Children gather for annual summer fun
Hundreds of youngsters came together to en j oy fun in the sun.
More than 400 primary and secondary children from Sunderland and furgoing ther afield were for gold when they took part in the Tyne and Wear Summer School Games competition. The pupils, from more than 50 schools, con- gregated in Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Cen- tre in Sunderland to compete in the 2018 finals of the annual event.
They competed in several different sports including tennis, cricket and athletics.
Guest speaker at the event was Olympic bobsleigh athlete, Montell Douginspiring las, who gave an and motivational speech to all the students during the opening ceremony before they headed off to compete.
Claire Lee, School Sport Development Manager at Tyne and Wear Sport, said: “Every year the School Games provides opportunities for children to try different roles within sport whether it is as a player or o ffi c i al. “The games provide a competitive but friendly environment for all the youngto sters make a positive and active contribution on behalf of their school.” Schools from North Tyneside and Sunderlandhadthemostsuccess on the day, with two wins coming from the panathlon challenge and golf for Sunderland schools and three wins for North Tyneside schools in the gymnastics and Athletics. T he event was bedelivered ing by schools, Tyne and Wear Sport, national governing bodies ofs ports, school games organisers and other local partners. Support of the School Games also comes from a range of national partners including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Sport England, Department of Health, Paralympics GB and the Youth Sport Trust.
Throughout the whole day of competition, secondary school students played a significant part in the running of the event, as they supported the final through various roles including officiating and time keeping.
Students from Biddick Academy, said: “We got involved with the Young Leaders programme through our school, and we realised it is a good opportunity for us to get some experience in understanding leadership.
“What we enjoy most about volunteering is working with the children and seeing them enjoy themselves, but also helping them develop their skills as well.”
The students also get to develop valuable life skills that will not only help them throughout school, but in further education and their potential career.