Latest News
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World Book Day
Fri 08 Mar 2024 -
North Devon Netball Finals
Tue 05 Mar 2024An 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.
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U9 Girls Cross County winners and runners up
Tue 05 Mar 2024On 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
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North Devon Schools U9 Girls Football Final
Fri 09 Feb 2024Southmead 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.
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Skipathon
Fri 09 Feb 2024It 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!
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No 10 Downing Street, London
Fri 02 Feb 2024Our children and staff had a fantastic time during their visit to No 10 Downing Street, to meet Mrs Murty as part of Children's Mental Health Week.
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CEET Update
Fri 05 Jan 202429th November 2023
Southmead Lower KS2 had so much fun at Croyde Beach with Ranger Holly on their last session. The students explored the beach, collecting fishing net, shells and driftwood along the way for a festive craft! They returned to the indoor space with buckets full of treasure to make Christmas decorations with. They were tasked with making one out of the fishing net they had found to add to the Croyde’s ‘rubbish tree’ and one with shells and driftwood to take home. The Christmas tree found at the entrance to Croyde Beach is made from masses of fishing net collected each year by the Beach Ranger Team and is decorated with various litter that washes in or is left on the beach. This year, the theme is community, and the idea is that people clean the beach at the same time as using that litter to decorate the tree. It was great for the group to get involved and add their own creations!
At the end of the session, Rufus said a huge thankyou to Ella (Schools Education Lead) for running such fun sessions this term with them, and that she was “the loveliest person he’d met!”
15th December
Southmead Upper KS2 enjoyed the fresh ocean air at Croyde Beach with Ranger Holly on their last session. The students explored the beach, collecting fishing net, shells and driftwood as they wondered in the winter sunshine. They returned to the indoor space with buckets full of treasure to make Christmas decorations with. They were tasked with making one out of the fishing net they had found to add to the Croyde’s ‘rubbish tree’ and one with shells and driftwood to take home. The Christmas tree found at the entrance to Croyde Beach is made from masses of fishing net collected each year by the Beach Ranger Team and is decorated with various litter that washes in or is left on the beach. This year, the theme is community, and the idea is that people clean the beach at the same time as using that litter to decorate the tree. It was great for the group to get involved and add their own creations!
Summary
Southmead KS2 have simply been awesome on their first term joining CEET. Every single student from both groups were outstanding throughout, their manners are impeccable and the friendships amongst them are lovely to watch grow as the term has gone on.
No matter the activity, each student showed up with so much excitement to be outdoors which was just wonderful and really showed us at CEET that these sessions are so valuable to each child that attends. Over the course of the term, the students had the opportunity to develop their own individual skill sets and discover new skills to take away with them. Despite often having tasks that could be completed independently, their kindness to help one another in times of difficulty and sense of teamwork that progressed was fantastic.
These students were an absolute pleasure to have attend CEET sessions and an asset to Southmead Primary School. -
Class Photos for Classroom Decoration Competition and Christmas Hampers event
Fri 08 Dec 2023 -
Primary Maths Challenge
Fri 08 Dec 2023Recently our Upper Key Stage 2 children took part in The Primary Maths Challenge. This national contest involves pupils from schools all over the country competing against each other. The problem solving challenge requires children to think outside the box, solve logical problems and try their best. Our Year 5 and 6 pupils were fantastic - a real credit to our school. The results are already in and we had lots of bronze, silver and gold awards. Gold awards were achieved by: William Y, Arthur W, Sebastian M, Skye P, Flynn L, Peter D, Effie S, Mila T, Thomas C, Spencer P, Sofia D, Rose TH, Max M, Sebastian B, Neo R and Eva F. Well done to everyone who took part!
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CEET Update
Mon 04 Dec 2023Tuesday 31st October- Lower KS2
The aim of this session was to demonstrate to the group the impact Humans can have on the planet, by litter picking at Crow Point. We certainly did that, with a whopping 8kg collected in an hour! Every individual was so enthusiastic to clean up the strand line and show what they were finding. Piper even found a crisp packet from 1991! We played a few games in the process too, including finding the most variety of coloured plastics. The session was cut slightly short due to the weather, but despite this the children were in great spirits to have a chat on the minibus about what they found most interesting on the litter pick; bird bones and different compositions of rocks were included in this.
Wednesday 1st November- Upper KS2
Storm Ciaran had a different plan for this group's session, but we didn’t let it stop us! Despite being indoors to shelter from the weather, Southmead had great fun with a plastic pollution workshop at RMB Chivenor’s Church Hall. We began the session with a children’s book about environmental issues ‘It’s Up To Us’ to introduce the theme of their session. The group then took part in various activities:
- Being a Voice for Nature- if you were an ocean creature, what would you be? This got the students thinking about how different animals live in the sea, and how human pollution can impact this.
- Why the Ocean is so Important- thinking about all the things we use the ocean for, and why we should keep it healthy.
- Mindful colouring- this gave the students time to take in their thoughts from the session, get imaginative but also have a take home reminder of what they learnt.
It was lovely to see the students supporting one another throughout the session. Leon was particularly kind to Jacob and Harry R had outstanding manners. It was a real pleasure to be around them.
Tuesday 14th November- Lower KS2
Southmead had an extraordinary time in the Douglas Classroom at Rosemoor’s Education Centre. They began by looking at different types of exotic seeds and then interactively learnt how seeds grow- Piper made a fantastic seed! Harrison shared some great knowledge about photosynthesis, confidently telling the group about how ‘leaves are like a natural solar panel for the plant’. It was wonderful to see him so involved in his first CEET session! It was also Frank’s first session, which he loved. He frequently told Ella how much fun he was having and how excited he was to now be on CEET sessions.
As the sun came out, the students got the opportunity to explore the gardens whilst foraging for fallen seeds. They then learnt all about how seeds get dispersed. They finished the session back at the centre, repotting violas and planting pea seeds to take back with them. As always, everyone was a pleasure and so much fun to learn with.
Wednesday 15th November- Upper KS2
Southmead had a glorious time at Northam Burrows Country Park in the sunshine with Ranger Rose. They got the opportunity to explore the new visitors centre, an immersive facility all about the history, flora and fauna at the burrows. Ranger Rose then talked the group through how to safely use a variety of tools which they then used to help the Rangers clean up after some conservation work, they had undertaken on the sand dunes. The session got the students working together in small groups and their teamwork was exceptional. It was so lovely to see their enthusiasm for being outdoors and getting stuck in with some practical work. Orla even said that although she wasn’t sure what her dream job would be, it would have to be outside!
For the second half of the session, we swapped our tools for litter pickers and cleaned up any plastic waste found in the sand dunes. The students got lots of thanks from members of the public for their hard work, they should all feel proud of their achievements.
Tuesday 28th November
This Southmead Lower KS2 session was spent at Northam Burrows Country Park with Ranger Rose conducting some out of classroom Hydrology Science! Before the session even began, Frank said ‘this is so great!’, it was lovely to hear him so excited. They started with an exploration around the visitor’s centre, many of the group had never visited the burrows or the visitors centre before, so it was fantastic to open this opportunity up to them. Whilst exploring on the interactive boards, Noah said he was learning so much and discovered lots of new species of animal and plants.
Each week, the Rangers monitor the underground water levels and this week the students got to assist and learn how to use a Piezometer. Ranger Rose took the students on an informative tour of the land, pointing out various interesting flora and fauna whilst also allowing them to roam free in certain areas and simply enjoy the fresh air and greenspace they were in.
Wednesday 29th November
Southmead Upper KS2 got to experience the wonders of RHS Rosemoor on this session, getting into the festive spirit exploring their winter garden. The students learnt about different plants that thrive in the winter months and then found them growing within the garden, identifying their Latin names. They also foraged for colourful leaves to use in some arts and crafts back at the education centre. In the Douglas Classroom, the group had the opportunity to make a variety of Christmas crafts to take back with them including wreaths and cards, as well as making snowmen cups to plant pea seeds in! They thoroughly enjoyed these activities and were a pleasure to have festive fun with.