Latest News

Headteacher's Cup Winners

• Easter Enterprise Extravaganza

  Thu 26 Mar 2015 S. Price

   

  The whole school community came together to support Easter Enterprise. Every class was given £20 as a start-up fund and the children decided what service or product they would sell. Lots of money was raised and the winning class (class who raised the most) will decide how to spend the money for the school. 

  Well done everybody, a fantastic effort!

   

• RECORD TURNOUT AT WRITTLE

  Wed 25 Mar 2015

  Which way now?  The path network at Writtle Forest was covered in fallen leaves and virtually impossible to follow.  Congratulations to all 36 children who tackled the white and yellow courses there.  They displayed some great navigation skills using alternative line features such as earth banks, gullies and streams to guide them.

   

  Undeterred by the difficult terrain, Rosy and Zac in the older primary section and Oliver in the younger boys’ category all won their respective age groups in impressive style.  Also demonstrating a detailed knowledge and understanding of the orienteering map symbols were Tom M, Ben and Daisy H on the yellow course and Louis on the white route.  To round off a successful day Ben lifted the East Anglian M10 champion’s trophy.

   

  The tension is mounting in the chase for the league title.  The last league event of the season is at High Woods, Colchester on 14^th June when the presentation of team and individual awards will take place.  There will be more medals and trophies to be won at the East Anglian Schools Championships which is a separate one-off competition at Hylands Park, Chelmsford on 17^th May.  Beginners as well as experienced orienteers are very welcome at both events.

  

• NATIONAL HONOURS FOR FREIA

  Mon 23 Mar 2015

   

  Many congratulations to Freia who is currently in second place after the first 2 rounds of the British National BMX series.  The National Cycling Centre indoor track in Manchester was host to more than 900 riders of all ages.  Freia was competing at her first national event in the girls 7 - 8 age group.  Each round consists of three qualifying races (motos) and a final.  With a 1^st, 5^th (after a fall) and a 2^nd place in the first round, Freia qualified for the final and finished in 3^rd place, winning a bronze medal.  A very tired Freia qualified well in the second round with a 1^st, 2^nd and 4^th in the motos.  In an action packed final Freia got a fantastic start from the gate, went into the first corner in 2^nd place and held on to the silver medal position all the way to the finish line.  Congratulations and good luck, Freia, in the next 2 rounds at CycloPark in Gravesend in April.

  

• WHO’S THAT TRIP-TRAPPING OVER MY BRIDGE?

  Fri 20 Mar 2015

   

  The grumpy old troll, played by Louis P and Shayne, entertained the younger children in an imaginative gymnastic interpretation of the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff.  The production was staged by Year 5 children to conclude their unit of work on gymnastic bridges.  Emilia’s mum made some wonderful props including beards for Chloe T, the little billy goat, Emilia, the middle-sized billy goat and Louis D, the great big billy goat.  Ella, Oliver C and Zack H provided musical accompaniment while Tom M and William were great sound and light production engineers.  Unseen, but definitely heard, was Oliver B the fearsome voice of the troll.

   

  Other members of the class created an action-packed backdrop to the story by planning sequences of paired gymnastic bridges and performing these to the song of the grumpy old troll.  Spectacular cartwheels, bridge kickovers, arab springs, star jumps, handstands and headstands were used by the gymnasts to link their high and low bridges together.  Fern and Katy were inspirational and the KS1 children went straight out into the playground after the performance to re-enact the story themselves!   

   

  Thank you, Year 5!

  

• SUCCESS IN PLENTY – ESSEX FINALS FOR TWENTY

  Wed 11 Mar 2015
   St. Andrew’s star-studded cross country team had a magnificent afternoon at Notley Discovery Centre. More than 400 competitors representing 28 schools were racing in the Level 2 NW Essex cross country finals. There were separate year group races for boys and girls. In each race the prize for the winning team and also for the top five individual runners was an invitation to the Level 3 Essex finals. We are delighted to announce that 3 of our teams and 5 individual runners, 20 children in total, have qualified for the county event. Well done to St. Andrew’s individual qualifiers - Zac 1st, Oliver 1st, Angel 4th, Jacob 5th and Mia T 5th. They battled their way into the top spots and earned automatic selection for the county finals. Special congratulations to gold medallists Zac (Year 5 boys’ NW Essex champion) and Oliver (Year 4 boys’ NW Essex champion). Congratulations to our winning teams - Year 4 girls’ team 1st – Angel, Katie, Rihanna, Yasmin, Daisy, Mikala. Year 4 boys’ team 1st – Oliver, Jacob, Jamie H, Ben, Jack, Jamie MA. Year 3 girls’ team 1st – Freia, Connie, Holli, Daisy, Grace, Mia. All 38 runners were a real credit to the school. As they crossed the finish line their effort and determination were clear for all to see. In every race there were St. Andrew’s runners in the leading pack – Katie 7th, Sunny 7th, Ben J 8th, Eleanor 8th, Rihanna 8th, Seb 9th, Jonathan 11th, Jack R 12th, Yasmin 13th, Jamie H 13th, Liam 13th, Freia 14th. The Year 3 and Year 6 boys’ teams both finished 2nd, narrowly missing out on selection and the Year 6 girls’ were a very creditable 3rd. These wonderful results would not have been achieved without the help of Mrs Challis, Mrs Hartnup, Mrs Ingleby, Mr Partridge, Mrs Pilgrim, Mrs Poter, Mrs Press and Mrs Skeet who have all given generously of their time to prepare the children for their races. It was lovely to be supported by so many parents and friends, including Amy Bryant who was helping on the start line and Mr and Mrs Swallow who photographed the action.