UK Chess Challenge Gigafinals

At the end of term, our largest contingent yet attended the Gigafinals of the UK Chess Challenge, which took place in Manchester. At this stage it was a private, individual competition, but they did battle with all the best players from the North of England.

Our stars were of course in the Under 9 section, who had to do battle not only with each other, but also the two top players at Nottingham High. Aloysius Lip finished 2nd with 5/6 and he will be joined in the Challengers section of the Terafinals by Matthew Fergusson, who finished unbeaten on 4.5/6. Vishal Aurora finished with 4/6 and he is to be congratulated on beating Ashwin Kalyana in the last round. Ashwin finished on 3.5/6, both boys narrowly missing a qualifying place in the Terafinals.

We had an incredibly large group in the Under 7s. These young players are very new to the game and although mistakes were made they all played well and will benefit from the experience. Congratulations to Andrew Fergusson who finished 5th on 4/6 followed by Chinmay Monga (3/6), Nikhil Gupta (2.5/6), Aroun Kalyana (2/6), Anshu Banerjee and Eashan Soma (both 1/6)

In the Under 8 section Tayo Fapohunda enjoyed his first taste of tough competition and fought hard to score 3/6.

Under 9s

The Under 9 team comfortably exceeded their performance last year by finishing runners-up to Homefield in the National Schools Championships.

These two teams dominated the entire competition and outclassed the remainder of the opposition, as evidenced by the final results: 1st: Homefield - 31.5/35 2nd: Hallfield - 27/35 3rd: Nottingham High School - 22.5/35

In the Under 10s Hari Nijjar scored 4/6, a score which probably belies his ability.

In the Under 11s Rishi Sanger scored a solid 3/6.

The new ECF grading list is out and our players feature well. All senior players have a grading, a number that represents their standard of play – a bit like a golf handicap – and serves as a reasonable pointer to the result of a game between graded players. Five of our last year’s teams now have gradings:

102 - Ashwin Kalyana 99 - Aloysius Lip 86 - Hari Nijjar 60 - Sajan Sanghera 5 - Aroun Kalyana

Ashwin is rated 22nd in the country and Aloysius 26th amongst Under 10s (though they were Under 9s last year!)

To complicate matters still further, these are ‘rapidplay’ gradings because the games our pupils play are usually on fast time limits. Aloysius and Ashwin also have standard ratings (for slower - more adult time limits). Here Aloysius has a grade of 90 and Ashwin 78 – they are respectively rated 22nd and 26th amongst Under 10s.

Trips

Year 6 Outdoor Pursuits Week

In the first week of June, Year 6 children accompanied by five members of staff went off to North Wales for a week of fun, adventure and confidence building.

The week involved participating in activities such as kayaking, gorge walking, rock climbing and even woodland survival.

Children took on the Challenge Course, went orienteering and also survived a six-mile walk for an overnight camping expedition.

There were also visits to local places of interest – one to Harlech Castle and another to the slate caverns.

It was a wonderful week and one that everyone who went will remember for a long time to come.

Year 2 Take a Trip back in Time

Warwickshire Open Junior Chess Championships

Hallfield School won the Under 10 School Team Trophy with the highest team scores from the top four members. The Under-8s team also came away with the School Team Trophy.

Well done to Ashwin Kalyana, Hari Nijjar, Aloysius Lip, Matthew Fergusson and Aaron Vitarana from the Under 10s for qualifying for the Under 10s London Junior Chess Championship Major Section in December 2008. and also to Andre German, Andrew Fergusson and Aroun Kalyana who qualified for the Under-8s Championships.

Rashi Gupta, and Vishal Aurora also qualified for the London Junior Chess Championship Minor Section in December 2008 from the Under 8s team.

Year 2 went to the back-to-back houses in Birmingham in February. The houses in Inge Street, restored by the National Trust, are Birmingham’s last surviving court of back-to- back houses.

The children, split into two groups to make access around the narrow houses easier, learned the story of the site told through the experiences of the people who lived and worked here. They moved through four different periods, from 1840 to the 1970s and experienced the various interiors that reflect the varied cultures, religion and professions of the families who made their fortunes here.

Year 5 Trip to Selly Manor

On Wednesday 6th May, Year 5 visited Selly Manor and Minworth Greaves to learn about Tudor architecture.

The guides who greeted them on arrival were superb, their knowledge and enthusiasm was infectious and the children happily changed from 21st century pupils into Tudor children – dressing in appropriate clothing, playing Tudor games and exploring the Manor House.

41

The Hallfieldian

2008-2009

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