On Thursday a select few from Yr4 were chosen to attend the ‘Badminton Festival’, a morning of new skills for many and introduction to the fantastic sport, which ended with some truly amazing rallies. The children were outstanding, demonstrating respect and kindness to each other, and whomever they played with and against. A group of truly brilliant ambassadors. Well done. 

The first day of the summer term started with a bang as the Southmead football teams hosted Woolacombe for a friendly game. The sun was shining, the pitches were bustling with spectators and Southmead demonstrated utter resilience. 

It didn’t go their way, for either U9s or U11s, yet their perseverance and teamwork are to be commended. Well done boys, a fantastic afternoon of football and fun. We will get them next time! 

Amazing to see the girls enjoy football in the sunshine. Brilliant to see this girls football at Southmead thrive! 

Here are some amazing pieces of artwork from the children who attend our art club.

Congratulations to our exemplary Netball teams that attended the Police tournament at Kingsacre yesterday morning. They did so incredibly well, with Team A placing 3rd and Team B 5th.

Team A played some of the best netball of the competition, with fluid passing, tactical movement and fantastic shooting. 

The majority of Team B had never played a competitive game of netball before, and even though experience was not on their side, they did not give up. Your teamwork and support for one another must be commended.  

A round of applause for-

Team A

Eva F

Arno WD

Winter S

Brian T

Missy T

Faith T

Sophie T

Amelia D

Team B

Max M

William Y

Harry R

Layla R

Lilyanna 

Teddy CW

Macie A

Esme J

Special mentions go to - 

Harry R for his fantastic speed, pivoting and movement around the court - you have come a long way. 2 house pts. 

Faith T for giving it your all, asking for support and guidance and being 100% committed. 2 house pts.

Well done to you all. It is truly wonderful seeing your passion and commitment to sport, long may it last. Netball training is on Monday…see you there! 

An amazing day at the North Devon Netball Finals on March 5th at Park School, with our Level 1 Year 5 and 6 qualifying team. Southmead finished 4th in their pool of 7 teams, with only 1 point in it between 3rd and 2nd place, so a tight finish between the top 4. Southmead went on into the playoffs and finished 7th out the 14 teams that attended. It was fabulous to witness some brilliant netball and how well the team supported one another throughout the games. Well done Winter, Arno, Eva, Brian, Macie, Missy and Sophie. You should all be very proud of how well you demonstrated respect and sportsmanship for others, yourselves and for our school. 

On Sunday March 3rd, the finals of the Bremco North Devon Cross Country League took place at West Buckland School. The sun shone, crowds were bustling, parents and teachers cheering and hundreds of excited children were getting ready to race. 

When the results finally came in, the U9 girls were eagerly awaiting their well-deserved medals. Very proudly, the U9 girls smashed it! 

U9 Girls

1st place - Maisie C- U9s XC champion 

2nd place - Maggie T

U9 Girls team

1st Southmead A team - Maisie, Maggie, Freda, Amiee

4th Southmead B team - Dakota, Lana, Freya, BB

Huge congratulations to those that took part in the XC season. 

U11 Girls - Running for Southmead 

Esme J 

Nanise K

U11 Boys - Running for Southmead 

Arthur W 

U11 Boys - Running for North Devon Athletics Club and coming 3rd in the team event. 

Winter S 

Arno WD

Southmead girls take the North Devon title and head to Newton Abbot for the county cup and a chance to be crowned the best school team in Devon 2024. 

Southmead’s Year 3 and 4 girls' football team headed off to Kingsley School in Bideford with a spring in their step.

Having won the local Braunton-area tournament at Kingsacre back in October, they had qualified for the North Devon finals, where they’d be up against the other winning teams from the local area. A dedicated and hardworking squad of girls had trained after school every week in preparation for the final.

Southmead were fast out of the blocks in the first game, striker Bella-Blue scoring early against South Molton with an unstoppable drive. Before they had time to recover, Maggie had made it two. With Martha providing width and incisive runs on the right, Freya providing rock-solid goalkeeping in front of Zephine and Florence, there was no way back for South Molton.

The second game provided a much sterner test, as Woolacombe put us under some early pressure with strong physical play and quick passing. But as the game grew, it was Southmead asking all the questions, going close on a number of occasions. Gracie's and Lou Lou's first appearances gave us an injection of energy and a goal felt inevitable but Woolacombe weathered the storm and Southmead had to settle for a point that saw us top the group.

Into the finals, we faced up to the two other group winners - Ilfracombe and Kingsacre - to see who would win the ultimate prize. Ilfracombe were the first test and we were ready for it. Piper, our sole Year 3 representative, made her debut and shone with her bravery and smart decision-making. Left winger Lana also stood out with her speed down the flank, her chasing back and her snappy passing. Our forward duo of Bella-Blue and Maggie once again caught fire, each of them grabbing two goals in a convincing 4-0 win.

Our final game, against Kingsacre, carried echoes of the Woolacombe match. Southmead pushed and pushed for a goal, with the ball barely leaving the Kingsacre half. But through a combination of bad luck and excellent goalkeeping, our goal never came. And when Kingsacre made a smart, long throw on the halfway line, they took full advantage; their striker burying an unstoppable shot to take a 1-0 win against the run of play.

But all was not lost, Kingsacre would still need to beat a strong Ilfracombe side to take the trophy and we watched on nervously then with hope, as Ilfracombe took a deserved lead and held onto it, meaning we were champions thanks to our strong goal difference.

The team, coached by Mrs Smith, Mrs Frazer and me, celebrated wildly at the presentation, our first ever North Devon trophy and the chocolate-fuelled partying, singing and dancing continued all the way back to Braunton.

Having already made history, how far can this team of fearless lionesses go? Now, the county cup awaits.

It was brilliant to see our children out skipping.  Those who could skip supported those who couldn't and really importantly, we were all so proud that everyone gave it a go!  Even the staff!