Calmore Junior School

17/07/2026

What a way to finish an incredible week! 🌈

The bursts of colour filling the sky (and even our nostrils!) perfectly captured the energy, excitement and unforgettable experiences shared by everyone.

A huge thank you to the CJSA for organising another fantastic Colour Run – bringing smiles, laughter and plenty of fun to all involved. With four laps of the track, children were showered in vibrant powder paint, ending up decorated from head to toe. It was messy, joyful and absolutely brilliant!

We’re also so grateful to everyone who sponsored the children. Your support means this event wasn’t just fun, but will also help benefit the children here at school.

What a colourful, happy way to celebrate the end of a fantastic week! 🎉

17/07/2026

Calmore’s World Cups came to a thrilling conclusion today, with the whole school gathering to cheer on the eight teams still standing. By splitting the competition into both Cup and Plate tournaments, an incredible 24 pupils had the chance to play in finals in front of more than 160 classmates and staff – an experience they’ll never forget.

The afternoon began with the Plate Finals. In the boys’ competition, Cape Verde produced a superb display to defeat Iran 3–0. The girls’ final was a much tighter affair, with England and Croatia unable to be separated before England held their nerve to win 2–0 on penalties and lift the Plate.

Next came the Cup Finals. The girls’ showpiece between South Africa and Austria was a fantastic contest, expertly officiated by Mr Bowers, with Miss Garrathy and Mr Hinton serving as assistant referees. The game was played in a wonderful spirit, and a flurry of goals saw South Africa crowned champions after a brilliant hat-trick from Poppy secured a 3–1 victory.

The final match of the day saw the mighty USA face the tiny island nation of Curaçao. A true David and Goliath clash on paper, but the football told a different story. It was a fiercely competitive contest settled by a single moment of quality, as Zach’s clever flicked header proved enough to give Curaçao a famous victory and send their supporters into celebration.

What a fantastic occasion from start to finish. Seeing the whole school come together to celebrate sport, teamwork and fair play made the day even more special.

And perhaps the biggest surprise of all? At Calmore… England actually won the World Cup! 🏆⚽

17/07/2026

16/07/2026

Another day at Calmore… 💙

This morning’s End of Year Celebration was a joyous occasion - and proof that not all 90 minutes have to end in disappointment! ⚽️🥹 Thank you to for hosting us as we reflected on the highlights of an incredible year and celebrated the many memorable moments since September. Sports awards, pupil achievements and two fantastic songs from Year 6’s Grossbusters made for a wonderful morning together.

No sooner had we returned to school than 97 pupils headed onto the field for the semi-finals of the Calmore World Cups. The excitement didn’t disappoint—and the good news is… England are through to the final! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Congratulations also to Croatia, South Africa and Austria, who have reached the girls’ Cup and Plate finals, and to Cape Verde, Curaçao, Iran and the USA, who will contest the boys’ finals. The competition reaches its thrilling conclusion tomorrow afternoon in front of the whole school.

As the final bell rang, it was time for one last curtain call. After performing to the school on Tuesday and parents last night, Year 6 took to the stage one final time for their spectacular Grossbusters show - and what a way to sign off! They had us in stitches from start to finish (the water guns and B.U.M. references certainly played their part!), and the prolonged ovation at the end showed just how much everyone appreciated their performance. What a fitting finale to their time at Calmore.

Finally, a huge thank you to all of our staff. Your dedication today, throughout this term and across the entire year has made moments like these possible.
What an incredible day… and a wonderful reminder of what an incredible year it has been. 💙

09/07/2026

Year 3 had a blooming marvellous time learning about plants this week.

Yesterday we set up an experiment to see how water is transported in plants. We learnt that the water travels through the xylem in the stem to the leaves and petals. We really enjoyed putting ink in the water and seeing the results.

We were also lucky to welcome parents, aunties & uncles, grandparents and friends into school to help us dissect flowers and learn about their different parts for pollination and reproduction.

Hard work in the heat but great fun! 🌺

01/07/2026

What a great last gardening club it was today!

We picked the sweet peas and wild flowers and gave them to our library service friends. We planted raspberry bushes, geraniums and lavender. Harvesting the potatoes was so much fun, we even took some home! The garlic and onions were ready too!

It’s such a privilege to work with such enthusiastic young gardeners and share our amazing space! Our school garden is bursting with produce and life! A peaceful place where we learn, explore nature and enjoy the outdoors! How lucky we are!

29/06/2026

Another year, another Sports Day… but this one was unlike any other!

After two postponements (thanks to both rain and scorching sunshine!), it really was a case of third time lucky. Today’s weather couldn’t have been much better.

Every single pupil was magnificent, working together in their house teams across 11 different events. The field was filled with cheers of encouragement, celebrations of success and, of course, the occasional flying welly boot! The atmosphere was simply fantastic.

Following the morning events, our fastest runners took to the track for the sprint and relay races, cheered on by parents, families and staff. Then came the eagerly anticipated Parents vs Staff relay, where the teachers graciously (and very generously!) allowed the parents to claim victory… 😉

With the races complete, all that remained was to crown this year’s winning house… or so everyone thought.

Not this year!

Our staff took to the track one final time for a spectacular inflatable race, with capybaras, axolotls, dinosaurs, lizards, sharks and even a sausage dog battling it out in a memorable grand finale that had everyone laughing.

Finally, the results were revealed:

🥉 Fourth place – Griffin
🥉 Third place – Phoenix
🥈 Second place – Unicorn
🏆 And once again, our Sports Day Champions… Salamander!

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make today such a special event – our fantastic Testwood Young Leaders, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and supporters, our amazing school staff, and, of course, the incredible children, who gave every event their all and embodied the true spirit of teamwork and sportsmanship.

Third time lucky… and it was absolutely worth the wait!

26/06/2026

When life gives you lemons…

Year 6 showed their creative sides today as they were given the chance to explore and follow their own interests. With fewer pupils in, rehearsals for the ‘Gross’ end of year show were paused and instead the children allowed to choose their own learning. We had research into the police force, creative writing, artwork inspired by the show and the weather while Nate set up his own raspberry pi to measure and monitor moisture levels in the plants around school!!!

Days like these are what make Calmore such a special place…

26/06/2026

We are pleased to share with you the news that we have once again been awarded the School Games Gold Mark! This is now the fourth consecutive year that we have achieved this accolade - a Government-led award scheme that rewards schools for their commitment to the development of sports provision and competition across the school and into the community.

We set ourselves the target of getting 75% of the pupils to represent the school at one or more sporting competitions this year and we are delighted to say that, with one more rounders competition to come, we have already surpassed that as we sit at 78%. If we include the 96 pupils that are currently competing in our Calmore World Cup, that figure rises to 85%!

Well done to all the children for being so keen and enthusiastic when it comes to sport and giving something new a go!

Next year, having achieved gold for four years running, we will be eligible to apply for the Platinum Award! Can’t wait! 🏆