Sports day has an Olympic feel

GIANT leap . . . Lewis Boustead (left) and Keiron Turner compete in the long jump

THE Olympics came early for one Oldham school as sporty students took over SportCity.
Year 7 pupils from both campuses of Waterhead Academy took part in a school sports day with an Olympics theme at the Manchester venue.

Children competed in teams of 20 with each group representing a different country.

After a circuit course including hurdles, javelin, a relay race and the long jump, it was the teams representing Brazil, Botswana and Fiji that took home the gold, silver and bronze medals.

They were presented by Year 10 student Adam Howard who competes for England in cross-country making him a great inspiration for the younger pupils.

Head of PE Alison Taylor said: “Everyone had a fantastic afternoon. The important thing about the day was that everyone was able to have a go and try a range of different activities. The children all showed great team spirit and it was a good opportunity for students from the two campuses to socialise together and have fun.”

Older students acted as sports leaders giving the younger children demonstrations of various sports.

Year 10 pupil Chloe Austin said: “I would really like to be a PE teacher when I am older so it was great to get the experience.

“I enjoyed looking after the younger students and seeing them getting better at the activities.”

The academy’s Year 8 and 9 pupils also competed in the semi-finals and finals of their athletics competition.

Jamie Pollinger, who won the Year 9 javelin and took silver in the 800 metres, said: “I’ve never tried javelin before but it was really good fun.

“It was great to do something different. The facilities at SportCity are amazing.”