At Mandeville Primary School, we recognise that a high-quality physical education curriculum should inspire all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport. It should provide opportunities for children to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. Opportunities to engage in competitive sport and activities develops their competence and also helps to embed values such as fairness and respect.

Recent events have included...

Rounders

Year 4 played in a rounders tournament on the field at Leventhorpe School on 20^th June. 

The weather was boiling hot but we had our hats and some people froze their water bottles to keep cool. 

We split into three teams: Mandeville 1, Mandeville 2 and Mandeville 3. We had to wear different coloured bibs so we knew who was on which team, and because every school we played against were also in red! 

We got put in different positions. We had one bowler, four fielders on the posts, one backstop and rest of the fielders were in between the posts. We learned that you have to touch the posts as you go past them and if the bowler gets the rounders ball you have to stop running. If the fielders stump the ball against the post before you get there, you have to go out. When you bowl, you have to go underarm and if it's not between the batter's stomach and shoulders then it's a no ball. When the bowler got the rounders ball they had to shout "stop" as loud as they could to stop the batters from running. If the batter misses the ball then the backstop gets it and throws it back to the bowler, so the bowler can bowl again. If it's a no ball, the batter can run to the first post but then they have to stop. If you go all the way around the posts without stopping you score a rounder for your team. 

It made Teddy feel proud when he scored a rounder because the team were cheering for him. Romee was happy when he scored his rounder because everyone was saying "You can do it, Romee!". Summer felt happy because it was so much fun. We felt joyful when we found out that Mandeville had won some of their games. At the end of the competition they gave us the results: Mandeville 3 was 5th, Spellbrook was 4th, Mandeville 1 was 3rd, Mandeville 2 was 2^nd and Sheering was 1st. We got a certificate for participating. 

By Teddy Pruden, Romee and Summer, Year 4 

Tag Rugby

We travelled to Bishops Stortford Rugby Football Club on Thursday 15^th June, by coach, to play Tag Rugby. Year 4 got split into three groups called Mandeville 1, Mandeville 2 and Mandeville 3. Mandeville 3 played 3 matches, Mandeville 2 played 6 matches and Mandeville 1 played 8 matches. 

The weather was boiling hot but we had a gazebo to sit under to keep us cool. It was interesting that we were so good but the other teams were still hard to beat. We learned that you have to be competitive but also show good sportsmanship. The referees were all really kind but one of them, in particular, understood the rules really well. There were team captains for each match. 

We saw lots of children from other schools competing. They were quite competitive and sporty but also quite nice. We smelled delicious hotdogs in the cafe near the toilets which made us hungry even though we had already had our lunch!  

Some of us had expected the field to be smaller than it was, and others had thought it would be bigger. We heard chanting, cheering and sports leaders communicating with each other about what to do. When we weren't playing matches we could hear other children chatting about the game being played and what they could see. We could see the other Mandeville teams practising before their games too. 

We would all like to go to another Tag Rugby festival because it was a great experience and it made us feel calmer that it was a festival (rather than a competition). 

By Lucy, Nora & Bridget, Year 4

Tennis

On Thursday 4^th May, four children, elected by a class vote, went to the Bishops Stortford Lawn Tennis Club to play other primary schools in a tennis competition. We really enjoyed it and we got to know all about tennis, including the rules and points. We were so lucky that Birchwood High School hosted as our umpires and that we were picked to go. We even got to use special Mandeville racquets that are only for competition use. 

In our group, we came second out of five primary schools, and we only lost to the people who won the whole entire tennis competition. Richard Whittington Primary School won and Issy used to go to that school so it was nice for her to see her old friends again and compete against them as well (including scoring an ace against her friend, Evie). 

Something we had to remember when playing matches included letting the ball bounce when you're served to. We invented a song (the theme tune to Frozen, which we changed from "Let it Go" to "Let it Bounce") and we sang it to remember. It helped. In a match, Isaac got a knee slide spot on and got a point from it! Isaac's "powerhouse" (his most powerful shot) won him a point too. George played Hillmead and did a backhand shot that scored a point for Mandeville. Lily got her serves into the box almost every time and the best bit of the day for her was hearing the most amazing news that we came second! 

At the end of the game, even if you lost, you would still shake hands with your opposition and you got to compliment them and they would compliment you back, which felt supportive. The support from our team-mates, as well as our opponents, made us feel like we would burst with happiness. 

After the tournament, all of us agreed that tennis is one of our new favourite sports. 

By Issy, George & Isaac, Year 4 

Athletics

On 25th April, a few lucky people from Year 5 and 6 walked to Leventhorpe School for the 'Primary School Games' athletics competition. We had an amazing Sports Leader, called Poppy, who led us out to the field and looked after us during the day; even playing Sticky Toffee and Bulldog with us between our events.

We competed on a spacious field with a curved track, poles blocking off different areas, and an L-shaped fence to protect people from the heavy shots. There was a long jump, high jump and discus too. 

The Sports Leaders showed us what we were doing in each event. They demonstrated how to use the right technique for the field events. The first bit we did was the girls field events, which we had practised on Monday. We had three tries at the field events, except for the high jump, where you got 5 jumps, and three attempts at each level. 

While the girls started their field events, the boys were starting their track events, and then we swapped activities. Finally, we did the relays at the end with the Year 5s first and then the Year 6s. We won both relays, which was really spectacular! 

It was so exciting to be there. Maisie hadn't been sure if she would get to go but was relieved to get chosen, especially as most people wanted to do it and only four girls in our class could be chosen. We felt really welcomed by the Leventhorpers but they were so tall and we felt very little. 

On the high jump and the long jump when you had your go the Leventhorpers and the children from other schools would cheer and clap for you and say well done. They would help you if you were getting it wrong too, and it made us feel happy. 

Mr Palmer was really nice in the track events, showing us where to run and where and when you'll finish your race. He told us where to aim for, when to cut across to the inside of the track and explained that the bell meant there was one lap to go. 

We won the competition. Our hearts were pounding and we felt gobsmacked but proud. Teamwork makes the dream work! 

By Ava P, Maisie and Irina, Year 5 

Hockey
On 23^rd March, some Year 5 pupils competed in a hockey competition at Birchwood High School. One of the sports leaders lead us up to the AstroTurf; which must have been near where the Birchwood pupils eat because we could smell pizza! 

We got grouped into seven to play the match, but everyone had at least two matches to compete in. We were successful because altogether we scored 8 goals (6 by Frankie and 2 by Ollie) and Harry, Elsie-Lea and Fergus were keeping an eye on the ball and intercepting it, in defence. Olive, Julian and Sophia were fantastic at passing the ball, and Maisie and Irina were amazing at staying in space (like space invaders!). Our captains, Frankie, Fergus and Elsie-Lea (who were voted in by our team), were perfect at encouraging us to keep going when the other team took a chance. Altogether the Mandeville team played three matches and we won them all. 

We looked to see who was skilful on the other teams, while we were spectating. Then we used this against them when we played them. We blocked passes to the better players, by leaping quickly in front of them at the last minute. 

Elsie-Lea felt excited to be there and wanted to play more matches. In fact, when she went home she told her mum she wanted to play in a hockey club because she enjoyed it so much. Oliver felt proud of the team because when he scored he felt the whole had helped him to get the goal by defending so well and getting the ball to him. Before the match, Ollie felt nervous that we might lose but in the match he felt energised. 

We all felt it was so great to be able to come back to school and tell everyone that we won. We did an astonishing job because we won the competition we were in and none of the other teams even scored a goal against us. We were just too good!

By Ollie and Elsie, Year 5

Netball

At Leventhorpe School, on 14th March 2023, nine Year 6's took part in a netball competition against five other primary schools from the Bishops Stortford area. Amelie, Jess, Amelia, Poppy, Jasmine, Ayda, Max, William and Toby all took part and tried their hardest. Isabel and Charlie were reserves, which meant that if someone wasn't at school or able to make it on the day, then they would come along to take their place. The reserves practised together with the team at Mandeville's playground on the Thursday and Monday before the competition. It was great to watch the team grow and get better; especially as some of them had not played before and were lacking confidence to start off with. 

The competition took place on Leventhorpe's three netball courts and we alternated between them throughout. We played five games and even though we didn't win all of them, we had fun. We beat a very competitive team, called St Andrews, which felt amazing. We felt really proud of ourselves. 
 

Some of the things we learned about were pivoting and footwork (the foot we land on first is the one to pivot from), and that we must receive the centre pass in the middle third after the Centre player has thrown the ball. A lot of our team struggled with this but we got there in the end with it. 

All of us really enjoyed working as a team, including the off court roles, who were helping us all the time and always involved. We got to play every position, so we got to see what each position felt like to play, and enjoyed having a break when it was our turn to do scoring, timing or being the centre pass marker. We loved wearing the school tracksuits. We felt so good in them and they were so comfy we didn't want to take them off!

We would love to do more netball and other sporting tournaments as it's incredible to get out and enjoy exercise together. Jess wants to do every single competition Year 6 get invited to because the feeling of helping your team is so wonderful. 

We are also grateful to the staff at school who organise all these special sports events that we do. We all really love them! 

By Jess, Amelia and Amelie, Year 6 

Football

On Wednesday 8^th February, ten students (6 boys and 4 girls) from Year 4 went to Leventhorpe to play football against five other primary schools (Spellbrook, High Wych, Reedings, Manor Fields and Sheering). There were a selection of Year 3 and 4 pupils from the other schools who we competed against. 

The astroturf was enormous and it was so sunny that when we took our team photo we were squinting! We thought the Premier League outfits we wore were absolutely gorgeous. Sofia "felt like Christiano Ronaldo" but a girl version, and about 20 years younger! 

We trained with Mrs Brett and some of the Year 6 buddies. Sofia explained, "I think the training was one of my key moments because I nutmegged a Year 6 goalie and it felt incredible!". We learned that even if you do the training, the game is still hard, but it doesn't matter whether you scored or not, it's about taking part and enjoying the moment with your friends. 

When our team won a game, we enjoyed it because you get to celebrate with your friends. We are proud that we won 5-1 against Spellbrook in our opening game. When we took the lead in that game, we were relieved. 

In the game against Reedings, Teddy P scored and that was a relief too, because then we drew against them instead of losing, and they are our specific rivals. 

Joseph H was such a great goalie. It was absolutely brilliant because we could have lost at least 10-0 without him in one match. He was absolutely fandabbydozey! Teddy was also an amazing substitute goalie when Joseph needed a break. 

Joseph W was a perfect striker and we're glad he and Teddy were playing up front for us. Jude was a really good team player. He was EVERYWHERE on the pitch - striking, in midfield and defending too - and he was passing to us, even though we are girls, and not all of the boys always do that. Teddy was really good at that as well. Fearne learned to be fantastic at passing and was interacting a lot with the ball by the final matches. 

We would definitely love to go and have that experience all over again because it was fun and we're so lucky we got to take part. There were so many people who would have loved to go and didn't get the chance. It was a shame for them but we were so excited. We were just focussing on learning to play football and doing our best at the competition. 

By Amelia & Sofia, Year 4 

Cross Country

On Thursday 8^th December 2022, Years 3, 4 and 6 entered a cross country competition at Leventhorpe School. Every year had eight children from their class who were chosen because they had stamina and knew what pace they needed to run. 

Some Leventhorpers coached us to warm us up for the cross country. The Year 4's had to run the top and bottom field at Leventhorpe. It was a long way! We felt proud finishing the race and finding out how many points we had claimed for Mandeville. We learned that it doesn't matter what place we got, only that we tried our best. We loved that the Leventhorpe sports leaders were cheering us on. 

It was fun cheering our team-mates on while they were running. When the Year 3 race finished, we felt nervous and excited because we knew we were next! We were especially proud of the Year 3's because they came first out of all of the schools (Reedings, High Wych, Spellbrook, Sheering and St Andrews). 

It was amazing fun because even if you came last, you knew there were a lot of people in that race and you still got a lot of points for finishing the long distance run. 

By Lily and Joseph, Year 4

Tag Rugby

On Tuesday 6^th December 2022, ten people from Year 6 took part in a a tag rugby competition. It was held at Leventhorpe Secondary School and we were specially chosen for this sporting event. This made us all feel really proud. 
 

All of us realised that the children from the other schools were really nervous, like we were, so it felt less like a competition and more like just having fun. Our confidence grew throughout a series of matches against High Wych, Spellbrook and St Andrews. We, sadly, lost to Spellbrook but we won against St Andrews (5-1!) and enjoyed a friendly draw with High Wych. We came in 3^rd place against all of the other schools. Everyone cheering our names felt heart-warming. We really loved it that we all shook hands at the end of each game because it reminded us that it was a friendly competition and all for fun.

We learnt that you have to stay on your feet when you score a try, because the try didn't count if you dived. We would appreciate being chosen for another competition because of how amazing to felt to be there and how good it felt to represent the school. 

By Isabel and William, Year 6

Rapid Fire Cricket

On 1^st December, we visited HECC in Sawbridgeworth for a rapid fire cricket tournament. Eight people from our class (Amelia, Nore, Jazzy, Macey, Isaac, Henry, Bobbie and Zachary) competed in the competition. It was quite nerve-wrecking at the start but it was definitely worth trying our best because it was joyful and a once in a lifetime opportunity. We beat Reedings in the group results and we beat Summercroft with a sensational 55 runs in one of our matches.

We learnt that you could work your way through the cones in either direction, and to aim our shots better, which helped us get more runs. Our favourite thing about joining in was trying our best and giving up our time for such an amazing session of rapid fire cricket. 

By Isaac and Macey, Year 4

Basketball

The Mandeville basketball team arrived at the competition just after one o'clock on Thursda, 10^th November. The competition took place at Birchwood High School and 5 boys and 5 boys from Year 6 participated in the School Games Basketball Festival. 

The first team we played against was Richard Whittington Primary School and we won 2-1 against them. The first basket we scored was from Dylan and the second basket was a very embarrassing own goal! The second game we sadly lost but Poppy scored one of the baskets and was very proud of herself. The next team we played was Northgate and we won, scoring four baskets by Poppy, Elodie, Max and Nathan. We lost the last game, but Milo scored. 

The first half of every game was played by the girls and then the second half was played by the boys. We learned that you can dribble in basketball, because it is different to netball in that way. You can't dribble in netball. 

The exciting part about the competition was that we got to play in proper matches against other schools. Lots of people on our team were really nervous but they played amazingly. Tommy gained more confidence as we started playing and we noticed this was true for lots of people, including children from the other schools. 

We would like to do something like this again in the future because it was a good experience (especially, in case you might like to do something like this again when you're older) and it was so much fun. Most of the girls who went with us weren't 100% sure about basketball before we went, but now they definitely want to join the basketball club at school next term. 

By Tommy and Poppy, Year 6

Mini Tennis

On Thursday 5th May, Ava P, Alice, Julian and Ben attended a Mini Tennis competition, held in Bishops Stortford Tennis Club, and came 4th. We had a lot of fun and played four games each against Hillmead, Reedings, Northgate A and Northgate B. Northgate A team won. We felt nervous but also excited. Altogether we scored 148 points and won 14 matches!  The competition was SO CLOSE! Julian tied three ways with two other children for best player in his group. We learnt a lot about tennis, like let it bounce before you hit the ball and don't whack it too hard. 

By Ben C and Alice, Year 4

Bee Netball

On Thursday 17th March, we arrived at a ‘Bee Netball’ competition at Birchwood High School. Eight children from Year 6 competed. One of our favourite moments of the day was when we beat Reedings 2-0. We all played really well because we used teamwork and strategy. We learned to improve our passing skills and that you don't have to win to have fun. We felt excited, energetic and a bit nervous at the beginning, until we beat Reedings! We would definitely love to do it all again.

By Oliver and Isabelle, Year 6

Rapid Fire Cricket

On the 2nd December, we played Rapid Fire Cricket with the whole of Year 4 on the school field. We played Rapid Fire in our P.E. houses. Blue house came in first place, then red, then yellow afterwards and then, finally, green. It was a very close competition. 

In Rapid Fire you have to remember to hit the balls at the same time as your batting partner. It was fun batting and lots of people were enjoying doing that. The fielders have to wait until ALL of the balls are hit. It's easy to forget that bit! As the name suggests, you have to be very fast in Rapid Fire Cricket. You have to concentrate on hitting the ball when you're batting. I was scared of the ball hitting my head when I was fielding, but it didn't happen after all. 

It was fun and we really hope we get to do it again. 

By Irina and Frankie, Year 4

Tag Rugby

On Thursday 18th November 2021, Year 6 were invited to participate in Saracen's & Birchwood Tag Rugby Festival, held in Bishop's Stortford Rugby Club. We played numerous games of tag rugby against many different schools. We were separated into three groups and played different skill levelled teams. During this experience, everyone had a fabulous time and improved on their skills from before this event. In the games, we would get together as a team and give good tactics to all. Most of us achieved our set goals for this tournament such as scoring a try, tagging opponents, and having a lot of fun. Some people even discovered new rules we didn't know about before. In the future, we all agreed we would love another opportunity like this one again. 

By Ava and Olly, Year 6

Tri-Golf

"On Thursday 14th October 2021, ten classmates went to Tri-Golf at Birchwood High School. We used a chipper and a putter. We felt nervous and excited. When you first arrive, you are nervous but after you play 1 or 2 games, you're happy and you want to carry on. There were nine minigames and one rest. It's not about winning; it's about having fun. You were a bit under pressure thought because you had to be fast. We were sad it was over and nervous to see what place we came, and we came... 7th! We got certificates for being co-operative as well. The Buddies helped a lot with practising before we went. When we're in Year 6, we would like to be Buddies to and to help the next Tri-Golfers get ready for their competition. We would 100% like to go to another sports competition." 

By Harry and Ivy, Year 4

Cross Country

"On Friday 13th March, a selection of people from Key Stage 2 went to Jobbers Wood in Much Hadham to compete in cross country. It was called Bishops Stortford High School Invitational Cross Country Race. We left at 11.30am and arrived at 12.10. We felt nervous at the start but a little bit excited as well. We set down our things and the year 4 girls started training because the girls race was in half an hour. At 1 o'clock the girls race began. At the end of the race, all the girls were exhausted. After a while, the year 4 boys race began. Everybody encouraged the year 4 boys. Once they were done they were ecstatic they all finished in the first 50% of the runners. We all felt very proud of ourselves for having run a mile but we all learned to control the pace to avoid sprinting off from the start, which would have resulted in early fatigue."

By George S and Ava, Year 4

Playleader Training

"On Wednesday 11th March, William, Martyna, Hannah and Joshua participated in a play-leader course at Birchwood High School. We started off by interacting with students from other schools. We told them out name, our hobbies and our favourite memory. At the start of the session we all felt quite nervous but very excited. We went through a PowerPoint presentation and learned how to be a good leader. After that, we worked with another school to make a game and set it out like we were on the playground. At this point we were feeling more comfortable than at the start when we felt nervous and shy. Finally, we let other children play our games and played other schools' games and gave them feedback on what they could improve. I think we enjoyed the day because we interacted with other children we didn't know before. We would really like to do this again in the future."

By Joshua and Hannah, Year 5

Rapid Fire Cricket

"We went to a Rapid Fire Cricket competition on Thursday 5th December. It was held at HECC. Mrs Brett and Mrs Barrett picked out four boys and four girls to come to this competition. We got into the semi-finals against Windhill 21 and we only lost by 7 runs. We had a good first game, which we won 62-33! All of the team members improved throughout the day. We mad a lot of progress working as a team and we really enjoyed it."

By Jacob, Oliver and Ava, Year 4

Tag Rugby Tournament

"On Thursday 21^st November, ten children were chosen to compete in the tag rugby tournament at Leventhorpe School. Our first game was against Spellbrook and we won 5-3. Our second game was against St Andrews and we lost 5-2. In the next game we were against Hatfield Heath and we struggled. They were a really good team and they ended up winning heavily. After that we had a little team talk before we played the fourth game, but unfortunately we lost that game too. The next game was the game we really wanted to win. It was against Reedings. It could have gone either way but unfortunately we lost that one too. The next game was against High Wych. We lost it but it we could have won. The referee made some decisions that didn't go our way."

By Luis and Ethan, Year 6

Hockey Tournament

"On the 24^thOctober 2019, Mandeville took part in a hockey tournament at Birchwood High School. Before we arrived at the pitches we all had our photo taken. Next, we were split into 3 squads of 10. We took our hockey sticks and went off to our separate pitches. We talked about tactics to our squads and sorted out who would play in the first match. 

In our first match we didn't do as well as we hoped, but we still had lots of fun! Before our second match we watched other games and picked up new tactics. We did better in our second match but still made a few mistakes. We WON our third match! We were so pleased with ourselves! In our last match we still did great and drew! We kind of knew that we wouldn't be continuing in the top 4, but Mrs Brett (one of our coaches) checked anyway. We made our way back to the coach very pleased with ourselves. We came back to school and ate our very well deserved lunch!"

By Emily W and Joshua, Year 5 Maltings

Cross Country Competition

“On Friday 11th October 2019, selected pupils from key stage 2 went to Leventhorpe School cross country. We felt a little nervous and then, after doing the warm up run led by some Leventhorpe students, we felt better, more prepared and relaxed for our race. Then we watched and supported the other year groups. Next we were called over and Mr Palmer explained the course to us: Year 5 girls and boys do 2 laps of the Leventhorpe field. It was very windy and wet. Annabel came 4th, Daisy 5th, Jake 6th and Harrison came 16th. We all felt very tired. We waited for the rest of key stage 2 to finish and got our tracksuit back on. We scored 729 points! It was very fun.”

By Daisy M and Annabel, Year 5 Rivers

Tri-golf Competition

"We went to tri-golf. It was very (and I mean VERY)  fun and we beat our mortal enemy, Reedings! Everyone loved it and Olly was a very good chipper and Romer was a very good putter. We came 4th out of 11 schools. When I told some people they were very happy. Please let us go again! Please!" 

By Harry, Year 4

"We went to tri-golf. It took place at Birchwood High School on Thursday 10th October 2019. 10 pupils were selected from year 4. We came 4th out of 11 schools. It was really fun. I learned what tri-golf was. I felt excited, happy and nervous. We did lots of different, fun tri-golf games in the tri-golf competition. The people who were explaining what we needed to do were really good at explaining it. I would love to do it again or something like it. We had great team members. We LOVED it and would all love to go and do a tri-golf competition again."

By Sophie, Year 4

Tag Rugby Festival

"On the 3rd  October we went to a tag rugby festival. First we had a quick break for lunch, then we got split into three groups. We were all excited to start the festival. It wasn’t about how many tries you scored it was about having fun and sportsmanship. We had small breaks after each game. It was so much fun we hope to experience this again. Thank you for reading our write up!"

By Ava & Jake, Year 5 Maltings

"Some Year fives went to a tag rugby festival on Thursday 3rd October 2019 at Bishop Stortford Rugby Club. We played 4-5 games of tag rugby. We learned how to show good sportsmanship and to play fairly. We felt confident and excited for the event. It was fun because we didn’t need to worry about winning because it was a festival not a tournament. We would love to do something like this again although we would also want someone else to get to have a go."

By Chloe W & Honey, Year 5 Rivers