Cross-country league is back

ALL smiles . . . Amy Heaton, from Thorpe School, celebrates after the race

YOUNGSTERS across Oldham are racing towards a healthy lifestyle with the welcome return of the primary school cross-country league after a 10-year absence.

More than 130 pupils from 11 schools marked the revival of the new league with a race of just under a mile at Chadderton Hall Park.

Children showed real competitive spirit, with Chadderton Hall School winning the third and fourth year boys’ category. Thorp clinched victory in the third and fourth year girls’ section, while Hodge Clough stormed both the boys’ and girls’ categories in the fifth-sixth year group.

Organiser of the Rotary Club of Oldham Metro-sponsored race, Steve Tyrell, said: “We wanted to revive the league to make the most of the beautiful parks across our borough — and to give schools who don’t have as much of a running tradition a chance to get involved.

“Young children have a lot of running in them — they all put their absolute best into it. We have two more cross-country events lined up for November. We’re hoping they will be as successful as the first one.”