THE winter centrepiece of the school sports calendar, the Herefordshire Sainsbury’s School Games saw 800 students from across the county come together on Wednesday to compete cross 13 competitions

The event, held at The Hereford Academy and The Point 4, provides young people to come together in completion to be crowned Herefordshire champions. It’s ‘Herefordshire Olympics’ format -including opening and medal ceremonies – puts a strong focus on the young athletes’ values like honesty and teamwork, as much as their performance.

And, like at London 2012, it was the tireless work of a volunteer team of 40 older students from the leadership academies across the county that made the event work.

Their presence also brought with a sense of legacy.

“Some of the Whitecross students helping us out today with the athletics used to be young leaders back when they were with us - it’s great to see,” said Kate Mather of Trinity Primary.

Opening the event was Jack Rutter, a former Birmingham City footballer who following an assault which left him with brain damage has risen up to become captain of England’s cerebral palsy football team.

Met with a hushed silence, his inspirational speech to the athletes was quickly was quickly followed by sports hall athletics, arguably the most action-packed but definitely the most deafening event of the day, which saw hundreds of children race, jump and throw throughout the hall.

The primary school teams compete using modified kit – foam javelins and soft hurdles – in modified events from obstacle-laden relay races to the ‘speed bounce’ which sees youngsters clear a small hurdle side-to-side as many times as possible in a minute.

“It’s a great experience,” said Will Pugh, part off Pembridge Primary’s team.

“There’s a lot of noise when you’re running - it’s nice to hear people supporting us.”

Mrs Mather, who along with Becky Bowen, brought athletics, High 5 netball and quicksticks hockey teams to the Games, said sport plays a big role at Trinity.

“It has a big effect on student’s self-esteem and on their behaviour in class,” said Mrs Mather, whose school was last week named PE primary school of the year at the Herefordshire School Sports Awards.

“Sport is a priority for us - all our staff get involved and we can run a strong extra-curricular set of clubs.”

One member of the relay even gives his dad the runaround at weekly 5k Park Run events in Hereford, having found his love for athletics at the school.

Across the hall, Herefordshire Badminton Academy’s Les Butts oversaw a fiercely contested event which pitted the best high school players against each other in singles and doubles.

Having qualified through regional tournaments, the players in the finals brought with them diverse levels of experience.

While Key Stage Four girls winners Mhairi McGill, Hannah Larkin, Annabel Orgee and Felicity Collings play regularly at the Hereford Cathedral School, the winners in the younger age-group, Emily Griffiths, Lydia Fitzwilliam, Bethan Slade-Jones and Amy Lane, said they had only recently picked up the sport in PE lessons at Lady Hawkins High School.

While both teams will be go forward representing Herefordshire in the regional round, The Lady Hawkins winners will now be able to hone the game ahead of the regional finals at the schools’ 30-strong badminton club.

Results from
the day
Hi5 netball: 1 Orleton Primary School, 2 Pembridge, 3= Brampton Abbotts and Canon Pyon.
Quicksticks hockey: 1 Trinity, 2 Eastnor, 3= Ashperton, Staunton- on- Wye.
Primary sportshall athletics: 1 Wigmore, 2 Trinity, 3 Leominster.
Badminton, KS 3 girls: 1 Lady Hawkins HS, 2 John Masefield. KS3 boys: 1 John Masefield, 2 Weobley .
KS 4 girls: 1 Hereford Cathedral, 2 Lady Hawkins. KS 4 boys: 1 Hereford Cathedral, 2 Lady Hawkins.
Under-13 netball: 1 Hereford Cathedral, 2 Wigmore, 3= Whitecross, St Mary’s RC. 
High school sportshall athletics, Year 7 boys: 1 Whitecross HS, 2 John Kyrle, 3 Tenbury. Year 7 girls: 1 Whitecross, 2 Weobley 3 John Kyrle. Year 8 boys: 1 Weobley, 2 John Kyrle, 3 The Hereford Academy. Year 8 girls: 1= John Kyrle, Weobley, 3 John Masefield.
Inclusion football, KS3: 1 Bishops, 2 Westfield, 3 Barrs Court . KS4: 1 Westfield, 2 Barrs Court, 3 Bishops.