composedly from six yards out. Just three minutes later, Hutton got his second, anticipating a poor clearance from Bunce and beating Silverstone defender Micallef to the wayward ball before rounding the retreating Bunce and smashing a shot into the bottom left corner. With the scoreline at 8-3 and ten minutes left to play, Sponne had already ensured a commendable victory but Hutton stole the show as he completed a seven-minute hat-trick after outpacing Micallef again to a loose pass and sweeping the ball into the back of the net with another exceptional strike.

There will be more difficult tests in the coming weeks for this Sponne team but their resounding victory will give the squad great optimism about their chances of success in this season’s competitive league. Sponne’s midfield in particular looks more than capable of competing with the best that this division has to offer, whilst Woods, Hutton and Swales have the ability to score goals against much tougher defences than Silverstone’s. Next week, Sponne will reignite an old rivalry as they play away at Campion School; a match likely to be more competitive than their season opener turned out to be.

MATCH FACTS

SPONNE (4-2-1-3): Sam Butler, Harris Woodward (sub Harry Wakeling HT), Luke Warwick, Callum Anderson, Chris Foden (sub Sam Collins HT), Mitch Walker (captain) (sub Ryan Smith HT), Matt Thomas, Matt Woods, Will Fraser (sub Alex McCabe HT), Jack Swales (sub Elliot Hutton HT), Josh MurphyCoach: Mr Cornelius

SILVERSTONE UTC (4-4-2): Bunce, Mensah, Micallef, Witchman, Limbachia, Barker, Dotteral, Acquah, Al-Karim, Goyoki, Jane-GrayCoach: Mr Fitzhall

REFEREE: Mr Steve Edwards

MAN OF THE MATCH: Matt Woods (Sponne)

Match Report by Toby Foster, Photo by Josh Margan 

{gallery}A-Level Art 2017{/gallery}

{gallery}A-Level Photography 2017{/gallery}

Students and staff at Sponne School in Towcester are celebrating another excellent set of A Level results this year with many individuals achieving outstanding grades.

Thursday 6^th July 2017 was the 6^th Annual Summer School Games at Moulton College, Northampton. These School Games are like a mini Olympics and include an Opening and Closing Ceremony and Medal presentation at the end of the day. The Games include an array of sports for all different age groups for children from across the county. Earlier in the School Year Sponne Year 7 Cyclists had previously won the preliminary round held at Sponne and were eagerly anticipating an exciting day ahead.

The Weather was extremely hot and with little shade near the outside track it was extremely tough going. The sprint races saw us secure a 1^st place from Tom Blewett and two 2^nd places from Freya Shepherd and Madeline Pritchett. The toughest race of the day due to the hot conditions was defiantly the endurance race, completing 3 laps of a very tough and demanding course. Blistering heat aside Seb Nelson was fantastic and finished in 1^st place. The Relay was our final race of the day and true to form, Lotty Dawson got us off to a fantastic start putting us at the front of the pack, Mitchel Boffin probably had the hardest leg of the relay as he was given a bike that was far too small for him but he totally pulled it off and kept us in the lead. Unfortunately we were piped at the post after a slip on our final lap to finish in 2^nd place. Final Mention to Madeline Pritchett who was awarded a bronze medal as the 3^rd placed Girl of the day

As in the previous round our cyclists experienced may ups and downs throughout the day and things didn’t always go our way, but once again our support for one another was by far the most impressive attribute. These 6 students have shown real team spirit and incredibly mature attitudes to the trials and tribulations of competitive sport and for that they all deserve a medal.

Congratulations to:

Lotty Dawson, Madeline Pritchett, Freya Shepherd, Tom Blewett, Seb Nelson and Mitch Boffin

{gallery}6th Annual Summer School Games{/gallery}

Sponne School awarded Bronze Certificate by the Incorporated Society of Musicians

Sponne has been awarded the ISM / ISM Trust’s Bronze Certificate. This means that more than 10% of the whole Yr 11 cohort achieved an A* to C in GCSE music. The students who do take music continue to achieve exceptionally higher than the national average with 100% achieving A* -C and of that 52% achieving A* or A grades in Music GCSE.

Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive of the ISM – the professional body for musicians – congratulated the school, saying:

‘We are delighted to recognise Sponne’s achievement in music and celebrate the commitment to music education shown by the school in their high uptake and high achievement of pupils’.

‘Music is a valuable subject, it brings value in itself to pupils as well as supporting achievement in other subjects. Music also opens doors and generates educational opportunities for pupils from all backgrounds. We are delighted that Sponne values music within their school curriculum and as the professional body for musicians and a subject association for music education, we are delighted to recognise this high level of achievement with this certificate.’

The certificate is awarded by the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) and the ISM Trust (www.ismtrust.org).

The Incorporated Society of Musicians is the UK’s fastest growing professional body for musicians and a nationally recognised subject association for music. We were set up in 1882 to promote the art of music and to protect the interests of all musicians. Today we support nearly 8,000 members with unrivalled services and expert advice, from study up until retirement.

The ISM Trust, the Incorporated Society of Musicians’ (ISM) sister charity, was created in 2014 to advance education, the arts and to promote health.

The primary focus of the Trust is to deliver high quality professional development by leading practitioners from the ISM and also in partnership with other organisations.

The ISM Trust is dedicated to creating pioneering resources to support music and all those who work in the sector inducing music educators, performers, and composers and delivers its work through webinars, regional seminars, training events and advice packs.

Izzie Rees (7RB) made this cake for her English homework, to represent the difficulties that soldiers had to face, when living in the trenches.WELL DONE IZZIE, a superb piece of work!

{gallery}A-Level Art 2016{/gallery}

{gallery}A-Level Photography 2016{/gallery}