Medals galore for district schools at county games

Schools from across St Albans and Harpenden came away with plenty of medals at the Hertfordshire School Games.

In total there were nine different schools from the county that came away with a victory but St Albans and Harpenden schools managed to sweep up a total of seven medals, the most of any area.

Crabtree Junior School took the gold in rugby whilst St Albans’ Gardenfields picked up silver medals in both gymnastics and hockey.

The games, held at Oaklands College, saw nearly 1,000 school children competing in 10 different sporting challenges.

As well as that the event organisers ensured that alongside the competitive environment was the ability to try new sports, such as rowing and fencing, whilst promoting important teamwork values, such as respect and self-belief.

The children were treated to a talk by Commonwealth gold medallist and GB Olympian, Claire Bennett, who inspired the participants through re-telling how she became so passionate for fencing.

She also told how her success evolved from the efforts of selfless volunteers, something relevant due to the 206 volunteers that helped create such a great sporting experience.

John O’Callaghan, director of the Herts Sports and Physical Activity Partnership, said: “It is very fitting, that during Hertfordshire’s year of volunteering, the School Games Finals were made possible through the voluntary efforts of their peers.

“Our pipeline of young sports competitors and volunteers continues to flow in abundance, critical for the sustainability of community sport.”