Sports News
East Borough gets Gold!
We are delighted to announce that we have achieved the School Games GOLD LEVEL Mark Award for the 2023/24 academic year.
The School Games Mark is a Government-led award scheme launched in 2012, to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community, and we are delighted to have been recognised for our success.
We have had many sporting events this year, which you can find out about below.
As part of our application, we were asked to fulfil criteria in the areas of participation, competition, sports clubs and events, and we are pleased that the hard work of everyone at our school has been rewarded this year.
Term 1 (2024/25)
Boys International Day of Peace Football Tournament at the Gallagher Stadium
On Monday 23rd September, a team of year 6 boys went to compete in the U11's Boy's International Day of Peace Football Tournament at the Gallagher Stadium, involving 36 teams from across the Maidstone area. Each team represented a country and we were the UK. The boys competed well and came away with a win, a draw and 3 defeats in their group. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to progress to the knockout rounds, but I was very proud of their efforts. It was a great day out and they came away with medals and a certificate that will be presented in the Friday celebration assembly.
Well done to Dom, Unnat, Maruf, Goshen, Jimmy, Bernard, Harley and Afonso.
VIPS Year 6 Trampette Ball Tournament
This week we took a team of year 6 children to the SST spots hall to take part in a VIPS trampette ball competition. It was a very exciting and active game. The team of 10 waited in a line, ready to jump up when they heard their numbers being called. The children whose number were chosen ran around the playing area, through a gate to try and be the first team to get the ball. They then worked as a team to get the ball over to their side of the pitch, following netball style rules. A child would then need to jump on the trampette to catch the ball to score a point.The children loved it, they represented our school well and worked well as a team, helping each other with tactics in-between games. We drew against Kings Hill, beat Aylesford and Leybourne Chase but overall came second to Kings Hill on a point count back, we were only 2 point behind.
Thank you to the parents who were able to come and support us and well done to Harry, Alex, Olivia, Maisie, Goshen, Elliot, Mahi, Ema, Corin and Lucille.
Term 5 (2023/2024)
VIPS Balance Bike Races
This week Mrs North and Mrs Found took a team of 6 children from the Foundation stage to Holborough Lakes to take part in a balance bike competition. Poppy, Tybias, Frankie, Lewis, Aria and Sophia were very excited to take part in their first competition for East Borough. They were all amazingly well behaved and were speedy on their bikes! They took part in a relay race, a speed race and an obstacle race. In one race, Aria fell of her bike while picking up a cone but got back on and still managed to race past the others to win. Thank you to all the parents for taking their children and supporting the team and a big well done to Team East Borough.
. .
Table Tennis demonstration
Last week we were very lucky to have Ryan Jenkins come into our school to do a table tennis demonstration with Mrs North. Mrs North and Ryan have both played table tennis for Wales and recently Mrs North has played for Kent.
Ryan has won 6 Commonwealth medals and is now a table tennis coach for Great Britain. It was amazing to see how fast they hit the ball to each other, and all the children loved watching Ryan do some great tricks. Hopefully the children were inspired to keep practising the sport they love, so they can do the best they can.
.
VIPS Netball Tournament
One of our Year 6 netball teams competed in the VIAT Primaries netball tournament at SST after school on Tuesday.
We played 5 games against the other primary schools, competing to win the VIAT trophy. Our team played really well, feeding the ball accurately into the circle for our shooters and defending the circle well when our opponents took possession of the ball. We drew two games and won three, which meant we came second overall. Congratulations to Kings Hill for the win! A huge well done to Richard, Fikun, George K-W, Dom, Max, India, Jess B, Andreea, Myla and Zeinab for your teamwork, competitive spirit and resilience. As always, thanks to the parents who came to support.
Friendly against Rosacre
Also, on Tuesday out other netball team played a friendly against Roseacre, this was game was a great practise ready for our league semi-final game we have coming up this term against Loose. The children did very well against a very tall team! Roseacre started strong, with their shooter not missing anything, making the score 5-0 to them. However, in the second half our players changed tactics to get the ball passed the tall players. With great passing and teamwork from Oliver and Aidan and some great defending we come back to 6-6. Unfortunately, Roseacre scored in the last few seconds of the game. It was a great game to watch and our team represented our school well. Well done to Amelia, Henry, Cody, Oliver, Aidan, Jess, Ava, Harmony, Ama and Jovan. Thank you to Mrs Ponton for being our referee and to the parents for their support.
Change for Life Event
Last week, two teams of year 1 and year 2 children took part in the change for life event held at East Borough. Children from Holborough Lakes, Kings Hill, Aylesford and Leybourne Chase came to join in the fun too. All the children really enjoyed themselves and were proud to represent their school. They had fun seeing how far they could jump, navigating the obstacle course along with other events and it ended with an exciting bounce hopper race. They did very well and we came third. A massive well done to Harper, Harriet, Elliot, Aidan, Hollie, Oliver Ch, Sara, Oliver R, Izabela, Yain, Lora and Marina. The event would not have ran so smoothly if it wasn’t for our year 4 sports crew, they did an amazing job of explaining the tasks and encouraging the children. Thank you, Krish, Unat, Shahir , Nina, Elliott, Lucille , Ema, Afonso , Harley, Alex J and Corin.
. .
Year 5 Oakwood Grammar School Football Tournament
On Tuesday 21st May, A year 5 football team travelled to compete at the (very wet!) Oakwood Grammar School Y5 football tournament. In the group stages, the children recorded an opening game draw against Ditton, and a narrow 1-0 defeat against Roseacre and two wins ( 2-0 against Sandling and 3-1 against Brunswick Park). This meant the team finished second in their group and progressed directly into the quarter-finals. In the quarter-final, they played West Malling Primary and after a very close game, they were edged out 1-0 with only an incredible goal-line clearance preventing the game from going to penalties. The team played very well on their first outing together and the sportsmanship displayed was a credit to the school. Well done to the whole team, Unnat, Dom, Maruf, Masen, Bernard, Jimmy, Harley, Alex and Afonso. Particular mention to Dom for his outstanding saves and Afonso for some great finishing in front of goal.
Term 4 (2023/2024)
Climbing League at The Climbing Experience
This week we took 6 children the take part in the Climbing league at the Climbing Experience in Maidstone. All the children enjoyed themselves, were amazing and gave it their all. The support they gave each other was out of this world, especially Ollie and Abbie towards the younger ones. They took part in many different challenges, being scored on each one. They climbed through pool noodles, climbed blind folded and wearing boxing gloves! Well done to Adriel, Roslina, Ronnie, Taylor, Ollie and Abigail, who came 3rd. Thank you to Mrs Simmons who took the children and to the parents for helping with lifts and supporting the team. Mrs Simmons said that she felt very proud of every single one of the children.
. .
Boys & Girls Football League game against St John’s
On Thursday 14th March, both East Borough boys and girls teams took on St John's Primary in their football league matches. In the boys' match, the first half was a close contest going in at 2-2. However, in the second half, St John's took the advantage with several quick goals. Although EB got one back, it was only to be a consolation with the final score at 9-3. Well done to Max, Henry, Blake, Zack, Aidan, Oliver, Cody, Luke.
The girls' match was the first in the brand-new kit which looked very smart. The game took place mostly in EB's half with St John's scoring 4 in the first half. Some good blocks and tackles from Menaha stopped a few 1-on-1 situations occurring. The girls showed great resilience and determination, especially from Bella, who really tried to be brave on the ball by dribbling at the opposition. The final score was 8-0 however, I was impressed by the teamwork and resilience to keep going until the end. Well done, Florence, Menaha, Ema, Harmony, Jess, Amelia, Bella and Jovan.
.
Netball league match against Allington
On Tuesday, East Borough travelled to Allington for our 3rd league netball match. Despite the awful weather conditions, we started strong leading 5 – 2 for the first 3 quarters but Allington fought back during the final quarter and the final score was 6- 6. Mrs Baldwin was really proud of the whole team for powering through the rain and freezing conditions and showing their amazing sportsmanship. A big thank you to Mrs Weal for coming along as a parent helper!
Year 2 PE trip to Gymfinity Kids
The year 2 children were very lucky to visit Gymfinity Kids at the Newnham Court Shopping Village. They enjoyed an hour of climbing, jumping, blanacing and rolling led by the brilliant coaches. The children thoroughly enjoyed their time there and many of the children gained confidence in using the equipment.
East Borough’s Netball team are Champions!
Well done to our year 6 netballers. Not only have they finished top of their group in the Maidstone Netball league, so they will have a semi-final to play soon, but they also won the Maidstone Year 6 Netball tournament last week. They all played very well, despite being freezing and wet. In our group they beat Loose 2-1, Brunswick 2-0, Oaks 7-0 and Barming 7-0. We then played Loose again in the Quarter finals, beating them 4-1, we beat Roseacre 4-2 in the semis and played amazingly well to beat Greenfields in the final 3-2. Well done to Jessica, Harmony, Henry, Ava, Oliver, Aidan, Cody, Jovan, Amelia and Ama for showing great resilience in the pouring rain. It was a pleasure to take the team and see their great team work. A big thank you to Mrs Seymour, Mrs Baldwin and Mrs Ponton for giving up their own time to train the children after school and thank you to the parents that were able to get the children over to Cornwallis.
Term 3 (2023/2024)
Netball league match against West Borough
The Year 6 netball team had a league game away at Westborough Primary School this week. We started strongly from the outset and by the end of the first quarter, the score was 4 – 0 to East Borough. The game continued in the same way, with excellent centre court play, great shooting, and - on the rare occasion the ball made it to their circle – some strong defence from us. Westborough didn’t give up and showed great resilience, moving their players around to try different positions and tactics, which allowed them to score 3 goals. The final score was 18 – 3 to East Borough. Very well done to Aiden, Oliver, Harmony, Ama, Amelia, Jovan, Ava, Jessica, Cody and Henry who all played brilliantly! Thank you also the parents who came to support.
Girls Football league match against South Borough
On Monday 29th January, the girls' football team travelled to South Borough Primary School for a league fixture. They had already played earlier in the year at the tournament at Maidstone United and knew it would be a tough match. The girls played exceptionally well and showed great team spirit despite the result going against them. There were two excellent goals; the first from Jovan who drove on from halfway, beating several players to score a fantastic individual goal. The second came from Jovan's shot which was saved and parried out to Jess, who smashed the ball into the net. Well done to all the girls, Florence, Harmony, River, Matilda, Andreea, Menaha, Jess, Jovan and Amelia; they showed great resilience and togetherness.
Kent Schools Table Tennis Tournament
This week, Mrs North & Mrs Baldwin took the Table Tennis club children to a tournament in Sittingbourne. They had a great morning and enjoyed playing against children from other schools. Firstly, they all played in a group of 3 and then went onto the main competition or the consolation depending on where they came in their group. The boys were up against some great players, but they all tried their very best and played well. Max and Afonso ended up playing each other, it was a close match, which resulted in Max getting to the semi-finals of the consolation. The girls didn’t have as many players entered. Keisi and Trillium have only been playing for a few weeks and they enjoyed their first ever competition. Amelia came second in the main event and Vaishika won the consolation, with Keisi as the runner up.
Well done to Max, Amelia, Afonso, Krish, Micah, Keisi, Trillium, Jude, Vaishika and Jake. Thank you to the parents who came to support the team.
. . .
Boys and Girls Football League match against North Borough
Double win for East Borough!
On Thursday 25th January, East Borough took a girls and a boys football team over to the 3G pitch at Invicta to play their league football matches against North Borough.
The first half of the girls match was an even affair, with both sides competing well. Florence made a great save to keep the scores level. In the second half, East Borough came out quickly and went into a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Bella and Jovan. Although North Borough put on the pressure and came close with a couple of dangerous free kicks, the East Borough defence held out and saw the game out to come away as 2-0 winners. It was great to see the girls' progress; they all competed with great spirit. Well done to the players: Florence, Harmony, Ema, Bella, Olivia, Jess, Jovan, and Matilda.
The boys started off slow with many chances. North Borough showing a good defence. However, as soon as Zack stepped on the pitch, East Borough stepped up a gear and he scored within his first minute of playing. The team went from strength to strength with great team play and Zack scoring an extra 6 goals! Oliver finished the game with a great goal, which resulted in East Borough winning 8 -0. Well done to Oliver, Zack, Richard, Aidan, Luke, Henry, Damien and Blake. Oliver and Richard did a great job being in goal in Max’s absence.
Year 4 VIPS Benchball Competition
Year 4 took part in a Bench ball competition against the other VIAT Primary Schools at the Invicta sports hall. We took two teams, the tigers and lions (names chosen by the children) Our first match was against each other, they were quite evenly matched, but the Tigers won! Both teams played very well, and we were very proud to have them represent our school. It was a very exciting and noisy competition with some very close matches. Oliver, Harley and Theo did amazingly well defending our bench. Well done to Ben, Bosmond, Harley, Nirapam, Oliver, Farian, Azad, Sulaiman, Harry, Theo, Holly, Florence, Amelia, Tamira, Zara, Lilly, Evelyn, Elowen, Olivia and Lola.
. . .
VIAT Elite Masterclass
On Wednesday, Jovan and Oliver attended their second VIAT masterclass. The session was run by Kristian Nash,
an Elite Level Sprinter, ranked 1st in the UK in over 5 disciplines including the 200m, 300m and 400m resulting in many international sports successes. He spoke to the students about the importance of resilience in their sport and that things will always go wrong, but it is how we deal with this that dictates whether we make it or not.
Kristian has recently received his invite for the Olympic trials and is being coached by Linford Christie OBE (The only British man to win gold medals in the 100m at all four major events).
Term 2 (2023/2024)
VIAT PE Masterclass
Last week Oliver and Jovan, from year 6 were chosen to attend a PE masterclass along with some other pupils from the VIAT Primary and Secondary schools. This session was led by Jessica Tappin, who is a GB Commonwealth Heptathlon athlete. They thoroughly enjoyed the session and are looking forward to the next planned sessions in the new year.
Sports Crew
The Sports Crew have been organising some fun activities on both the KS1 and KS2 playgrounds over the past two weeks! The younger children in KS1 have enjoyed taking part in Cat and Mouse and What’s the Time Mr Wolf, whilst children on the KS2 playground have been busy taking part in different challenges such as, the most star jumps and hops over cone in 60 seconds. This week (week commencing 27/11/23), Alex from year 5 won our gold medal for over 112 hops! Well done Alex!
Netball News
Our year 6 netball team were in action this week in our first league game of the season against Brunswick House Primary school.
It was the first chance our team have had to play together and they showed great teamwork and resilience. We moved the ball easily round the court and defended well in the circle when Brunswick got the ball. Our shooters were on great form and we eventually won the match 11 – 1.
Well done to the team: Cody, Aiden, Oliver, Harmony, Ava, Amelia, Ama, Jess B, Jess R, Henry, Richard and Jovan. It was a great to start to our season and Mrs Baldwin, Mrs Ponton and Mrs Seymour are very proud of how well you supported each other and the great sportsmanship you showed.
VIPS Year 1 Agility Competition
Congratulations to our year 1 team for coming second in the VIPS agility competition. They all did amazingly well and represented our school very well. It was a very close competition and they only lost out on first place by 1 point! They look part in a variety of events, such as long jump, standing vertical jump, speed bounce, target throwing and a few more. It was great to see them cheering on their teammates throughout the event. Well done to Ivy, Gerard, Yusuf, Pippa, Adrielle, Harper, Stefans and Jack. Thank you to all the parents who were able to come and support the team.
Maidstone schools’ Cross-country race at Mote Park
This week Mrs North took 34 children to Mote Park to take part in the Maidstone school’s cross-country race. Under the sunny skies, our children showcased their endurance and determination as they raced through the muddy terrain. All of them giving it their very best. Thank you to all the parents who were able to help with lifts and for cheering the children on as they raced passed. Well done to;
Year 2 - Charlie, Ollie, Harvey-Jack, Cashel, Ilana, Yalda, Chisimdi, Madison and Zarin.
Year 3 - Ace, Gabriel, Mollie and Aicha.
Year 4 - Azad, Ben, Edan, Harley, Holly and Rosie.
Year 5 - Esme, Jessica, Grace, Amelia, Alex, Shahir, Nazir and Sebastian.
Year 6 - Henry, Andreea, Alexia, Darcie and Sophia.
We are pleased to say that the results have been announced. Each school have given points depending on their children’s position in each race and have announced the top four schools. We didn’t reach the top 4 in KS2 but East Borough are currently 2nd in KS1. There will be another 2 cross-country events to add to our score later in the year.
KS1 Cross Country:
1st - Palace Wood
2nd - East Borough
3rd - Greenfields
4th - Loose
Climbing Competition
On Wednesday 15th November, East Borough took a team of children to The Climbing Experience in Maidstone for a competition. The children worked together on different climbing challenges to score points for their team. Some challenges involved being blind folded and even climbing in boxing gloves! Well done to Isla, Dylan, Michael, Vega, Micky and Jessica for achieving third place overall!
Term 1 (2023/2024 )
U11s Champions League Tournament
On Monday 16 October, a team of girls took part in the U11s Girls Champions League Tournament at the Gallagher Stadium. They were one of 30 teams that took part. The group stages saw games against VIAT Aylesford and Leybourne Chase and West Borough. The girls were very determined, and the results took them into the knockout stages as a best third place in the group with goals from Jovan and Jessie.
The last 16 fixture put EB against Coxheath. After a close game, with some excellent defending to keep the opposition out, East Borough progressed into the quarter finals with a close 1-0 victory. The quarter-final, against South Borough (the eventual winners of the event), resulted in defeat and elimination from the tournament in the last 8.
Well done to all the girls, Menaha, Ema, Amelia, Florence, Jovan, Jessie, Harmony, and Bella. They represented the school to a high standard and clearly enjoyed the experience. Thanks also to the parents who supported the team and provided transport.
VIPS Year 2 Football Tournament
This week our year 2 football team travelled to Holborough Lakes to play against the other VIAT Primary schools in a football tournament. The children have been having football sessions with some year 6 children at lunch time to prepare for the tournament. None of the children in year 2 play for a football team outside of school so this was their first football match. We didn’t manage to beat any of the other schools, but they enjoyed themselves and tried their very best. Rory, who normally plays rugby, was great in goal and did some great saves.
Well done to Tobiaz, Neil, Ibrahim, Mila, Rory, Daria, Elisa, Albie, Arley and Mario and thank you to the parents who were able to come and support them.
U11’s Champions League Football Tournament, Gallagher Stadium
East Borough boys put on a splendid performance at the Kent Schools Football Tournament hosted by Maidstone United at the Gallagher Stadium. Given a tricky group in the first round against a few of our VIPS adversaries, the boys managed to finish top - recording three wins, one draw and one defeat. These results meant we were up against the 3rd best-placed finisher for the round of 16, Platt’s Heath. We duly saw them off in a tough encounter, winning 2-0. Up next were the quarters, where we narrowly came up short in a 0-1 defeat, the only goal coming from a penalty. The boys represented the East Borough core values superbly throughout and demonstrated great sportsmanship, teamwork and talent.
West Borough Girls vs East Borough Girls
There were goals galore in the first game of the new season, a real East meets West affair. East Borough fielded a relatively mixed team, comprised of those with regular footballing experience and those who, three weeks prior, had barely touched a football.
East Borough began as the stronger of the two teams, taking a swift 0-2 lead through two well-worked goals from Jovan. After the shock of two goals, West Borough seemed to find their feet and pressed heavily on the attack, scoring two goals to level it up at 2-2. Five minutes before the halftime whistle, West Borough was awarded a penalty for a handball offence. Despite a valiant effort, Amelia couldn't save it, and it was neatly tucked away in the corner by the West Borough striker. West Borough then led 3-2 at halftime.
Changes in the second half led to Menaha making her debut between the sticks. West Borough was quick and aggressive on the attack, forcing several fine saves from Menaha. Despite her efforts, West Borough finally managed to navigate a tough defence to score another well-worked goal.
Following this goal, East Borough ramped up their attacking efforts, with our defender Ema carving her way through most of the West Borough defence before finally being blocked off. East Borough continued to attack in waves, but sadly to no avail. Mid-way through the second half, East Borough had a golden opportunity to halve the goal difference when West Borough conceded a penalty. Unfortunately, this was saved brilliantly by the West Borough goalkeeper.
With 8 minutes left, it looked like the game was out of sight, but we showed resilience and the 'East Borough spirit'; Jessica and Jovan combined well to make it 4-3. Several minutes later, their attacking efforts paid off again, with the West Borough defence gifting Jovan the ball to make the game level at 4-4 and giving Jovan her fourth goal.
The girls played amazingly well, with everyone giving their all for the game. You could not tell the difference between those with experience and those new to football. They should all be proud of their play, teamwork, resilience and hard work.
Well done Jovan, Bella, Menaha, Amelia, Harmony, Jessica, Florence, Matilda and Ema.
Thank you, Mr Burchell, for coaching the team and the parents who came to support us.
VIPS Year 4 Football Tournament
4th October, Year 4 played football in a tournament against the VIAT Primary Schools, Aylesford and Leybourne Chase. Firstly, we played against Aylesford, who got an early lead, but then we got a penalty, scored by Jude, to equalise. The game ended with us winning 2-1 thanks to a great team effort and Solomon scoring the winning goal.
In our final game, against Leybourne Chase, we had a lot of chances, Jude made some great saves in goal, and Harry defended well, then Thomas managed to score, and we won 1-0. The players all played well and showed our core values.
Well done, Thomas, Jude B, Solomon, Micah, Elliott, David, Jude P, Oliver and Harry, the Year 4 football champions.
Thank you to Mrs & Mrs Baldwin for helping with the team and to the Invicta students and teachers for organising it.
VIAT Year 6 Football Tournament
This week (w/c September 25th), we had our first sporting event of the year. Our Year 6 football team played against the other VIAT Primary Schools. Our team conducted themselves with great sportsmanship and were excellent on the pitch. We recorded a 6-0 win against Kings Hill, a 4-0 win over Leybourne Chase and a 0–0 draw with Aylesford. These results put us in a good position for the final match, which we needed to win to bring home the trophy. We met stern opposition in the form of Holborough Lakes. Unfortunately, they won 1–0. Aylesford lifted the trophy, and we came second.
We are very proud of how well the team worked together and supported each other. It was lovely to see some of our past pupils, now at SST, cheering for the team. Thank you to all the parents who came to support us, with thanks also to the girls from Invicta who refereed the games.
Well done: Oliver, Zack, Richard, Aidan, Luke, Damien and Max.