On Monday 19th June, 26 teams from all 8 of the SSP’s across the county descended on the Sportspark, UEA to compete in the High 5 Netball Finals as part of the Norfolk School Summer Games 2017. Over 120 teams had taken part in the L2 qualifying competitions with the top two Large Schools and top two Small Schools from each SSP invited to participate.
It was more high 20’s than High 5’s as the temperature neared 30 degrees for parts of the day with everyone doing their best to stay hydrated and seek out some much needed shade.
Large Schools Competition
In the Large Schools section, the 15 schools attending were split into 4 pools of 4 for the morning playing in a round robin format. The early ones to watch were Attleborough, Cringleford A and St. William’s, who all progressed through the morning session undefeated and subsequently topped their respective pools.
Following the conclusion of the morning rounds of matches, the 1st and 2nd team in each pool then advanced to the Cup competition whilst the 3rd and 4th team moved into a Plate competition.
Again, teams played in a group of 4 in a round robin format to determine what positions the teams would be playing off for. It was the familiar sight of Attleborough at the top of Group 1 at the end of this session, although they were given a scare by Stoke Holy Cross who they drew with 2-all in their match and who finished in 2nd place in Group 2. Cringleford A continued their unbeaten run in Group 2, closely followed by the other ‘ones to watch’, St. William’s in 2nd place.
This set up an eagerly anticipated Cup Final between Cringleford A and Attleborough. With no goals exchanged in the opening 5 minutes, Cringleford A eventually broke the deadlock in the 2nd half and then followed this up with a second goal quickly afterwards. Attleborough continued to battle but were unable to get the much needed goals. Cringleford A emerged victorious 2-0 to be crowned Norfolk School Games Y5&6 Large Schools High 5 Netball Winners 2017.
In the 3rd/4th play-off, St. William’s continued their earlier form to carve out a 2-goal lead. Stoke Holy Cross pegged them back with a goal in the 2nd half, but St. William’s managed to score another to claim the Bronze medal with a 3-1 win.
The top 3 teams and Plate winners in the Large Schools competition were:
1st – Cringleford Primary School A (Norwich SSP)
2nd – Attleborough Junior School (Breckland SSP)
3rd – St. Williams’ Primary School (Norwich East SSP)
Plate winners – Blofield Primary School (Norwich East SSP)
The full list of the final standings is available by clicking here.
Small Schools Competition
A few last minute drop outs meant that 11 teams contested the Small Schools section. This was split into two pools with teams playing in a round robin format.
In Pool A, Kenninghall were undefeated throughout the competition to top the pool. Their closest match was against the runners up in the pool, Great Ellingham, which resulted in a 2-all draw.
Meanwhile, Sandringham & West Newton topped Pool B after an equally impressive unbeaten run, which saw them only concede 2 goals throughout the entire rounds of pool matches. They were closely followed by Wreningham in 2nd place.
This pitted the two South Norfolk SSP sides, Kenninghall and Wreningham, against each other in Semi-Final 1. With nothing separating the two sides and the game tied at 1-all at full-time, 2 minutes of extra time was required. Both teams had opportunities to seize victory, but Kennighall were able to score that all important goal that would take them through to the Final.
In Semi-Final 2, Great Ellingham raced out of the blocks and created a 2-goal buffer between them and their opponents Sandringham. Sandringham replied with 2 goals of their own in the 2nd half but Great Ellingham just pipped them to the post, winning 3-2 to set up a replay from the earlier pool matches between Kenninghall and Great Ellingham in the Final.
Determined to improve on their previous stalemate, Kenninghall signalled their intentions early with 3 unanswered goals. Great Ellingham rallied to score a goal in the 2nd half but Kenninghall restored their 3-goal lead. With the whistle blowing for full-time, it was Kenninghall who secured the win 4-1 to be crowned Norfolk School Games Y4-6 Small Schools High 5 Netball Winners 2017.
In the 3rd/4th play-off between Wreningham and Sandringham, Sandringham took an early lead only for Wreningham to overturn this with a resurgent performance in the 2nd half. Sandringham valiantly fought on, scoring another goal but it was Wreningham who managed to clinch the Bronze medal with a 3-2 win.
The top 3 teams in the Small Schools competition were:
1st – Kenninghall Primary School (South Norfolk SSP)
2nd – Great Ellingham Primary School (Breckland SSP)
3rd – Wreningham Primary School (South Norfolk SSP)
The full list of the final standings is available by clicking here.
You can view photos of the Finals and even buy copies of your child taking part as a momento by visiting our School Games photo gallery.
All participants were given a certificate to commemorate their achievements in qualifying for the finals and excellent performances throughout the event. Additionally, school staff were given the opportunity to nominate pupils to receive a Norfolk School Games Sportsmanship Award. These are given to pupils who demonstrate excellent sportsmanlike qualities such as determination, focus, motivation, team work and social skills. As part of the presentation ceremony, certificates were presented to 10 well deserving recipients who had been nominated for an award.
The event was well supported with local adults kindly volunteering their time and young leaders from Norwich School and Sheringham High School assisting with the officiating. International Umpire Gary Burgess was also in attendance to officiate some matches and present the medals and trophies. We would like to thank everyone for their help in making the event a success and congratulate all of the pupils for a fantastic day of competition.
Join a local club
If your child took part in the Finals and is interested in developing their Netball skills further by joining a local team then visit our Clubs page for more information about Netball clubs in Norfolk.
The Norfolk School Games Finals will continue on Tuesday 20th June when young pupils from across Norfolk will compete in the Y5&6 Mixed Kwik Cricket Finals at Horsford Cricket Club.
In the meantime, why not keep up to date with the Norfolk School Games by following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. To find out more about the Games and how your school could get involved please visit the Information page of this site.
