On Thursday 28 November 2013, the boys’ football team played in the national Kids’ Cup, hosted by AFC Wimbledon. The boys were placed in a difficult group in the morning. They drew 1-1 with Esher Church School, beat Honeywell 10-0, beat Christ Church New Malden 1-0 and last year's runners up Cleves 2-1. In the quarter-finals, the team beat Latchmere 4-0, and then in the semi-finals beat Robin Hood (with a player from Crystal Palace Academy) 4-1. Stanley had reached their second final in the space of a week!

 

The winners of the final would play at AFC Wimbledon against all the other southern teams that would represent their League 2 sides (Portsmouth, Dagenham and Redbridge, Plymouth, Torquay, Southend, Cheltenham, Wycombe, Oxford, Exeter and Bristol Rovers, to name a few).

 

Stanley's final opponents were Corpus Christi, the best team in England for the past three years. With three Chelsea Academy players (one being paid a monthly wage!) and one Fulham player, Stanley were in for a tough test. Unfortunately the team were overcome by their opponents and lost in the final, but were runners-up in the tournament. The boys acquitted themselves tremendously throughout the course of the day and Andy Scates and Mr Watson are incredibly proud of their achievements this season. An invaluable experience for all. Runners-up in a tough competition is a fantastic result. Well done, boys.

On Wednesday 20 November 2013, the Stanley boys’ football team represented the school in the borough football tournament at NPL. In the morning group stages, the team were without doubt placed in the strongest group. They played some lovely football and beat St Richard’s and St Andrew’s 1-0, St Edmund’s 1-0, Archdeacon 3-0, East Sheen (with three academy players) 1-0 and Buckingham 2-0. This guaranteed them a place in the cup competition in the afternoon with the other best 15 teams from the morning session. In the knockout stages they beat Archdeacon 2-0; in the quarter finals they showed great character coming from behind to defeat a very strong Chase Bridge team 2-1. Denmead were Stanley's semi- final opponents, and we dispatched them 2-0.

 

In the final, with scouts from Arsenal, Fulham, Charlton and Brentford watching, the boys came up against the winners from the Hampton Grammar School 5 a-side tournament- Hampton Juniors. Again, the boys showed a great attitude after going a goal behind to come back and win the tournament 2-1! This was a fully deserved victory, with every single one of the squad contributing brilliantly and showing a great attitude. This was a fantastic performance and a really fitting send- off for Mr Watson in his final Richmond Borough tournament! Well played, boys. Thanks to Aaron Downes, Andy Scates and Mr Watson for helping coach the boys. The team will now go on and represent Richmond at the London Youth Games at Crystal Palace.

 

Please see below a photo of the victorious team. The young lad on the right of the photo is Sam Saunders of Brentford who presented the trophy!

On Friday 15 November 2013, Stanley achieved a fantastic result at the borough basketball tournament, when the Years 5-6 team were crowned champions following a nail-biting series of games! The best they have ever played! 

 

We started with what we thought was a tough table with our 1st game against St James A. Up in the 1st 1/4, and we all felt extra positive! 2nd 1/4 it was neck and neck – so tense! 3rd 1/4, 13-6.... Last 1/4 St James came out fighting and were determined to take the points! Great run with Aston Nunn scoring 2 baskets in a row, Josh Lawrence shot a 3rd which took it  to 13-12 to St James! St James came back to score again, 15-12! Shooting Foul to us 15-14, and we somehow managed to score a final basket which made it 15-16 to us! What a result!

 

In the 2nd Game we had St Mary's & St Peter's – thinking they were going to be tough, we came out stronger than ever and won 20-10!

 

In the 3rd Game against Nelson we managed a 26-4 win, excellent team effort.

 

In the final game, we were against our ultimate rivals St John the Baptist –it was neck and neck all the way, goal for goal, with so many opportunities for either team to grasp victory! All the way through to the 3rd 1/4 we were up by two 10-8 but it wasn’t convincing enough for us! I the final 1/4, St John the Baptist came back and immediately equalised 10-10. In the final 3 seconds, Josh Lawrence managed to score, making the final result 12-10 to Stanley! Josh was also voted ‘Most Valuable Player’. A truly exceptional achievement.

 

Well done to the Years 3-4 team, who came third in the tournament, despite having 6 members to other teams’ 10+ members.  The team won both its games against St John the Baptist and St Mary’s and St Peter’s, 10-8.  Extra special mention to Hannah Porter who, under great pressure, scored the Golden Basket after a shooting foul against St Mary’s and St Peter’s. Well done, Hannah!

 

On Tuesday 5 November 2013, we were very fortunate to have a visit from three current professional footballers from AFC Wimbledon. Rhys Weston, Andy Frampton and Alan Bennett all spoke eloquently during a special assembly and gave a real insight into what life is like as a professional footballer. Both Rhys and Alan have represented their countries and Andy has played in the Premiership, so it was yet another coup to have such well respected professionals come to Stanley Primary School. The players then gave a coaching masterclass to the girls' football squad, and stayed for photos and a signing session.

 

History of the players

 

Rhys Weston has represented the Welsh national football team seven times between 2000 and 2005. An Arsenal Academy graduate, he made one appearance in the 1999–2000 campaign against Alan Shearer and Newcastle, before signing with Cardiff City. He spent six years with Cardiff, making 214 appearances in league and cup, helping them to two promotions. Released by the club in 2006, he travelled to Norway to sign with Viking FK, though he only played one game. In 2007 he transferred to Walsall via Port Vale. He then moved to Scottish club Dundee in 2010 and captained the side to a second place finish in the First Division in 2011–12. In May 2012, he joined Icelandic club KR Reykjavík. Five months later he signed for Malaysian club Sabah FA. He returned to England with AFC Wimbledon in July 2013.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2333338/The-Footballers-Football-Column--Rhys-Weston-Thierry-Henry-genius-training-Ryan-Giggs-boosted-confidence.html

 

Andy Frampton progressed through the youth system at Crystal Palace before breaking into the first team and making his Football League debut at the age of 19 on 3 April 1999 in a 1–0 win over Norwich City at Carrow Road. He went on to make five more appearances for the club during the 1998–99 season, with the club ultimately finishing 14th in the league. During the 1999–2000 season he made 10 league appearances, including a 4–0 win over Portsmouth on 2 October 1999, with the club once again ending the season having achieved a mid–table league ranking of 15th. The 21–year old defender made another ten league appearances in the 2000–2001 season. Crystal Palace struggled throughout the season however and only avoided relegation to the Second Division on the final day, beating Stockport County 1–0 on 6 May 2001. Frampton found his first-team opportunities limited during 2001–02, playing just two matches in April 2002, as he proved unable to compete with Craig Harrison as first choice left-back. The defender made two appearances for Crystal Palace during the 2002–03 season, however, having failed to cement his place in the first-team, Frampton subsequently joined Football League Second Division club Brentford on a free transfer on 28 October 2002.

 

Alan Bennett joined League of Ireland Premier Division club Cork City in 2000 at the age of 18. He initially played as a midfielder, but was converted to the defensive role of centre–back during the 2004 season. He made more than 150 appearances for the "Rebel Army", scoring ten goals. During his time at Cork City, Bennett played in The UEFA Cup and Champions League and also won a Youths FAI medal in 2000, National League Medal in 2005 and 3 Munster Senior Cup medals. Following several bids, Bennett joined Reading on a two and a half-year contract for an undisclosed fee thought to be £250,000 on 30 January 2007. On 31 July 2007, he was loaned for six months to Southampton and made his debut during a home defeat to Crystal Palace. He returned to Reading in January 2008. On 7 March 2008, he joined Brentford on loan; during this time Bennett scored his first goal in English football against Bradford City. He began a second loan spell at Brentford on 8 August 2008, initially for one month, although this was extended to five months on 31 August 2008, following Man–of–the–Match performances against Rotherham United and Notts County. His loan was then extended for a third time until the end of the 2008–09 season. Bennett appeared in over 50 games for Brentford in the 2008–09 season and assumed the role of team captain in the absence of regular captain Kevin O'Connor. As O'Connor was out for the match that decided if they won the league or not, Bennett was made captain and lifted the League Two trophy after a 3–1 victory over Darlington. Bennett scored the opening goal in this fixture. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Bennett was released by Reading. He signed a permanent contract with Brentford on 30 July 2009 which was set to run until June 2011 and was appointed club captain. On 16 February 2010 Bennett joined Wycombe Wanderers on a one–month emergency loan. He returned to Brentford at the end of the loan period because of the Bees' lack of defensive cover, but signed a new loan deal with Wycombe until the end of the season on 25 March 2010. On 23 July 2010 Bennett joined Wycombe Wanderers on a permanent one–year contract. Bennett was part of the Wycombe squad that achieved automatic promotion to League One that year, although unfortunately injuries limited his appearances. On 4 July 2011 Bennett joined Cheltenham Town on a one–year contract.  Bennett played a big part in Cheltenham reaching the 3rd round of the FA Cup which drew them away to Tottenham Hotspurs. They went on to lose 3–0, however the game will go down as one of the biggest days in the club's history. Cheltenham's form suffered after the FA Cup game but they still managed to seal a League Two play–off position under Bennett's captaincy. Cheltenham went on to beat Torquay United in the play–off semi–finals, but lost the play–off final to Crewe Alexandra, thus confirming another season in League Two. On 31 January 2013, Bennett left Cheltenham after his contract was terminated by mutual consent. Following his contract termination, he signed for fellow League Two team AFC Wimbledon, also on 31 January 2013.The ability and experience Bennett brought to the AFC Wimbledon defence in the second half of the 2012–13 season helped "The Dons" avoid relegation from the Football League and remain a League Two team for a third successive season. Bennett received a call- up for the Republic of Ireland under–21 team in 2001. In 2007 Bennett was called up to the Ireland 'B' squad for a game against Scotland 'B' in Airdrie. In May 2007, he was called up to the full Republic of Ireland team for their two- match trip to the United States. Bennett played the full 90 minutes against Ecuador, helping Ireland to a 1–1 draw. He then played in the following match against Bolivia, which also ended 1–1.

 

On Saturday 2 November 2013, Stanley's tag rugby team (from last year) was guard of honour at Twickenham for the England v Australia rugby international. This was for an unprecedented 4th consecutive year! The team also got to play on the hallowed turf whilst the England team was warming up. Yet again, another truly amazing sporting opportunity afforded to Stanley pupils!