Autumn 2024 Update

We have been super busy across both half terms and there has been lots of PE & Sport going on all over school, which is wonderful to see. See below for more details about the clubs, competitions and events that have taken place across Autumn 1 and Autumn 2:

Events

Autumn 1

• Year 3 & 4 Inclusion Event at Lostock Hall Academy (Indoor Athletics)

Autumn 2

• Year 3 & 4 Mindful Inclusion Event Academy at Worden Academy, Leyland (Yoga-Nidra)
• Year 5 Playground Leader Training
• Whole School Dance Festival with SRBC Specialist Dance Coaches

Competitions

Autumn 1

• Year 6 BRFC Boys Football Competition: The boys played really well and advanced to the knockout stages after finishing second in their league; they were eventually beaten in the semi-final by the eventual winners on the day. Well done boys!
• Year 5 & 6 Boys SRBC Regional Football: Congratulations to all the boys in Year 5 and Year 6 who represented the school football team this year; we were spoilt for choice once again. The boys played excellently in the league stages and qualified for the regional finals once again after finishing second in the league (of 16 teams!). Unfortunately, the regional finals, held at Penwortham Priory didn’t go as well as planned but that is sport and many of the Year 5 boys who played this time around, will get a second go at making the Lancashire Games Final next year!

Autumn 2

• Year 5 & 6 SRBC Girls Regional Football: The girls’ football team, comprising girls from both Year 5 and Year 6, had to contend with some truly awful weather in their league that ran over 3 weeks at Withy Grove. In a cruel twist of fate, the girls missed out on qualification to the regional finals by goal difference, despite between the league winners comprehensively in Week One in a non-competitive fixture. Well done to all involved.
• Year 4 Dodgeball Competition: The Year 4 Dodgeball Team were victorious and crown worthy champions of a feisty and action-packed dodgeball competition held at Lostock Hall Academy. The pupils demonstrated excellent target throwing, catching and dodging skills to overcome all the schools they faced. Winning the majority of their matches against 6 other schools, our contenders emerged victorious and were awarded the gold medal from the SRBC team. Well done!

Clubs

Autumn 1

• Year 3 Dance After-school Club with Specialist Dance Coaches from SRBC
• Year 4 Dodgeball After-school Club with Coach Dave from SRBC
• Year 5 Yoga After-school Club with Mrs Gibson from MiniMantra

Autumn 2

• Year 5 Cheerleading After-school Club with a Specialist Cheer Coach from SRBC
• Year 6 UV Dodgeball with Coach Dave from SRBC
• Year 2 Yoga After-school Club with Mrs Gibson from MiniMantra

PE & Sport Review Spring 2

Very successfully, we participated at the Lostock Hall and Bamber Bridge area Indoor Athletics competition finishing a very impressive second place out of ten schools, so we were able to progress to the South Ribble Finals. From there our excellent athletes came an impressive fourth place out of ten.

Each night at Lostock Hall Academy consisted of sprint races, jumps and throws where our points were tallied and scored. The comradery and support our Y6 pupils showed to one another was excellent and we are very proud of their efforts.

PE & Sport Review – Spring 1

Lancashire School Games – Football Finals

In the Autumn terms, both the boys and girl’s football teams qualified for the Lancashire Finals after winning their local and regional competitions. The finals this year were held at Fleetwood FC’s Poolfoot Farm training complex and both the boys and girl’s teams performed excellently on the day.

In extremely cold and blustery conditions, the children played against other winning teams from their boroughs in a league format, with the winning teams progressing to the knock out stages. Unfortunately, neither team progressed through to the group stages but both teams should be incredibly proud of their achievements in making it this far; as a school, we haven’t made the finals before so for both teams to make it this far in one year is certainly something to celebrate.

A special “thank you” must also go to the great number of parents who came to watch, not only for the final day but also at previous stages throughout the season and enduring some inclement weather along the way; we really appreciate your support. We would also like to thank Miss Goldsmith who helped out with the girls in the earlier rounds and to Mrs. Jackson and Mr. Biggs who also gave their time to help both teams throughout the season.

Cross Country Trail Run at Hutton Grammar

A team of runners from Year 5 and Year 6 took part in this year’s race at Hutton Grammar School in what can only be described as ‘very challenging’ conditions. The team of ten runners competed against schools from all over South Ribble in the wind and rain in two separate races for both the boys and girls.

The trail, which spans the perimeter of the Hutton Grammar School playing fields, made for a difficult task. All of the runners managed to complete the race and our finishing results were an improvement on the year previous. Out of all the different schools competing, as a collective across both races, we finished a very commendable fifth in the overall school standings.

All runners should be very proud of themselves and thanks again for the staff who went down to support; let’s hope for some better weather next year.

South Ribble Tennis Competition – Year 3 & 4

Congratulations to our Year 3 & 4 tennis players who brought home victory for the school in the SRBC Tennis Competition held at the Tennis Centre. The team of four finished top after competing against other local schools.

In addition to winning the overall completion, both Eden. W. and Leighton. N. won individual prizes too. Congratulations to the whole team: Harrison. W., Eden. W., Leighton. N. and Maddison. E.W. Thank you also to Miss Harrison for helping out on the day and also to the South Ribble School Sport Partnership for hosting another excellent event.

Whole School Yoga Festival

Yoga Coach Mrs. Gibson held a whole school Yoga Festival across two days this term, allowing each class the chance to experience yoga. This is the second year of hosting this festival and the children really enjoyed their time practicing yoga with Mrs. Gibson.

As an NHS funded initiative, Mrs. Gibson was able to provide a session, of roughly 40minutes to an hour, for every class in school; spanning reception to Year 6. Children could practice their poses, work on their balances and core-strength and their breathing techniques. Thank you again Mrs. Gibson, the children loved it.

Year 3 Tennis Club

Led by SRBC and Coach Andy, a group of Year 3 children have been developing their tennis skills every Monday after school this term. The children have learnt the basics of tennis and have applied their developing skills into a series of fun games each week. The session were lots of fun and the children really enjoyed playing tennis in the hall. Let’s hope we see lots of tennis being played outside in the summer terms, when the racquets and balls are provided at break times. Thanks again Coach Andy and the other SRBC coaches who came along.

Year 2 Dodgeball Club

Mr. Law and Mr. Jardine ran another Year 2 Dodgeball club, as the club held in Autumn 2 was so heavily oversubscribed. Again, this club was immensely popular and children from 2A and 2C loved playing games each week and developing their throwing, catching and fundamental movement skills, all whilst playing a really fun game. As with children from other year groups, the children of Year 2 loved getting the teachers and seemed to find a little more power in their throws when targeting them too. Well done to all the Year 2 children who attended one of the dodgeball clubs.

Year 1 Yoga Club

Yoga Coach Mrs. Gibson ran a yoga club each Tuesday after school this term for a collection of Year 1 pupils. The children, many of whom hadn’t practiced yoga before, learnt some of the more familiar balances, poses and stretches. The children also enjoyed fun yoga games within the sessions and also took time each week to develop their breathing techniques and mindfulness. Thanks again to Mrs. Gibson and well done all of the children who attended.

Ju-Jitsu Club

Ju-Jitsu is still running on a Friday afterschool and is available for children throughout school. The children will learn the art of self-defense and many of the children are graduating through the belts. It is good to see so many Key Stage 1 children starting their Ju-Jitsu journey. If you would like more information about starting Ju-Jitsu, then please let the school office know or ask Mr. Jardine or Mr. Law.

PE & Sport Autumn 2 Review

Year 6 Boys Football

Another busy half term for the Year 6 Boys’ Football team, as they competed for the regional finals after winning their first set of fixtures against local primary schools run by South Ribble School Sports. The next round of fixtures was held at Penwortham Priory Academy, after being rearranged once already due to snow and ice. The event was attended by lots of parents and they were not disappointed, as they watched on as the boys added to their successes by winning the event; going six games unbeaten, winning five and drawing one.

This latest success, against the other successful schools from their respective localities, means that the boys now qualify for the Lancashire School Games Finals and this is scheduled for early 2024 and will be held in Fleetwood. The boys will join the girls in the finals and this is the first time that our school football teams have made it this far in the competition!

In addition to the events held by SRBC, the boys were also invited to participate in another tournament held at Our Lady & St John’s Secondary School, Blackburn that was ran by Blackburn Rovers FC. Split into two leagues, the boys needed to finish in the top two places pf their league to qualify for the semi-finals. The boys duly obliged and ran out league winners after winning four of their games and drawing one.

In their semi-finals, however, things did not go quite to plan and the boys eventually fell to their first defeat of the season, succumbing to a 2-0 loss, despite the game being a fairly even contest. Obviously the boys were disappointed to fall one step short of the final but were quickly reminded by both Mr. Law and Mr. Jardine that this defeat was their first in 28 games. Well done boys on such an incredible achievement!

Year 2 Dodgeball Club

This term, Year 2 have had dodgeball with coach Andy from SRBC. The children loved developing their skills and Mr. Law joined in one week and he couldn’t believe how much they had all improved since he last saw them play the game. Coach Andy regretted playing against the children one week, as they quickly defeated him as balls were fired at him from every angle. The club was very well attended and was oversubscribed, so another Year 2 Dodgeball club will be running in Spring 1 led by Mr. Law. Well done to all the children involved this time around!

Year 3 Yoga Club

Yoga Coach Mrs. Gibson had the pleasure of teaching a mixed-group of Year 3 children this term and for many of the children, this was their first experience of Yoga. The children were taught many different poses and balances. They navigated through routines and played several games that focused on their mindfulness and conscious breathing. The children listened to calm music and enjoyed their yoga in a really calming and peaceful environment. Mrs. Gibson also praised the children for their excellent listening skills and behavior. A big pat on the back Year 3, well done!

Year 6 Dodgeball Club

As the Year 2 children were peppering Coach Andy with dodgeballs in the Key Stage 1 hall, the Year 6 children were enjoying the same task but at Mr. Jardine’s expense in the Key Stage 2 hall. The children played a whole host of different variations of dodgeballs, from protecting a target to preventing a ball from reaching their safe wall. The children enjoyed all the different variations but the common consensus was that throwing dodgeballs at their mates and at their teachers is still a lot of fun. Well done Year 6 (and for what it’s worth, we enjoyed throwing balls back at you too)!

Whole School Dance Festival

During Autumn 2, we held another whole school festival of sport and on this occasion it was Dance. Coach Katie, who all the children know from our Dance from the Heart routines last year, came in to host a range of dance clinics throughout the year groups. Breaking the sessions into bite-sized chunks, the children eventually bundled these parts together to fashion their own year group specific routine. It was great to see so many children joining in and thoroughly enjoying dancing to the music. Thank you Coach Katie for coming back in to see us; we look forward to welcoming you back again later in the year for Dance from the Heart 2024.

Year 5 & 6 Mixed Tag-Rugby

As with the football teams, the winning continued with our Tag-Ruby team who went undefeated in fixtures running across three weeks, again run by SRBC at Withy Grove 3G pitches. Playing in bitterly cold and inclement conditions, the team were unperturbed by the conditions, as they went on to play some excellent tag-rugby. It was wonderful for a few Year 5 children to also join in this event and hopefully they will be able to lead the team next year. Having won the league, the team will now compete against the other local winners of their respective leagues; this next stage is set to be held early on in 2024. Well done once again to all involved and a big thank you to Mr. Biggs for passing on his unrivalled rugby knowledge!

PE & Sport Autumn 1 Review

Girls Football - Year 5 & 6

On Tuesday 17^th October, a team of Year 6 girls participated in a competitive tournament held at Withy Grove 4G hosted by the South Ribble School Sport Partnership. The girls played several fixtures, in 7-a-side format, and ultimately came out victorious in all of their matches. Many of our girls play football with local teams and it was wonderful to see how far they have progressed in their football journey. A number of the successful girls participated in a mixed football event last year, as Year 5 pupils, and came close to winning that event so to go all the way this time is a great achievement! And a notable ‘Well Done and Thank You!’ to Mrs. Jackson and Miss Goldsmith, who kindly took the girls to the event and coached them to their emphatic victory in Mr. Law and Mr. Jardine’s absence due to Parent’s Evening.

Boys Football - Year 6 

Anything the girls can do, the boys can …. equal. As the Year 6 Girls Football Team triumphed in their South Ribble Tournament, the boys team also went all the way and claimed victory after remaining undefeated for 3 weeks, winning an incredible 13 games out of 13. Only a small selection of the boys selected had represented the school before yet they stepped up admirably and everybody in the team played their part, including Isaac who had to wait almost two weeks before he could make his first real save. The boys demonstrated moments of individual brilliance throughout but the success of this team was wholly down to their togetherness and willingness to help each other as a team. We have been spoilt with excellent individuals in recent years though we haven’t been able to progress to the next stage of regional fixtures, which as the top team in their borough, the boys will now advance to. To conclude with a now synonymous footballing cliché ‘we go again’.

Yoga Club – Year 4

Coach Charlotte from MiniMantra Yoga has returned to Lostock Hall this year to offer after school clubs for children wishing to further develop their Yoga skills or for children who have never tried Yoga to give it a go for the first time. This half term, it was the turn of Year 4 and they were put through their poses by Coach Charlotte and learnt new positions, balances and routines that they could then share with the group. All sessions are lots of fun, whilst somehow managing to be very calming at the same time.  Children finish the sessions by working through breathing techniques and listening to music as they attempt to breathe all of their stress and worries away. Coach Charlotte also commented on how wonderful the children had been and pleaded so she could keep them again next term; well-done Year 4, you certainly made an excellent impression!

Rugby SRBC - Year 5 

Coach Andy from SRBC has been working with our Year 5 children after school on Monday evenings to develop their Rugby skills. The boys and girls have really enjoyed learning the game of Tag Rugby and have developed their Rugby skills over the last five weeks; learning handling skills, dribbling skills and passing and receiving. Fortunately, the weather has been relatively kind, as all sessions have been outdoors. Coach Andy has worked with most of these children previously and he commented on how well they are progressing in their sporting development; many of our children try and attend many different sporting clubs, not just focusing on one discipline, and this something as a school we really try and promote. With a Tag Rugby competition coming up very soon, we will hopefully be spoilt for choice selecting a team to represent our school.

Basketball Festival

SRBC coaches came in to deliver a whole school inclusion event where all children would have the opportunity to play basketball and develop their skills. These festivals have been a great initiative and the children enjoyed having these days last year. We will continue have these throughout the year and will have different sports and activities each time. Due to limited space and availability on the day, unfortunately a couple of classes missed out but they will hopefully catch up at some point during the year. Coach Andy was again very impressed with the children’s skills but also their excellent attitude and behavior. Well done to all involved.  

Sports Councilors

Congratulations to all the children who have been selected by their teachers and peers to represent their class, year group and school, as this years’ Sport Councilors. There is much more to this role than simply having a fancy badge on your school jumper; as we look set for another very busy year, your views will be instrumental in pushing forward Sport & PE in our school.  Previous councilors have helped in the decision making of school kit, clubs we offer, competitions we attend and served as volunteers and helpers during sports tasks throughout the year.  This year, we will be looking to introduce famous ‘Sporting Role Models’ for each year group and we hope that our Sports Council can really get behind this celebration of sporting achievement and deliver positive messages about Sport and PE to their class, as we don’t know if the new Usain Bolt, Harry Kane or Mary Earps is already sat in one of our classrooms.

South Ribble Borough Council - Primary School of the Year for Sport 2022

As you may have read on Miss Duce's Blog last week, we are delighted to announce that Lostock Hall CPS won Primary School of the Year for Sport 2022, presented by South Ribble Borough Council at their end of year awards ceremony held at Leyland Civic Theatre on Friday 14th October. 

The PE & Sport team would just like to say a huge "Thank You" to all of the staff in school who have supported with clubs and events; taking time out of their own busy schedules has certainly helped support and grow PE & Sport in our school. 

We would also like to thank the ongoing support of parents; without you packing kits, washing kits, filling water bottles, collecting children from different venues and signing letters etc. the clubs and events that we provide would not be possible, so "Thank You" once again, for all you do. 

Mr. Law & Mr. Jardine 

Autumn 2 Review

Sports Clubs

Mindfulness Club – Year 1 and Year 2

Mindfulness club continued this term on a Tuesday lunchtime for a collection of children from Year 1 and Year 2. Mindfulness club is delivered in a calm and peaceful classroom, with music and sessions start with breathing techniques and helpful discussions. The children worked through different challenges and tasks each week and learnt lots of different strategies to help them when they may start to feel overwhelmed. Mindful colouring seemed to be really popular, as did building domino trails to develop patience and taking a slower approach to completing tasks. Well done to all those who took part.

MiniMantra Yoga – Year 5 and Year 6

A collection of children from Year 5 and Year 6 joined coach Charlotte from MiniMantra for another 6 week block of yoga sessions after school. The children worked on developing their core strength, breathing techniques and learning lots of new Yoga poses (and their correct names). The children learnt sun salutations and started to lead poses or routines that they then delivered for their peers. Yoga has been really popular with the children since its inception in school; should your child wish to continue their yoga journey outside of school, MiniMantra Yoga UK deliver sessions locally and their details can be found in the Club Links link on this page. Alternatively, please speak to Mr. Law or Mr. Jardine for more information.

Blackburn Rovers FC Futsal – Year 6

Children from Year 6 have enjoyed developing their futsal and football abilities this term under the professional guidance of Coach Simon from Blackburn Rovers FC. Each session focusses on different aspects of the game and the sessions conclude with lots of fun games played across both halls. Coach Simon was very complimentary of the children’s behaviour and also their ability. Futsal is now growing in popularity in this country, having been very popular across the continent for many years and is a great development tool for aspiring footballers. There are countless Futsal videos on YouTube to have a look at with many skills and drills for your child to try if they please.

South Ribble BC Dodgeball – Year 3

Coach Andy from South Ribble BC Sports Partnership had the pleasure of taking 20 Year 3 children for Dodgeball every Monday night this term. The children had enjoyed dodgeball so much in Year 2 that it made sense to offer another club this year. Coach Andy said their development was evident and suggested that we may have a very strong dodgeball team again in the coming years, having won the Year 5/6 dodgeball tournament in previous years and placed in the Year 4 tournament. Dodgeball is a great sport for developing throwing and catching skills, movement and dodging (as the name suggests) and furthermore, the children seem to absolutely love throwing balls at their friends. Well done Year 3!

Dodgeball – Year 2 and Year 4

As dodgeball was taking place in one hall with Coach Andy, dodgeball was also taking place in the other with Mr. Law, Mr. Jardine and the children of Year 4. As mentioned above, the children love throwing, and actually hitting, their friends but nothing seems to satisfy them more than getting a teacher. Across the 5-week block, children took as many shots as they could at Mr. Law, Mr. Jardine and Mr. Biggs though similarly, this was certainly reciprocated. The children are certainly throwing the dodgeball with a lot more power and accuracy and getting out of the way has become much harder.

Year 2 children also had a dodgeball club this term and just like the children of Year 4, nothing seemed to make them happier than throwing at their teachers when they joined in. The children in Year 2 play with slightly smaller dodgeballs and we have developed various changes to the games to always ensure the games are fun and enjoyable yet still competitive and conducive to their development. We also talked a lot about refereeing for the Year 2 children and how sometimes they need to deem themselves ‘out’ if they get hit and a referee might have missed it; fundamentally, playing in the correct manner is paramount. Again, as with the Year 4 children, we are really proud of the way the children conduct themselves when playing sport and how they always endeavour to uphold our school values.  

Sports Competitions

 Dodgeball – Year 4  

A dodgeball competition was held at Lostock Hall Academy for a team of 10 Year 4 children. A team made up of boys and girls played excellently and narrowly missed out on finishing in the top 3 places. The event was excellently run once again by South Ribble BC School Sports Partnership and the children really enjoyed testing their burgeoning skills against children from other schools. The children tried really hard and represented the school excellently. Well done, once again, to all involved!

Autumn 1

Sport Competitions 

Year 5 & 6 Girls Football

Our girls’ football team performed excellently in their first tournament in a very, very long time held at Lostock Hall Academy. The girls finished second in their group, which meant they just missed out on the play offs. In the four games played, the girls won two, drew one and lost one. Second place was an excellent achievement given that the girls’ team was entirely made up of Year 5 girls, competing against Year 6 girls from other schools, as unfortunately the tournament clashed with this years’ PGL. The girls should be extremely proud of their achievement and we are already excited to see the girls play again soon.

Year 5 & 6 Boys and Girls Indoor Athletics

A team of 12 children across Years 5 & 6 took part in the Indoor Athletics Event held at Lostock Hall Academy. The children performed really well and, just like with the Girls’ Football Team, finished second, out of 8 schools, and therefore narrowly missed out on progressing to the finals. Particular highlights from the night included the dominant wins in both the Boys’ and Girls’ 6 Lap Paarlauf (pair run). Not only did the children perform incredibly well, they also represented the school exceptionally well; they should be very proud of their achievements. 

Year 5 & 6 Boys Football

The Year 5 and 6 Boys’ Football Team played their first round of fixtures at Withy Grove 4G, Bamber Bridge, on Thursday 13^th October and won their league with consummate ease. Playing 3 fixtures, the boys won all of their matches, without conceding a goal, and scoring plenty of goals in the process. As a result of topping their league, they were then promoted to a new league ahead of the fixtures on Thursday 20^th October.

On Thursday 20^th October, the boys again played really well but ended up on the wrong side of a few bits of poor luck – hitting the cross bar six times! - and conceding two deflected goals. Across the four fixtures on the evening, the boys lost one game, drew two and won one (ironically against the eventual league winners). The boys finished the league in fourth position and can be very proud of their campaign.

Sports Clubs - Autmn 1 

Yoga

Year 2 have been learning all about Yoga this term in their after-school club with Coach Charlotte from Minimantra Yoga. 14 children have taken part every Tuesday evening afterschool, learning breathing exercises, learning new Yoga poses, engaging in fun games and developing some relaxation techniques. The children have really enjoyed their sessions and Coach Charlotte was really impressed with how many yoga poses the children could remember.

Football

Children from Year 4 have been developing their football skills with Mr. Jardine and Mr. Law this term. Each Monday, the children have worked on developing their football skills and then applied these skills into small-sided games at the end of each session. It is great to see so many children playing football outside of school, both boys and girls, and if you would like any more information about Football opportunities outside of school then please do let Mr. Jardine or Mr. Law know.

Ju-Jitsu

Ju-Jitsu is back up and running again on a Friday afternoon and there has been an excellent take-up again this year. The afterschool club is currently full, but should spaces become available then parents will be notified. For the children who are currently attending, they are learning different Ju-Jitsu self-defense techniques, the virtues of martial arts and are having lots of fun in the process under the watchful eye of qualified sensei from Nippon UK.

Rugby

Children from Year 5 have been developing their rugby skills with specialist rugby Coach Andy, from South Ribble BC Sports. The children have learnt the basics of the game and have worked on their ball handling, dribbling and passing skills. It was fantastic to see the children developing their skills and becoming much more confident playing the game. Well done to all who took part, Coach Andy said you were all a joy to coach.  

Mindful Club

Several children from Year 3 and 4 have been attending Mindfulness Club on Tuesday lunchtimes. The club is focussed primarily on all things ‘Mindfulness’ and what mindfulness fully entails. The children have played games, learnt breathing techniques, engaged with some arts and crafts and practised some stretching and posing. The children have enjoyed it so much that they will be continuing with this next term.

Reception Multi Games

Both Reception classes enjoyed a trip to South Ribble Tennis Centre on Wednesday 22nd June to take part in multi games sessions.  The children worked on their small ball skills in readiness for tennis, learning all about the ready position, how to pass the ball to our partner and the importance of keeping our eye on the ball.  We played lots of fun games and after two hours of activity and running about, we were all red-faced and tired out!  A fantastic time had by all.

Spring 2 -  Extracurricular Sport at Lostock Hall

Another really busy half term of sport at Lostock Hal. Years 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 have all had extracurricular cubs this half term and here are some of the things that they have been getting up to:

Cricket

Both Year 5 and Year 4 have been honing their cricket skills with Mr. Law and Mr. Jardine. Following on from the failings in Australia with the Ashes, the England cricket team could certainly do with adding some of our children in their batting line up. The children have been learning key skills across both batting and fielding and so many games have gone down to the wire, with the final bowl proving decisive. Well done to all involved in both of these clubs.

Yoga

Coach Charlotte from MiniMantra Yoga has been in school again this half term and she has been working closely with a handful of children from Year 3. Again, the children have been learning some of the key Yoga poses and balances, developing their balance and core strength. In addition to the Yoga poses and balances, Charlotte always manages to incorporate fun games and concludes her sessions with a period of mindfulness and relaxation. Great work Year 3!

Fencing

Year 6 have been learning all about fencing with Coach Jake from South Ribble Sports Coaching and this is the first time that we have had fencing, as an after school club at Lostock Hall. The children have loved learning all about the rules, wearing the full body kits (including helmets) and using the correct fencing swords, approved by British Fencing, to tag their friends. The Year 6 children have listened excellently throughout and following the instructions of Coach Jake, they have been able to enjoy this sport safely and enjoyably.

Multi Games / Skills

A handful of Year 1 children have been chosen to join Coach Andy from South Ribble Sports Coaching, to develop their multi skills. Across the 5 weeks, Coach Andy has exposed the children to different sports and activities, from tennis to football and dodgeball to athletics, to develop their fundamental movement skills and to improve their general sporting skills that are required in most sport and PE sessions (throwing, catching, running, jumping etc.). Keep up the excellent wok guys and Coach Andy tells us that you have been an absolute joy to teach – well done!

Dance

A select group of children from Year 5 and 6 have joined Katie from South Ribble Sports Coaching and Mrs. Mears, in learning a fully choreographed dance routine that has now been filmed and sent to the School Games Organiser for South Ribble, who will decide who progresses to the dance finals in Blackpool later this year. Regardless of the outcome, the children (and Mrs. Mears and Katie!) have been absolutely amazing and the final dance routine was fantastic. The children learnt this dance during their own lunchtimes and they even practice at home using the video we posted online. Amazing work from all involved!

South Ribble Commonwealth Games Baton Relay 2022 -

Thursday 17th March

Miss. Duce, Mr. Law and some of our Sports Leaders from Year 6 carried the South Ribble Commonwealth Games' Baton from Lostock Hall to Walton-Le-Dale Primary School, as part of a baton relay being run amongst primary schools from South Ribble which ultimately extended across Preston and beyond. We had 30 minutes to get there on time and given our unlimited reserves of speed, we made it to Walton-Le-Dale with minutes to spare. We really enjoyed our rapturous applause on arrival from their Year 6 class, as we ran onto their yard and passed on the baton. Well done to our Year 6 children who ran and well done to South Ribble and all of the other primary schools who took part. 

Girls Football Day - Wednesday 9th March #LetGirlsPlay

On Wednesday 9th March, the FA arranged a special day with the purpose of trying to raise awareness and increase the participation of girls playing football. On the day, we stressed that this day was for ALL children to celebrate football and participation but the day was set up to allow girls, who may not necessarily have had the same amount of opportunities as others, to participate or football. All the girls from Reception through to Year 6 had at least 30 minutes of football coaching with either Mr. Law, Mr. Jardine or both. Thankfully the weather held up, despite being very windy on the day, and we all managed to go outside and learn some skills and score some goals. 

The boys also had the chance to play, officiate, help coach or even complete research about their favourite football teams or players. On the day there was a whole array of different football shirts from Everton to Preston, Blackburn to Manchester United, Liverpool to Chelsea; a couple of Sheffield United and lots of Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG; that said, next time,  Mr. Law would like to see considerably more Burnley shirts being worn.

Again, thanks again for all who helped to make the day a real success. 

Spring 1 - Extracurricular Sport at Lostock Hall

Another really busy half term with lots of sports clubs taking place, so a big thank you to all parents and carers who have helped pack sports kits and water bottles and returned slips to ensure that these clubs can go ahead and your child can really get stuck into different forms of sporting participation. Please have a look below at some of the things that we have been getting up to this half term:

Dodgeball

Year 3 have been throwing dodgeballs at Mr. Jardine (lots of staff also wanted to join in); in addition to throwing balls at Mr. Jardine, the children have been learning the fundamentals of Dodgeball, from different throwing styles and to catching technique. The children were taught the basic rules of the game and learnt some key tactics and game play skills to ensure they didn’t get hit.

Yoga

Year 6 learnt a whole host of new Yoga skills, shapes, movements and poses from coach Charlotte Gibson from MiniMantra Yoga. From ‘downward dog’ to ‘cat pose’, the children were able to apply their balance skills and hold their different poses under control. Coach Charlotte also incorporated a mindful element to the sessions and the children had an opportunity to work on their breathing and relaxation techniques.

Indoor Athletics

Year 1 had the opportunity to try various different athletics events with Mr. Law. From running one week to jumping hurdles the next, the children had the opportunity to compete with their friends and get physically active whilst experiencing new events. SpeedBounce proved to be really popular and the children had to count each other to see how many jumps they could complete within 30/60 seconds.

Netball

Mrs. Mears has led a group of children from Year 5 and Year 6 to learn and develop their netball skills. From practising their chest pass to discussing movement and travelling, the children became noticeably more confident in applying their skills within small sided games. The children wore different bibs (with their positions labelled on them) and learnt about where they could move on the court and where the best position could be to find space and receive the ball.

SRSSP Football Festival

On Monday, Coach Andy from South Ribble came and led a thirty minute football session, focusing on ball control and management. We played some fun games trying to maintain possession, whilst trying to dispossess our teammates. We looked at turning the ball away from danger, and passing and moving into space- an action packed thirty minutes.

Years 3, 5 6 and Reception had a great time taking part, can you see yourself in action?

Y5 & 6 Boys Football @ PPA

On Tuesday 14^th December, our Year 5 & 6 Boys Football Team took part in a mini tournament held at Penwortham Penwortham Priory Academy to decide which school would be chosen to represent the South Ribble district at the regional finals, which are to be held in Fleetwood next term. All matches were fiercely contested and on a small sided pitch, games ebbed and flowed and were very tight.

The three schools chosen to compete were: Brindle Gregson Lane, New Longton and Lostock Hall. Each school competed against the others twice and it was Brindle Gregson Lane who narrowly pipped Lostock Hall to secure top spot and therefore progress to the finals. With one defeat, two draws and one victory, Lostock Hall can be very proud of how they played and with a little bit of luck, they could have easily clinched top spot.

On an evening where all of the children performed well, notable mentions go to Daniel Hodson who scored a wonderful solo goal against Brindle Gregson Lane; Charlie Barton and Harry Green who worked tirelessly without getting the reward their efforts deserved; Corey Smith in goal who made a string of good saves; captain Thomas Marshall who commanded the back line before moving further forward and capping an excellent tournament with two fine goals in the final game defeat of New Longton.

As the Year 6 boys pass on the baton, it will be down to the Year 5 children to step up next year. Zach, Joseph, Ethan, Aaryan, Thomas S and more can all be very proud to represent the school football team as Year 5’s, playing against teams predominantly made up of Year 6 children; this experience will stand them in good stead for next year and hopefully we can pinch top spot ourselves. 

SRSSP Inclusion Event @ LHA & our new school sports kit!

On Friday, Children from Y3&4,had the opportunity to take part in an inclusion sports event with South Ribble Sport Partnership’s Coach Andy and some student leaders from Lostock Hall Academy. We then tried our hand at a few games, like boccia, kurling, tennis, dodgeball and goalball.

All the children represented the school marvelously and had a great time and looked fantastic in our new sports kit (a big thank you to the PTFA for purchasing this for us!) 

Take a look at our sports stars in action in the photo stream below!

SRSSP Paralympic Festival

On Monday, Coach Andy from the South Ribble School Sports Partnership came in to discuss, and show the children some disability friendly sports, such as Boccia, Kurling and Goalball.

The children from Years 3, 5 and 6 had a 40 minute session with their class experiencing each sport and discussing ways to make sport more inclusive for all.

4J had the opportunity to go to LHA on Friday and have the same experience. The children from years 1, 2 and the other Y4 class will have the opportunity to try the activities out at the Academy in the New Year.

The children had a great time with Coach Andy and trying out all the different activities, take a look at the photo stream below of our sports stars in action.

South Ribble School Sports Dodgeball Tournament 

On Tuesday 9th November, our children took part in a Dodgeball tournament held at Lostock Hall Academy. Whilst some of our Year 5 and 6 children played in a friendly football match with St Gerrard's last term, the Dodgeball Tournament held at Lostock Hall Academy saw a return to competitive inter-school competition. 

A representative team, comprising only of Year 5 children, saw off competition from Cuerden Church School, St. Aidan's and also St. Leonard's Primary School. The tournament was made up of 3 mini games, counting towards a single match result, and each school competed against each other twice. With lots of mini games fiercely contested, and with plenty of player rotation, Lostock Hall remained undefeated in their 6 matches and duly took home the Gold Medal. 

All schools played really well and it was noticeable to see how much better each team played as the competition went on. Not only was the quality of play excellent and the games both tense and well competed, the children played in a  great spirit and demonstrated excellent 'Honesty' (particularly when removing themselves from games if they got hit and officials missed it), which was the core value of this specific event. The children represented the school superbly.

South Ribble sports festival - Year 1, 2 & 4 - Rugby 

This year, South Ribble is coming to school to introduce our children to a variety of sports across the year.

This week, they delivered a rugby taster session to our Y1, 2, and 4 children. Take a look at the photos below of our sport stars in action! 

Virtual Steps Challenge

Friday 26th February to Thursday 4th March

30 Minutes maximum per day.

Take a look at the PowerPoint below to take part in the whole school Virtual Steps Challenge.

Record you daily scores and see how many steps you can climb in a week.

Move on up!

Virtual Sports Hall Pentathlon.

This week, we've been taking part in the virtual pentathlon. Take a look at the pictures below for all your hard work! If you took part at home, send your teachers a few snaps and they may end up in the slideshow below!

Thank you for your hard work!

Mr Jardine and Mr Law & all your teachers! 

Inter School Tennis Competition

A group of Year Three and Four children went to South Ribble Tennis Centre. We got into our school teams and had a quick warm up, rallying with each other, before starting the competition. Each team consisted of two boys and two girls. The teams played against each other and the first person who scored eight, won the game. The three groups with the highest scores, played in the semi final. The final match was played and the winner of the competition received a trophy. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the finals- but we had a really good time! 

By Alice Walmsley and Piper Hickey-Parkinson 

Year Four Athletics 

This term we have been learning a variety athletics skills with Dave from the South Ribble Sports Development Team. Some of the skills that we have learnt are:  sprinting, speed bounce, triple jump, standing long jump, javelin, chest pass, overarm and underarm throwing. It has been great fun and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  

By Daniel Hodson and Ava Barnes 4J 

Well Done Lilli-Mai 

Congratulations to Lilli-Mai from year 5 who attended the English Bronze Junior Gymnastics Championships in Leicester this weekend. Lilli finished the competition with two medals, finishing in 3rd place on floor and a fantastic 1st place and gold medal for her performance on the bars. 

Lancashire School Games Finals 

After some successful competitions during the early part of the term 20 children from Year 4 qualified to represent South Ribble at the Lancashire School Games at Stanley Park in Blackpool. They were joined by teams from all over the county and participated brilliantly in both Tri-golf and athletics. Well done to all who competed. 

High 5 Netball

During the first part of the summer term the netball team attended the high 5 netball tournament which was run over 3 evenings at Lostock Hall Academy. The team played well and although we didn't finish as high up the table as we had hoped we still enjoyed all of our games and displayed excellent sportsmanship and teamwork throughout.  

Well done everyone! 

More Success for the Year 3-4 Athletics Team 

Back in the Autumn, you may remember that the lower key stage 2 athletics team won silver medals at the sports hall athletics competition. Well the good news is that outdoors the team were able to go one better by winning gold at the 'Quadkids' competition, securing their place at the Lancashire School Games finals in July. 

Well done to all athletes! A fantastic achievement! 

South Ribble 'Quicksticks' Tournament (2)

Well done to the team who attended the second 'Quicksticks' event of the year, at Walton le Dale High School, on Tuesday 7th May. The team played very well against some tough opposition. We grew in confidence in each and every game and managed to score a super goal in the final game of the tournament. Well Done!

Congratulations!

Cup Winner

Well done to Liam from year 5 who recently won the Mid Lancashire Cup with his team, Lostock Hall Stripes. The final was a tense affair ending in a penalty shoot out. 

South Ribble Schools Quicksticks Tournament 

On Tuesday 2nd April a team of six KS2 children took part in the South Ribble quicksticks tournament at Walton-le-Dale High School. The children worked really hard as a team and tried hard in all of their games. They had very little experience of hockey (especially on astroturf) and grew in confidence as we got further into the tournament, we saved our best performance for the final game, earning a 1-1 draw.

Well done to all players! 

Dance from the Heart Leader Training 

This year's Dance from the heart event is quickly approaching, this years theme is space. In preparation for the event a group of Year 6 leaders were selected to help the whole school to learn the dance. The leaders attended an afternoon of training at Cuerden Church School and were much more competent than Miss Bell when performing the routine! We look forward to seeing the leaders assisting the younger children.

                       Celebration of Girls Football 

On Wednesday 27th March the girls football team were given a real treat. They were invited to spectate at the National Schools Cup Final at Mill Farm Sport Village, home to AFC Fylde. We had a lovely afternoon watching some inspirational performances from both teams. In the end the team from Thomas Telford School were crowned National Champions, much to the delight of their very loud supports. 

The girls behaved impeccably and were, once again, a credit to the school! 

Year 2 Dodgeball

Afterschool on Thursdays this term, 20 children across Year 2 took part in dodgeball club. The children had great fun in firing balls at each other and subsequently trying to dodge them. They also enjoyed pelting Mr Law at every opportunity and any other misfortunate members of staff who entered the hall whilst they were mid-game. Here are some photos of our Year 2 dodgeballers in action:

South Ribble Gymnastics Festival 

On Tuesday 19th March a team of 6 gymnasts from Years 3 and 4 took part in a festival of gymnastics at Walton-le-Dale High School. 

The girls were able to take part in a range of different gymnastics related challenged including trampolining, vaulting and balancing. The final part of the morning was a display of routines from each of the schools in attendance. Our girls performed brilliantly and some of the skills on show were incredible! 

Well Done girls. 

South Ribble School Games Tennis 

On Friday 1st March four pupils from Years 3 and 4 took part in the South Ribble School Games Tennis Event. The event took place at South Ribble Tennis Centre and in all 19 teams competed. 

The children played well and were excellent representatives of our school, displaying our values of sportsmanship and determination throughout. Unfortunately we missed out on a place in the semi-finals but had a fantastic afternoon of tennis. 

Well done to all four children who took part. 

Silver Medals for Lostock Hall Athletes 

On Tuesday 15th January 20 children from Years 3 and 4 competed in a sports hall athletics competition at Lostock Hall Academy. 

The children took part in a range of track and field events including; speed bounce, javelin, standing long jump, standing triple jump and a range of relay races. The children showed high levels of determination, whilst remembering that good sportsmanship is always important. 

Some impressive performances were on display as schools battled it out in 3 different heats. Once the competition was over it was time for the, all important, results. We are pleased to say that we finished a very impressive second out of 14 schools from South Ribble. 

Well done to all of our athletes, you did the school proud.