SOME 850 children and young people from 74 schools across Worcestershire came together to participate in a day of sport at the 2015 Worcestershire Summer Sainsbury’s School Games on Tuesday.
The Games – which took place across two sites at Bromsgrove School and the Ryland Centre in the same town – harnessed the spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics to inspire young people to be the best they can.
The children – ranging in age from seven to 17 – went head-to-head in their own mini-Olympics as they battled it out for the title of Worcestershire School Games Champion in nine different sports.
The Games – sponsored by West Midland Safari Park – were supported by 150 volunteers who received special training to run the event in a range of roles including team leaders, event support and an on-site media team which gathered video footage of the day and interviewed participants.
A Health and Cultural Village was also open between 11am and 2pm offering a range of activities including smoothie making, Bollywood dancing, circus skills and lacrosse.
The Games had their own set of ‘Olympic values’ which everyone participating had to commit to uphold. These were passion, honesty, teamwork, respect, determination and self-belief.
The youngsters represented both their school and their district in the School Games, with the county divided into the six districts of Redditch, North Worcestershire, Droitwich & Worcester City, South Worcestershire, West Worcestershire and Wyre Forest.
The inaugural Worcestershire School Games took place in 2012 at Bromsgrove School where 1,200 children from 49 schools across the county took part. Since then, it has gone from strength to strength.
Stephen Brewster, director of The Sports Partnership for Herefordshire and Worcestershire, said: “We always look forward to the Worcestershire Sainsbury’s School Games. The initiative presents a unique opportunity to motivate and inspire our young people to take part in more competitive school sport.
“Celebrating sport, competition and teamwork are at the heart of the festival, as is the continuing Olympic legacy of encouraging young people to be the best they can.”
