The Year 5 football team welcomed visitors from Ottershaw School.

The pitch was wet and soft after heavy rain, but fortunately there was no standing water on the field. The match got off to a lively start with Marc and Harry having to make some good tackles and Finn some good saves to prevent Ottershaw taking the lead. The closest St Hugh’s came to scoring in the first half were when Daniel was twice denied - once from a long range free kick saved by the goalkeeper and once when the last defender made an excellent last-ditch tackle to prevent Daniel running through one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Ottershaw came close to scoring when a shot hit the crossbar, but at half-time the score was 0-0.

Early in the second half Ottershaw took the lead when an excellent cross from the right was met with a firm header at the far post, giving Finn no chance. After this, Ottershaw had other chances, including one shot against a post, and another header from which Finn made a fine fingertip save. Although all the St Hugh’s players tried very hard to find an equaliser and forced some corners, they struggled to create any real chances and to test the visiting goalkeeper.

On the day, the better side won - it was thanks to some excellent defending and goalkeeping that the margin was just 1-0.

The team will look forward to playing again in the new year.

The squad was: Finn, Ethan, Daniel, Victor, Noah, Fiach, Marc, Harry, Jacob.

The minutes of the most recent School Council meeting are here.

The ‘Back to School Disco’, planned for Saturday 21 November, has been postponed and will now take place in the new year. More details will follow nearer the time.

Today is the feast day of our patron saint, St Hugh of Lincoln.

Fr Jeff celebrated Mass this morning. All the children participated well and we were joined by many parents.

In the afternoon the children enjoyed a performance of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ by the Globe Players.

We hope that everyone has a happy and enjoyable feast day!

Children in Year 3 led the school in assembly last Friday.

They led the school in an act of remembrance, thinking of all those who have lost their lives in conflict. The children led prayers, praying for those who have died in war, those who have been bereaved, and for peace in the world.

The football team visited Pyrford School for a match this afternoon. In increasingly dark and wet conditions, the two teams produced an excellent game of football.

The St Hugh’s team, comprising 5 Year 5s and 5 Year 6s, got off to an excellent start. Daniel found space in the middle of the penalty area and placed a lot right footed shot inside the post to give St Hugh’s the lead. Ethan had a shot which the goalkeeper saved well, and David had a good effort which almost added to the lead. Shortly before half time, though, a good attack from Pyrford led to a goal from them to make the score 1-1. Toby worked hard on the left hand side, linking well with Fred to create another chance. Fiach had a brave far post header which narrowly missed. The half-time score was 1-1.

Into the second half and St Hugh’s re-took the lead when Daniel raced onto a through-ball, bravely stretching as the goalkeeper came out to use the outside of his foot to put the ball into the corner of the net for his second goal of the game. Before long, a move that started with a strong challenge from Louis and a quick break by Ethan saw Daniel complete his hat-trick with a header, jumping in front of the goalkeeper to loop the ball into the back of the net.

Jacob then made an excellent save to prevent Pyrford scoring direct from the re-start. Harry made two excellent tackles to avert further danger, but Pyrford continued to attack strongly and pulled one goal back, and then shortly after equalised. Marc made several strong blocks, as St Hugh’s tried to go forward to create chances to re-take the lead. Ethan, who worked tirelessly all afternoon, almost created a chance with a great run down the left. Fiach put in a great cross from a corner, which just could not be turned into the net.

The decisive goal was scored by Pyrford, with just a couple of minutes to play. In near-darkness, St Hugh’s were breaking forwards in midfield when the ball was lost and Pyrford counter-attacked quickly, creating a chance which was turned into the net to make the score 4-3. The final whistle sounded soon afterwards to end a very exciting match. Although the final scoreline was a disappointment, especially with St Hugh’s having held a 3-1 lead, there was a great deal to admire from the performance of the St Hugh’s players in this match.

The squad was: Jacob, Ethan, Daniel, Harry, Fiach, Fred, Marc, David, Louis, Toby.