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START TO FINISH: The opening strides of a cross-country race and (right) medals and certificates for the top three in each race. Pupils are full of running

The South Cambs School Sport Partnership Cross Country competitions for small and large schools returned at two venues.

Youngsters in Years 3-6 competed against their peers in individual races and those who entered every boys’ and girls’ race at each year group also battled for the team prizes. Partnership Manager, Claire McDonnell, said: “It was lovely to see so many children enjoying themselves and having fun together. “There was lots of determination on display as the children took on the one-mile course and it was great to see them all supporting each other and cheering on their teammates. “We have missed putting on events like this; they are really good fun but also so important for children’s physical and mental health. It was lovely to see smiles back on the children’s faces. ” First off on a beautiful autumn day at Milton Country Park last month were the small schools for fewer than 120 pupils in KS2, where almost 400 children from 11 schools took part in an event that had been suspended for two years due to the pandemic. The first three finishers in each race received a medal and certificate, while in the team competition it was the top three placed runners from each school that scored. Harvey, from Thriplow, and Sophie, from Harston & Newton, successfully retained top spot from 2019 but in a different year group. Harvey won the Year 6 race from schoolmate Ozzy with Joe (H&N) in third. Sophie also finished ahead of a classmate as Ruby took runners-up spot in the Year 5 girls’ race. Hayden made it a Year 5 clean sweep by winning the boys’ race with Thriplow also on the podium thanks to Simon’s third place. Bourn pupils have been missing from SCSSP competitions in recent years but returned with a bang. Amelie won the Year 6 girls race from schoolmate Mia while Thomas saw off Hari (H&N) to take silver at Year 4 level. Albert also finished second, ahead of Thriplow’s Ted in Year 3. Thriplow duo Molly (Year 4) and Esme (Year 3) also finished as runners-up in their races. With five top three places in the four Year 5/6 races it was Harston & Newton who took the team title followed by Bourn. It was a similar story in the Year 3/4 team competition with Harston & Newton again coming out on top thanks to a lot of top 10 finishes. In the large schools event at Wimpole earlier this month, there were podium finishes for Dexter (Hardwick & Cambourne) who won the Year 3 boys event, and Grace (Meridian), who was second in the Year 6 girls, a result that helped Meridian finish third overall in the Year 5 and 6 team competition. Ms McDonnell added: “We couldn’t have delivered today’s event without the support of 32 sports leaders from Comberton Village College, who marshalled the route, acted as sweep runners, led the warm-up area and helped with the finish line — so a big thank you to each and every one of them.

Great to be back!

It has been a busy term for the South Cambs SSP as all of their programmes and events have got fully back up and running in schools. Staff have been working alongside classroom teachers in 15 primary schools to provide regular teaching support for PE lessons as well as delivering Play Leaders training for Year 5/6 children in over 20 schools and supporting them and Midday Supervisors to facilitate more active playtimes. Other popular programmes have been new Scootabilty lessons which teach Year 1 & 2 children to ride a scooter safely and balance bike training for reception and Year 1 children which teach them to ride a pedal bike without the use of stabilisers and develops their balance and spatial awareness. Another popular new programme this term has been Yoga which is delivered through storytelling and role play to engage children and make it fun while developing their strength and improving their concentration and emotional wellbeing. The Partnership has also again run many of their popular competitions including football and cross-country, but also some new events such as an Outdoor Challenge Event which was hosted at Comberton Village College and targeted Years 3 and 4 children who lack social skills or confidence with the aim of encouraging teamwork and problem solving and supporting children’s social and emotional development. Sixteen schools entered teams of four that took part in a carousel of activities including battleships, rollerball, team score and cross the vortex all led by a fantastic group of 28 sports leaders from Comberton, who had given up their day off to lead the activities.

EXPERT GUIDANCE: From the sports leaders.

Leading the way

Melbourn hosted their first primary netball tournament since the pandemic with the return of the SCSSP annual tournament. Despite it being a rainy evening, the five teams coped very well with the conditions in the first round of the ‘Bee Netball’ event and were expertly guided by Melbourn Year 10 sports leaders who officiated by umpiring, scoring and timing the games. They did a great job and received positive feedback from the primary schools. The event was one of six – the others were at Comberton, Cambourne, Linton, Swavesey and Cottenham – in the first round. A second round is scheduled to be played in March with the South Cambs finals nights for all teams in April or May. Which finals tournament each team plays in is dependent on where they finish in their local league. Thriplow 1 were the eventual winners ahead of two teams from Foxton, their own second team and Melbourn and all showed excellent sportsmanship.