School Sports Competition Reports

Our Year 5/6 Hockey team travelled to Alderley Edge on Tuesday 21^st March to take part in the Cheshire County Hockey Finals. We qualified thanks to our win in the Crewe & Nantwich Finals and had the honour of representing the district against some very good schools. 

 

In game one we faced Hartford and it was a typical first game, in that it was a little scrappy with few chances for either side. We looked good for a draw until we conceded a last minute goal that gave us no time to reply. Game two saw us face eventual Runners-Up High Legh and we took the lead thanks to a brilliant goal from Joshua Blackshaw. High Legh responded well and showed their quality with 3 fantastic goals to take the win. 

 

Game three saw us pick up our first win of the competition, against The Quinta. A lovely pass from Jensen Lindsay found Joshua Blackshaw in the D and he did the rest to put us ahead. We were forced to defend well to keep our lead, with Molly Wharton making some excellent last-ditch tackles and Amiee Taylor battling for every ball. This was a deserved win and gave us a confidence boost.

 

We continued our good form with wins against Parkgate and Alderley Edge in games four and five. Jensen Lindsay scored the only goal of the game thanks to an excellent long pass from Joshua Blackshaw, in a smash and grab win. We were under pressure for long periods but defended so well and hit Parkgate on the counter attack to sneak a win. The game against Alderley Edge saw Amiee Taylor get her first goal, which had been coming for the previous two hockey competitions! Joshua Blackshaw's run and cross found Aimee in the D and she still had plenty to do, as she rolled the ball home.

 

Our three game winning streak ended in a feisty game against Thelwall. Joshua Blackshaw's pass to Jensen Lindsay looked to have snatched us a deserved equaliser and a share of the points, only for two quick, late goals to give Thelwall the win. Our final game was against eventual winners St Clare's and tiredness was now starting to kick in. We gave all we had left, but St Clare's were clinical in attack and deserved their 2-0 win.

 

Overall we finished in 5^th place- the 5^th best school in Cheshire for Hockey! This is an amazing achievement for our school and the players were absolutely excellent. They worked so hard for eachother and fought for every ball. Player of the day was Jensen Lindsay who covered every inch of the astroturf and showed some really neat skills throughout.

 

Well done to Joshua Blackshaw (c), Amiee Taylor, Jensen Lindsay and Molly Wharton.

 

 

Thank you to Mr Birchall and the parents who came to support us in Alderley Edge.

 

Mr Foulkes

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As a result of being Runners-Up in the Crewe Hockey Competition back in the Autumn Term, we played in the Crewe & Nantwich Hockey Finals on Tuesday 14^th March at Ruskin. We faced the winners and runners up from the Nantwich section (Highfields and Willaston) plus the winners of the Crewe section (Monks).

 

In game one we started well against Highfields, working the ball forward and having some decent shots on target that were well blocked and defended. We were hit on the break and Highfields went into the lead, meaning we had to really dig deep to get back into the game. Joshua Blackshaw levelled things up by beating his man and smashing the ball home before some strong play from Amiee Taylor set up Joshua Blackshaw to grab what turned out to be the winner.

 

Game two saw us face Monks Coppenhall and we were determined to put on a better show of ourselves than we did in the Crewe Competition. We were right at it from the off, battling to win every ball and Molly Wharton did a cracking job at the back whenever Monks broke free. In a game that was end-to-end, we were just that bit stronger and moved the ball better. We sneaked a deserved 3-2 win with goals from the clinical Joshua Blackshaw and one from Jensen Lindsay who worked tirelessly.

 

Our final game saw us one win from the Cheshire County Finals. We faced Willaston and despite energy levels starting to dip, we were soon in command with a 2-goal lead thanks to goals from Joshua Blackshaw. Amiee Taylor nearly put the icing on the cake, after her performance deserved a goal, but she was really unlucky to hit the post. The game ended 2-0 and there was jubilation from the team as we were crowned as WINNERS of the Crewe & Nantwich Hockey Finals and go on to represent the district in the Cheshire County Finals in Alderley Edge on Tuesday 21^st March.

 

A huge well done to Joshua Blackshaw (c), Molly Wharton, Jensen Lindsay and Amiee Taylor who represented the school so well and were simply fantastic on the night!

 

Mr Foulkes

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After our success in the Crewe Netball Competition, we moved on to the Crewe & Nantwich Finals, where we faced Sound, Leighton and Highfields for a place in the Cheshire County Finals. We had the perfect start with a huge 9-2 win against Highfields. We were dominant from the off and raced into a 4-1 lead at the break. We were moving the ball around the court well and our shooting was excellent. Goals came from Melvin Nicol 3, Jensen Lindsay 2, Molly Wharton 2 and Holly Bloor 2.

 

Game two was a match against Leighton, who we always have great games of Netball against. This one was no different, despite us holding a commanding lead of 4-1 at halftime, a spirited comeback from Leighton put us under real pressure. We had to dig deep and hold on at the end to eventually win 5-4, with goals from Natan Czuczalow 2, Michelle Isiama Mba, Rubi Masser and Jensen Lindsay.

 

Our final match was a decider against Sound, with the winner going on to the County Finals. The first half was scrappy, as we gave the ball away too often and didn't take the few chances we had in the D. We just about held on to go in 0-0 at the break. We came out strong 2^nd half, but went 1-0 down only for Michelle Isiama Mba to equalise. The key part of the game saw us miss a number of really good chances to go ahead and then the suckerpunch came, with Sound scoring two quick goals to seal the win.

 

The team did fantastically well to come as Runners-Up in the finals and fell just short in the end. We had a great run and we were all a bit gutted, as we felt that we'd had the chances to win the last game. Player of the day was Holly Bloor who played really well in both defence and attack.

 

Squad: Holly Bloor (c), Molly Wharton, Jensen Lindsay, Michelle Isiama Mba, Natan Czuczalow, Melvin Nicol and Rubi Masser.

 

Well done!

 

Mr Foulkes

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On Wednesday 15^th February we entered two teams into the Y5/6 Crewe Netball Competition which was held at Sir William Stanier School. This year was possibly the strongest group of netballers we have ever had, with it proving difficult to initially pick an 'A' and 'B' team squad. The first match for both teams was Brierley A v Brierley B- this is always a tricky fixture as both teams really want to get one over their friends! Brierley B were excellent in the first half, but once Brierley A nudged ahead, they went on to record a 7-0 victory thanks to goals from Melvin Nicol (4), Molly Wharton (2) and Holly Bloor.

 

Once that game was out of the way, our two teams could settle down into the competition. Brierley A took part in a thriller in game two, as both ourselves and Monks Coppenhall A played some excellent netball. We missed chances early on, but thankfully goals from Jensen Lindsay and Rubi Masser saw us claim a crucial win. Game three was a more convinicing affair, as Brierley A ran out 8-0 winners against Monks B. Molly Wharton grabbed 3 goals, Melvin Nicol 2 and Holly Bloor also with 2 goals. Game four saw Brierley A show an even more lethal touch in the D, as we ran out 10-0 winners against Mablins Lane B. Molly Wharton was again on fire with 5 goals, Natan Czuczalow scored 3 and both Melvin Nicol and Jensen Lindsay scored 1 each. This meant a victory in our final game would see us crowned Crewe Champions- but we had a good Mablins Lane A team to play. It was a scrappy, nervy game at first, then we started to get the ball moving quicker. Natan Czuczalow put us ahead before we were pegged back to 1-1. With seconds to go, Jensen Lindsay finished the game off with a goal which started off some jubilant celebrations!

 

Brierley B recovered from the opening game to put in a more confident performance in a 2-0 loss to Mablins Lane A. Our first goal came in game three against Monks Coppenhall A thanks to Denisa Neagoie's calmly taken goal. It wasnt quite enough and despite a good performance, we lost out 3-1. Game four and five would see us take on the other two 'B' teams in the competition, which meant we were hoping for a strong finish. We got off to a good start by beating Monks Coppenhall B 2-1 in game four, thanks to goals from Denisa Neagoie and Joshua Blackshaw. Our final game saw our best performance of the competition as we were too strong for Mablins Lane B, running out 4-1 winners. Joshua Blackshaw scored 2, Samanvitha Pothuganti 1 and Denisa Neagoie 1 in a great way to finish the competition.

 

In the final standings, Brierley B did enough to claim 3^rd place on goal difference, which was an excellent return! Brierley A were crowned as WINNERS thanks to a fantastic performance at this competition and now go on to represent Crewe in the finals with the winners from Shavington and Nantwich. Players of the day were Molly Wharton for the A team and Natalia Majdanik for the B team.

 

Well done to all of the pupils who took part and thank you to Mrs Proudman for her help with the netballers this half term.

 

Brierley A: Molly Wharton (c), Holly Bloor, Jensen Lindsay, Natan Czuczalow, Rubi Masser, Michelle Isiama Mba and Melvin Nicol.

 

Brierley B: Natalia Majdanik (c), Denisa Neagoie, Harry Tasker, Joshua Blackshaw, Samanvitha Pothuganti, Summer Ivey and Coby Utting.

 

Well done!

 

Mr Foulkes

 

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After 3 weeks of training after school each Wednesday, 42 pupils across Years 3,4,5 and 6 who took part in the Sports Hall Athletics Competition at Sir William Stanier School on Thursday 24th November. We were competing against 3 others schools: Leighton, Monks Coppenhall and Beechwood. As always, there was a fantastic atmosphere inside the hall, with pupils and parents cheering on the children. There were a number of excellent performances in both the track and field and the highlights were as follows:

• Year 5/6 Boys 1+1 lap relay: 2^nd place (Tommy Tomkinson & Jensen Lindsay).
• Year 5/6 Boys 2+2 lap relay: 2^nd place (Harry Poynton & Joshua Blackshaw).
• Year 3/4 Boys 1+1 lap relay: 1^st place (Loki Masser & Lucas Scott-Taylor).
• Year 5/6 Boys 6-lap Paarlauf: 2^nd place (Harry Poynton & Jensen Lindsay).
• Year 3/4 Boys Hurdle relay: 1^st place (James Edwards, Joseph Hughes, Lewis Malam & Junior Woodward).
• Year 3/4 Boys Over Under relay: 2^nd place (Finley Allen, Reuben Tasker, Jacob Shephard & Junior Woodward).
• Year 3/4 Boys 4 x 1 lap relay: 1^st place (Loki Masser, James Edwards, Lucas Scott-Taylor & Bence Hideg).
• Year 5/6 Boys 4 x 1 lap relay: 2^nd place (Tommy Tomkinson, Joshua Blackshaw, Malaki Mellor & Micah Kosefobamu).

Unfortunately, we do not get an individual breakdown of the field results and you could not see the field athletes taking part (apart from the Javelin which we can see as it was on the track area), so I cannot report too much on this! 

As in previous athletics competitions, the Javelin was typically strong for us and we had a number of top 2 finishes. James Edwards (Y3/4) and Joshua Blackshaw (Y5/6) both scored 2^nd places and Aimiee Taylor and Natan Czuczalow (both Y5/6) went one better to claim 1^st place.

Overall points totals:

• Year 3/4: Leighton 154pts, Monks Coppenhall 146pts, BRIERLEY 100pts and Beechwood 82pts
• Year 5/6: Leighton 172pts, Monks Coppenhall 126pts, BRIERLEY 98pts and Beechwood 90pts.

Well done to everyone who took part in the competition and a big thank you to the Brierley parents and families who came to watch and cheer the children on. Thank you to Mrs Proudman, Mrs Wolstencroft, Mrs Potts, Mr Coombs and Mr Taziker for their efforts in helping to train the children in the 3 practice sessions.

Sports Hall Athletics Squad

Year 5/6 Boys:  Natan Czuczalow (C), Harry Poynton, Tommy Tomkinson, Joshua Blackshaw, Harvey Allen, Jensen Lindsay, Malaki Mellor, Melvin Nicol, Jackyboy Woodward and Micah Kosefobamu.

Year 5/6 Girls:    Rubi Masser (C), Molly Wharton, Holly Bloor, Amiee Taylor, Millie Jennings, Charlotte Wright, Lilly May Mellor, Paige Haynes, Summer Ivey, Samanvitha Pothuganti, Michelle Isiama Mba

Year 3/4 Boys:   Diego Lisboa (C), Lewis Malam, James Edwards, Lucas-Scott Taylor, Finley Allen, Loki Masser, Joseph Hughes, Bence Hideg, Reuben Tasker, Jacob Shephard, Varic Guevarra, Junior Woodward.

Year 3/4 Girls:    Tayah Huskisson (C), Greta Gregorova, Lexi Mai Ashbrook, Keeley Cooper, Evie Blease, Ellie Mai Entwistle, Sienna Boon, Tyga Wilcox and Maria Boros.

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Our first school sports competition of the new school year was the Year 5/6 Crewe Hockey Competition at Ruskin on Monday 10^th October. We entered an 'A' and a 'B' team into the competition, with each team playing 8 matches.

A got off to a perfect start, beating Beechwood 6-0 with Joshua Blackshaw scoring 5 goals and Rubi Masser the other. We then beat Wistaston A 2-1 (Joshua Blackshaw with both goals) and then faced our friends in Brierley B in game three. This was an excellent game played in the right spirit and Brierley A won 2-0 thanks to goals from Harry Poynton and Jensen Lindsay. Another 2-0 win against Eddleston (goals from Jensen Lindsay and Joshua Blackshaw) was followed up by a narrow 2-1 win against Wistaston B (Johsua Blackshaw with both goals). We now had 5 wins from 5 and were perfectly placed for a run at winning the competition. Round six saw us beat Weston 4-0 (Jensen Lindsay with all 4 goals!) and then we went one better to beat Pebble Brook 5-0 in round seven thanks to goals from Rubi Masser (2), Harry Poynton, Jensen Lindsay and Joshua Blackshaw. Our final game saw us end on a poor performance, as we lost 1-0 to Monks Coppenhall, however the team were phenomenal to win 7 of their 8 games to win the competition overall and qualify for the Crewe & Nantwich Finals in a couple of weeks!! There were some outstanding contributions- Jensen (7 goals) and Josh (11 goals!) were lethal in front of goal, Rubi Masser chipped in with 3 goals and battled really hard, Harry Poynton never stopped running, Amiee Taylor won tackle after tackle and set up lots of goals and Molly Wharton was a rock in defence. Brierley A player of the tournament was given to Joshua Blackshaw for some stunning attacking skills.

Brierley B got off to a tough start in a 4-0 defeat to Eddleston in round one, but responded well to draw 0-0 with Beechwood in round two. We had chances to win the game and held firm in defence, but couldn't quite find the goal we perhaps deserved for our play. Game three saw us show real determination in a battle with Brierley A. We held our own for nearly half of the game and had some good periods of pressure but Brierley A were just too strong in the end. Our first goal of the competition came in a 4-1 defeat to Wistaston B, as Jake Coombs smashed the ball home from close range. We went down 2-0 in our next match to a strong Monks Coppenhall team who also qualified for the finals with our A team, so we really put in an excellent battling effort to restrict them to two goals. We had a tough game against Wistaston A next, losing 7-1 in a game we couldn't get going in. We did grab a consolation goal though through Samanvitha Pothuganti and we were determined to bounce back in game eight. We were looking good for a draw against Pebble Brook until a goal late on saw us fall to a 1-0 defeat. Our final fixture against Weston saw us keep our heads up and play with a smile still, as we were unlucky in a 2-0 defeat, as we had plenty of chances to get at least a point. Every player worked their socks off and gave their all playing against some good A teams! Summer Ivey and Samanvith Pothuganti got better with each game and started to make some excellent, strong tackles, Jake Coombs battled hard and deserved his goal, Daniel Laczo showed some neat touches and clever passing and Coby Utting was strong in defence and worked really hard. Player of the tournament for Brierley B was Daniel Hideg who was strong in every tackle and tried his best to drive the team forward.

Well done to the following players for representing the school so well:

Brierley A : Joshua Blackshaw (c), Harry Poynton, Rubi Masser, Molly Wharton, Jensen Lindsay and Amiee Taylor.

Brierley B: Daniel Laczo (c), Jake Coombs, Samanvitha Pothuganti, Summer Ivey, Daniel Hidge and Coby Utting.

Thank you also to all of the parents who supported the team and helped transport the children on the night. Thank you to Mr Coombs for his help in running one of the teams too.

Mr Foulkes

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The final Crewe & Nantwich Schools competition of the year was the Y5/6 Rounders competition at Malbank School. We were placed into a group with Sound, Acton and Gainsborough. Game one saw us face Sounds and we were a little slow to get going. We got two players out- Darryl Mangisi taking a catch and Harry Poynton with a runout- with Sound recording a good score of 7 rounders. Our batting was tentative early on, but a rounder from Darryl Mangisi got us going. Further half-rounders from Suzie Faddes, Tayah Wilson, Darryl Mangisi, Mckinley Utting, Harry Poynton and a no ball got us to 4 rounders, losing out 7-4 overall.

Game two saw us put in an excellent performance to beat Acton. Our opponents batted first and we fielded well- two stunning catches from Natan Czuczalow and a runout from Angel Banks-Scott helped restrict Acton to 2.5 rounders. Our batting was also good- Mckinley Utting scored 2.5, Darryl Mangisi 1.5, Angel Banks-Scott 1 and we got a half for a no ball, to finish on 5.5, winning by 3 rounders!!

Our final game against Gainsborough was a thriller up to the last ball. We fielded fairly poorly in this one and the game looked out of reach when Gainsborough scored 7 rounders for 2 outs (Darryl Mangisi and Harry Poynton with the runouts). At the halfway stage of our batting innings we had reached 5 rounders, but we couldn't maintain our scoring, falling short by a half rounder on 6.5. Harry Poynton 1, Joshua Blackshaw 1, Lacey Mai Mellor 0.5, and Suzie Faddes 0.5 were our scorers, with the rest made up from no ball half rounders.

Well done to all that took part- it was a difficult competition at the end of a very busy week of trips and high school transition days and the children did well to keep going despite their tiredness. Thank you to Mrs Wolstencroft and the parents who came to support the team.

Squad: Angel Banks-Scott (c), Lacey Mai Mellor, Darryl Mangisi, Mckinley Utting, Joshua Blackshaw, Natan Czuczalow, Tayah Wilson, Suzie Faddes, Michelle Isiama Mba and Harry Poynton.

Mr Foulkes

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It was the turn of the boys to take part in the Cheshire County Cricket Finals on Wednesday 13th July, again held at Warrington Cricket Club. The boys qualified for this event by coming runners-up in the Crewe and Nantwich competition in June. We took a huge parental following to support the boys in what we knew was going to be a tough competition- this proved to be the case, as the standard of cricket was very high!

We were drawn to play Frodsham, Rose Hill (Stockport) and All Saints (Sale) in the group stage. We opened against Frodsham and Darryl Mangisi struck two fours of the first 3 balls to get us going. Joshua Blackshaw and Jensen Lindsay put on 18 runs for their two overs and further boundaries from Natan Czuczalow, Mackenzie Roberts and Ashton Bradley Hawkins helped us to a score of 64. Frodsham's innings started well, with them racing to 23 after just two overs. Mackenzie Roberts made a good catch off his own bowling and Jake Coombs over went for only 2 runs to put us back in the game. Natan Czuczalow kept the pressure on with a wicket for just 1 run. Jensen Lindsay took our final wicket of the innings and despite good bowling from Darrly Mangisi and Harry Poynton, we lost out by 5 runs.

After a positive first match, game two was a bit of a mis-match. The Rose Hill team consisted of all Year 6 boys who have all played cricket for the same club outside of school for 4/5 years- for our boys this was their 6^th cricket match ever! Still, we gave it our best shot and we were peppered with some excellent bowling on our way to a score of 27. There were boundaries from Ashton Bradley-Hawkins, Jensen Lindsay and Mckinley Utting, but the loss of 8 wickets dented our hopes of an upset. We bowled fairly well, despite not taking a wicket and Rose Hill made 63 runs- but with the 8 wickets adding 5 runs for each wicket onto their score, they ended on 103 and won the game comfortably.

Our final group game saw the boys maintain their spirits against All Saints (Sale). We put All Saints into bat and some clinical batting saw their openers smash 34 runs. Mckinley Utting picked up a wicket thanks to a smart catch from Mackenzie Roberts and we managed to slow the scoring down. Jackyboy Woodward took two wickets from his over- the first a good catch from Natan Czuczalow and the second an excellent run out from Ashton Bradley-Hawkins. All Saints ended on 83 and we set about our innings. We lost two early wickets to set us back but consecutive sixes from Mckinley Utting got us back on track. However 5 wickets fell for just 2 runs in the 3rd, 4^th and 5^th overs, which meant we had too much to do in the final 3 overs. Jake Coombs smashed one huge six in a good partnership with Natan Czuczalow, but we fell short on 61 runs.

We ended our day with a fixture against Sandiway, who had also had a tough morning, so we hoped for a good, close game to end the day. The boys were still sticking together, encouraging eachother and staying positive and we got off to a great start! Two sixes and a four from Mckinley Utting, followed up by boundaries from Josh Blackshaw, Jensen Lindsay and Ashton Bradley-Hawkins saw us finish on 45 runs. We needed to bowl and field well to have a chance and we certainly did. We had two overs that went for 41 runs, whilst the other 6 overs went for just 24 runs. We took an impressive 6 wickets in the game- 2 for Harry Poynton and one each for Mackenzie Roberts, Jackyboy Woodward, Darryl Mangisi, Ashton Bradley-Hawkins and Mckinley Utting. These wickets took our score to 80 and we fell just short of Sandiway's score of 91 runs.

The county finals were always going to be a really tough test for us, but the boys can hold their heads high. They never once gave up, tried their best to pick up runs and wickets and they showed great team spirit throughout. Player of the day went to Ashton Bradley-Hawkins who batted well, bowled well and was excellent in the field. Thank you to the army of supporters that made the trip to Warrington and kept the boys spirits up.

Squad: Darryl Mangisi (c), Ashton Bradley-Hawkins, Mackenzie Roberts, Mckinley Utting, Jensen Lindsay, Joshua Blackshaw, Harry Poynton, Jake Coombs, Natan Czuczalow and Jackyboy Woodward.

Mr Foulkes.

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Our girls cricket team travelled to Warrington on Tuesday 12th July to take part in the Cheshire County Finals. This was the girls first experience of cricket, so a county final really threw them in at the deep end! We had quite a few practice sessions and PE lessons leading up to the day, so the girls were as ready as they could be.

In our first game we batted first against Barnton (Northwich) and were doing well until a flurry of late wickets dented our score. Rubi Masser top scored with 12 on our way to a score of 59 runs. We got off to a fantastic start with the ball as Holly Bloor took two wickets (one a superb catch from Amiee Taylor) and there were great overs by Suzie Faddes and Mia Dixon. However, we couldn't quite defend our total and we lost out by 12 runs in the end.

Now we had warmed up, we were straight into game two against Bidston (Wirral) and we bowled first. Lacey Mai Mellor took our first wicket thanks to a good catch from Suzie Faddes and this was followed by Mia Dixon smashing middle stump to bowl the batter out. A late runout from Michelle Isiama Mba helped restrict Bidston to 72 runs. Despite losing a wicket on the first ball of the game, we got off to a decent start, with Amiee Taylor hitting 10 runs and an 18-run partnership between Mia Dixon and Lola Burke Hurley. The tie swung in our favour when Holly Bloor and Suzie Faddes hit 20 runs together and we recorded a final total of 87, to win by 15 runs!

After the delight of winning our first game, we now had the chance to qualify for the main final (4 teams) by winning the last game to top the group. Our opponents were Beechwood (Runcorn) and they batted first. Holly Bloor again took a wicket, with Mia Dixon taking the catch and there was more good bowling from Rubi Masser and Angel Banks-Scott. Beechwood finished on 76 runs, which was a big, but realistic target for us to go for. A difficult start saw us lose two quick wickets, before we exploded into life. Amiee Taylor and Michelle Isiama Mba hit 29 runs off their 2 overs and Mia Dixon and Angel Banks-Scott smashed 26 runs from their two overs. We were right in the game with one over to go and sadly a great bowling effort saw us lose two wickets and we lost the game by 3 runs to a very good side.

We finished 3^rd in our group and went on to play two more games against other teams that came 3^rd in their groups. We faced Moore (Warrington) who missed out on top spot in their group on runs scored in a 3-way tie! We were put into bat and Phoebe Plant and Mia Dixon got us off to a steady start with 14 runs, but we never really kicked on and had 2 overs in the middle where four wickets fell. Our score of 46 was going to be very difficult to defend and it proved to be the case, as some excellent batting blew us away, as Moore went on to score 95 and won by 49 runs.

The girls were a little downbeat after that game but we picked ourselves up for our final game against Marlborough (Macclesfield). We bowled first and had the perfect start as Lola Burke-Hurley picked up a wicket with the first ball. More good bowling from Phoebe Plant and Rubi Masser kept the scoring down and Marlbororugh ended on 71 runs. Our reply was a little slow to get going and then Michelle Isiama Mba started smashing the ball around- two huge sixes and a 4 helped to get us back on track. More hard-hitting by Amiee Taylor (14 runs) and Phoebe Plant (11 runs) saw us come extremely close to getting a result, but we fell 5 runs short in the end.

On paper, one win and four losses doesn't sound great, but it doesn't tell the full story. Of the four losses we lost three of them by 3 runs, 5 runs and 12 runs- all narrow defeats. We made every game competitive with our performances and considering we didn't have the experience that other schools had gained from the area competitions, we put in a fantastic effort. The girls should be proud of their efforts and how far they came as a team in just a few weeks. Player of the day went to Amiee Taylor who batted, bowled and fielded superbly well!

Squad: Lacey Mai Mellor (c), Angel Banks-Scott, Holly Bloor, Rubi Masser, Suzie Faddes, Mia Dixon, Phoebe Plant, Michelle Isiama Mba, Lola Burke-Hurley and Amiee Taylor.

Well done girls!

Mr Foulkes

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On Monday 20th June and Wednesday 22nd June we took part in the first Town Sports Athletics Competition since 2019, which involved 33 schools from across Crewe & Nantwich. This was our first year back in Group C of the competition, after being successfully promoted from Group C in 2017 and spending 2 years in Group B in 2018 and 2019. Our athletes were well tuned for their events and were looking forward to representing the school and showing their talent in the competition.

The Monday saw us take part in the field events (long jump, high jump and javelin) at the Cumberland Arena. We had 18 athletes involved in this from all across KS2 and they performed really well on a pleasant Summer evening. In the high jump we had 1^st places for Jensen Lindsay (Y3/4 Boys) and Darryl Mangisi (Y6 Boys), a 3^rd place for Suzie Faddes (Y6 Girls) and both Harry Tasker and Holly Bloor just missed out on the placings in the Y5 events. The long jump brought early success as Loki Masser pulled out an unbelievable jump to win the Y3/4 Boys (despite being mostly up against Year 4s!). Harry Poynton picked up 1^st place in the Year 5 Boys competition and Rubi Masser grabbed 3^rd place in the Y5 Girls competition. The Javelin has often proved to be a bit of a specialism for our school and 2022 was no different as we picked up some great results. Millie Jennings started things off with 2^nd place in the Y3/4 Girls competition and then both Aimee Taylor (Y5 Girls) and Joshua Blackshaw (Y5 Boys) picked up 3^rd place finishes. The Year 6s stole the show as both Ashton Bradley-Hawkins and Mia Dixon threw fantastically well to pick up 1^st place finishes! 

The showpiece event for Town Sports is always the Wednesday at the Barony in Nantwich. There were a few thousand people in attendance for the track events which included the hurdles, beanbag, sprint and relay races. The first races were the hurdles and we enjoyed some early success, with James Edwards (Y3 Boys) and Jensen Lindsay (Y4 Boys) both winning their races. Darryl Mangisi claimed 2^nd place in the Y6 Boys race. The sprint races saw Jensen Lindsay get 3^rd place in the Y4 Boys race and Harry Poynton won the Y5 Boys race. The beanbag races were a little less kind to us, with only a fantastic 1^st place finish from Lucas Scott-Taylor to show for our efforts. We fared better in the relay races, with the Y3 Boys (Loki Masser, James Edwards, Lucas Scott-Taylor and Lewis Malam) winning their race comfortably! There were 3^rd place finishes for the Y4 Boys, Y5 Boys and Y6 Boys in their relay races. 

The awards were given out on the Wednesday evening and we were confirmed as WINNERS of the Group C Field Events thanks to our performance on the Monday evening. Our Year 3s were crowned WINNERS on the track and overall when the track and field were combined, we finished in 3^rd place in Group C! This means we have won promotion back to Group B at the first attempt, for Town Sports 2023!

Thank you to all of the athletes who took part in one or both of the evenings- you represented the school so well and played your part in our success. Thank you to the parents who were able to come and support the children and to our Brierley staff who helped co-ordinate and look after the children.

Bring on Town Sports 2023!

Mr Foulkes

We entered the Y5/6 Boys Cricket Competition on Tuesday 24^th May 2022 at Crewe Vagrants Cricket Club- the first cricket competition since the Summer of 2019. We had limited practice sessions going into this competition and again, for many this was their time representing Brierley. Our first game against Pear Tree saw us a little slow to get going and probably we were a little nervous. We batted first and despite good scores from Darryl Mangisi (7), Ashton Bradley-Hawkins (5) and Mackenzie Roberts (5), we limped to a final score of 217-4. We needed to bowl well and Darryl Mangisi took two wickets in the first over. Jake Coombs took 1 wicket for just 2 runs off his over but it wasn't enough, as we lost out by 19 runs.

Game two saw us put Acton in to bat and our bowling was much improved in this one. Jackyboy Woodward took a wicket thanks to a catch from Jensen Lindsay and Mackenzie Roberts took 1 wicket for just two runs in his over. Mckinley Utting held his nerve to take  one wicket for 4 runs in the final over to leave Acton on 234-3. Mckinley Utting and Natan Czuczalow got us off to a good start with the bat, with Natan hitting 3 sixes to end on 19 runs. At the halfway mark we were 223-3 and we pushed on thanks to a big six from Darryl Mangisi and Ashton Bradley-Hawkins added 10 runs at the end, to win the game for us by 12 runs!

The confidence was flowing and with other results going our way, a win in the final match would see us into the semifinals. We faced a good  Wistaston Church Lane team and we put them into bat first. Harry Poynton and Ashton Bradley-Hawkins both bagged early wickets and Jensen Lindsay took a splendid catch off his own bowling to leave WCL on 200-3. More excellent bowling from Jake Coombs and Mackenzie Roberts ensured we kept the score down and WCL ended on 225-3. We then put in a tremendous batting performance, with Darryl Mangisi and Jake Coombs adding 17 runs from their 2 overs and then Ashton Bradley-Hawkins and Jensen Lindsay smashed 22 off the final two overs to leave us 251-2, which meant a win by 26 runs!

We had done so well to get to the semifinals and with a place in the final at stake, the boys were in good spirits ahead of the game against  Stapeley Broad Lane. Jensen Lindsay took 1 wicket for 4 runs before Stapeley accelerated their scoring to reach 234-1 after 4 overs. Jackyboy Woodward grabbed a wicket  in the 6^th over, before Darryl Mangisi changed the game with 2 wickets for just one run! SBL finished on 229-4 which was a very gettable target... if we batted well! We got off to a steady start before 2 sixes from Mackenzie Roberts got us going. Darryl Mangisi added 10 runs before Ashton Bradley-Hawkins and Natan Czuczalow saw us home to finish on 242-1, winning by 13 runs!!!

The boys were absolutely buzzing to make the final and we had a chance to avenge our earlier loss, as we played Pear Tree again. We were put into bat and a combination of good bowling and nerves meant we struggled to find the boundary. Mckinley Utting's 6 and a 4 from Ashton Bradley-Hawkins were the highlights as we stumbled to 219-3, which was probably a below-par score. Still, we went out positive and looked to take wickets to get us back into the game. Darryl Mangisi and Harry Poynton took a wicket each early on and great overs from Joshua Blackshaw and Jensen Lindsay had Pear Tree 203-2 at the halfway stage. Wickets for Ashton Bradley-Hawkins and Mckinley Utting weren't enough though, as Pear Tree stepped it up a gear and went on to score 230-4, winning by 11 runs.

The boys can be very proud of coming Runners-Up in the competition and their reward is now a place in the Cheshire County Cricket Finals at Warrington Cricket Club in July. There were some excellent performances, but our captain, Darryl Mangisi stood out, as he was fantastic with both the ball and the bat. Well done to all of the boys, who supported each other well and gave it their all.

Thank you to the army of parents who came to watch the boys and to Mick Povall who helped out on the day.

Bring on the county finals!!!!

Mr Foulkes

A group of Year 5/6 girls represented Brierley in a football competition on Thursday 19^th May at The Alex Soccer Centre. For the majority of the girls this was their first football competition and for a couple of them, it was their first time representing our school. We were drawn into a group with Acton, Hungerford and Monks Coppenhall.

In game one we were understandably a little nervous, but we had most of the possession. Michelle Isiama Mba and Lacey Mai Mellor were both denied by last-ditch tackles when in on goal, whilst Aimee Taylor and Molly Wharton were rock-solid in defence at the other end. We kept plugging away, but a draw was probably a fair result in a tight game. Game two saw us win the local derby against Hungerford thanks to a goal from Michelle Isiama Mba, after good work from Lacey Mai Mellor. Again we were solid at the back and both Lola Burke-Hurley and Holly Bloor really put a shift in for the team. Our final group game was a really good game of football, with both teams having chances to win an even game. We battled hard, with Suzie Faddes and Lola Burke-Hurley showing great determination and both came close to opening the scoring. Lacey Mai Mellor was excellent in defence with Tayah Wilson also doing a fantastic job to assist her. The game ended 0-0 and we finished as runners-up behind Monks, but still unbeaten and having not conceded a goal!

The second group stage saw teams grouped together depending on where they finsihed in their groups. We were placed with Hungerford (for round 2!), Wistaston Church Lane and Shavington. We got of to a fantastic start with a 1-0 win against a very good Wistaston team. it was a top performance by everyone and having rode our luck a little in the first few minutes, we went on to create chances. Michelle Isiama Mba struck a fierce shot only for the keeper to somehow save before the pressue tolled and a long throw from Aimee Taylor sent Suzie Faddes through on goal and she slotted the ball past the keeper! Our 2^nd group game saw a rematch against Hungerford and we managed to make it a double with another 1-0 win in a fairly even game. Our goal came from Holly Bloor after a neat pass from Lola Burke Hurley. With one game remaining, we knew if we could avoid defeat against Shavington then we would win our group and finish overall 5^th place. We made some changes in both attack and defence which slightly upset the balance of the team. However, we created lots of chances, but the ball just failed to run for us. We were then hit on the break and the Shavington forward who had ran 30m was about to shoot before out of nowhere, Suzie Faddes made an unbelievable tackle to keep the scores level. There was still time to pinch a winner, but when Lacey Mai Mellor hit the crossbar, we knew our luck was out in this one.

Overall the girls were absolutely tremendous- to go unbeaten and not concede a goal all afternoon was very special and they should be proud. A 5^th placed finish from the 14 schools who entered was a great result and it was great to see them all enjoying playing competitive football. Player of the tournament was really tricky as there were some serious candidates, but Aimee Taylor wins it thanks to some strong defending and her long throw caused the opposition teams all sorts of problems.

Thank you to all of the parents who came to support and helped to transport the girls.

Squad: Tayah Wilson (c), Lola Burke-Hurley, Suzie Faddes, Michelle Isiama Mba, Holly Bloor, Lacey Mai Mellor, Aimee Taylor and Molly Wharton.

Mr Foulkes

Girls Football   Click here to see photo

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On Thursday 28^th April 2022 we took a team of Year 4/5s to represent Brierley in a Tag Rugby festival at Ruskin High School. There were 10 teams taking part and we were placed into Group A alongside Acton, Monks Coppenhall, Highfields and Stapeley Broad Lane. The squad were fairly inexperienced, in that despite there being 9 Year 5s in the team, this was their first time representing school in a competition.

We started with a really physical opening game against Acton, who were very determined and not afraid to put in a tackle. We conceded a couple of tries early on but settled into the game and started to put together our own good pieces of play. Harry Poynton scored two tries, both from mazy runs where he was simply too quick for the Acton defenders, but we fell just short, losing 4-2.

In game two we faced Monks Coppenhall and this was an excellent game of rugby. It was end-to-end, with a total of 12 tries shared between the two teams in a 6-6 draw. Harry Poynton was again fantastic on his way to a hat-trick of tries, the third coming after a lovely phase of play involved good runs from Mason Owen and Shane Marembo. Holly Bloor converted from close range after another neat pass from Shane Marembo and he got himself on the scoresheet when he danced his way past 3 defenders to score. Jensen Lindsay scored the final try of the match, using raw speed to outpace the flailing defence. In this game there was some excellent tagging, in particular from Harry Tasker, Rubi Masser and Jensen Lindsay, as well as some neat passing from Joshua Blackshaw.

After showing good improvement in our performance, game three was another tough, physical battle against Highfields. We were a little slow and left too many gaps in defence early on, but recovered well to have sustained period of pressure on Highfields. This resulted in Jensen Lindsay going over to narrow the deficit to a try and despite a great finish from Natan Czuczalow late on, we lost out 4-2.

Our final game was another cracking advert for Tag Rugby against Stapeley Broad Lane. Shane Marembo got us off to a great start, before two tries from Harry Poynton kept us level at 3-3. his second try was the best of the day, as he weaved past 2 players, slipped into a forwards roll, stood up, beat two more players and ran it home! We went 4-3 down before a brace from Holly Bloor took her total to 3 for the day and drew us level at 5 each. With time running out, Michelle Isiama Mba picked up the ball in the middle of the park and put the after-burners on to sprint home and clinch a 6-5 win for the team.

Well done to the following pupils: Harry Poynton (c), Holly Bloor, Mason Owen, Jensen Lindsay, Joshua Blackshaw, Rubi Masser, Shane Marembo, Harry Tasker, Michelle Isiama Mba and Natan Czuczalow.

Thank you to Mrs Proudman for her help on the day and thanks to the parents who came to support the team at Ruskin.

After our fantastic success in winning the Crewe & Nantwich Netball Competition, we qualified for the Cheshire County Netball Finals on Friday 18^th March at Macclesfield Leisure Centre. This was an INSET day and the pupils showed great commitment by choosing to take part in the finals on their 'day off'. We went into the competition knowing these finals were going to be incredibly difficult for us, as we were fairly underprepared compared with all of the other schools competing.

Game one proved to be the worst possible start we could have had, as we were taken apart by an excellent Our Lady's from Ellesmere Port. We couldn't keep the ball and we didn't cope well with their speed and efficiency in the D. We needed to wake up and a more determined performance came against St Wilfred from Warrington. A couple of goals from Angel Banks-Scott and Ethan Cambridge and some great defending from Mackenzie Roberts kept us in the game until the end, but we fell just short, losing out 4-2.

Game three started well, as Suzie Faddes (called in to replace Holly Bloor due to illness) scored the goal of the day, as she netted from near the edge of the D. We held on to our lead for a while until St Martins went up a few gears and dominated the ball. A 5-1 loss was a little harsh on us, as we led for a large period of the game. We then faced Alderley Edge School for Girls, who went on to win the competition overall. We gave a fair account of ourselves and defended well on the whole, with Michelle Isiama Mba in particular showing determination and passion to win the ball back.

We continued to search for a win in game five against Cherry Tree from Warrington. The game was fairly evenly matched, but we missed chances to take the lead and then paid for them in a 3-0 loss. The team were down after this one, but we picked ourselves up and agreed that we would give our all in the final match against Dingle who were representing Sandbach. In this game we were excellent- first to every ball and our passing was sharp and accurate. We created lots of chances and a goal from Ethan Cambridge put us 1-0 up, after good work from Ashton Bradley-Hawkins. We continued to play some good Netball and we defended with authority with Lola Burke Hurley and Angel Banks-Scott repelling every attack.  The whistle went to scenes of relief and jubilation, as we ended on a positive note and got some reward for our efforts.

We finished as the 7^th best school in Cheshire, which is an outstanding achievement for our school- even more so due to the lack of practice we have been able to have. The team did so well and stuck by each other despite some tough results. The win at the end gave everyone a boost and ensured we finished with a positive. The player of the tournament was Ethan Cambridge who worked very hard in every game and was excellent in both defence and attack.

Squad: Mackenzie Roberts, Lola Burke Hurley, Angel Banks-Scott, Ethan Cambridge, Suzie Faddes, Ashton Bradley-Hawkins and Michelle Isiama Mba.

Well done to every single one of you and thank you to Mrs Roberts and all of the parents who came to support the team in Macclesfield.

Mr Foulkes

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After a break of just over 2 years due to COVID, school sport returned with the Year 5/6 Crewe Netball Competition at Sir William Stanier School on Thursday 10^th March 2022. With the enforced break, we like most other schools came in to the competition not really knowing how competitive we were going to be as a team, as we had not had the chance to play any warm up matches with positions and using the strict netball rules.

Our opening game was against Berkeley and we got off to the best possible start! In the first half, a great passing move, started by Michelle Isiama Mba was finished off by Angel Banks-Scott and then Angel took her tally to two goals after a fine assist from Mackenzie Roberts. In the second half, Ethan Cambridge scored a superb shot from far out and then turned provider to allow Lola Burke-Hurley to get on the scoresheet and seal a 4-1 win.

Game two saw us face Monks Coppenhall and we again got off to a fast start, with Holly providing two assists to Mackenzie Roberts who was excellent with his shooting. He went on to score a third goal just before the break to put us 3-0 up at halftime. The second half was a little scrappy but we held on to record a 3-1 win. Game three against Sound was a tough test and we went a goal down very early on. Lola Burke-Hurley equalised right on the stroke of halftime and this galvanised us for the second half. Goals from Ethan Cambridge (2) and Holly Bloor put us in command and secured a 4-1 victory.

After 3 games we were right in the mix, with our two toughest fixtures to come. Over the years we have had some great games against Leighton and this joined that collection as we were excellent in a narrow 3-2 win. Lola Burke-Hurley scored the first and then Michelle Isiama Mba rebounded a Mackenzie Roberts shot to put us ahead 2-1. This combination put us 3-1 ahead, with Mackenzie scoring this time and despite a late surge from Leighton, we held on for the win!

Four games- four wins! Our final match was against Mablins Lane and we knew we had a chance to go on and win the competition. Ashton Bradley-Hawkins pass found Michelle Isiama Mba who put us 1-0 up but we were pegged back and were 2-1 down. We dug deep and came back, with Ashton Bradley-Hawkins putting us level before Angel Banks-Scott's superb long pass found Lola Burke-Hurley who put us ahead. We really had to defend hard in the last few minutes and Mablins found a deserved equaliser, but we held on for the draw and finished as overall WINNERS of the Crewe Netball Competition!!!

This was a truly excellent performance from a team that had never played together and they showed some amazing skills and learned both the rules and positions really quickly. They beat some excellent schools and deservedly finished as winners. Their were many great individual performances, but special mentions to Mackenzie Roberts and Lola Burke-Hurley who scored 4 goals each and to player of the tournament, Ethan Cambridge who was outstanding when shooting and scored key goals in key moments.

Well done to Lola Burke Hurley (c), Ethan Cambridge, Mackenzie Roberts, Angel Banks-Scott, Michelle Isiama Mba, Holly Bloor and Ashton Bradley-Hawkins.

Thank you also to Mrs Proudman for her help with the team on the night. Mr Foulkes

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