Kids enjoy football and netball fest

FARLINGAYE's pyramid of primary schools' packed schedule of sporting competition was kick-started last week with the annual Otley College Football and Netball Festival.

Hosted by Otley College and supported by the Copleston Sports Partnership, the competition brought together over 150 students from nine schools in the pyramid.

The pyramid involves 13 partner schools who work actively together under the direction of Further Education Sports Co-ordinator Winson Coe to increase participation in sport, competition and leadership opportunities for young people.

Coe said: “It's great to see schools in this pyramid embracing the increase in competition and opportunities to take part in sport.

“The festivals also give Young Leaders the chance to further develop their skills.”

It is hoped the festival will now become a successful and competitive yearly event.

Paul Appleby, Section Leader for Sport at Otley College, said: “Our sporting facilities have only been open for around 12 months.

“They were built not just for our students but for the local community and we were delighted to host this afternoon festival of sport.

“As a college we are delighted to support any events that encourage youngsters to become more active. And it is also a great way of introducing these ten and eleven year olds to our facilities, as I am sure that many of them will end up studying at Otley in the future.

“Our students also helped organise the day by umpiring and refereeing. It is essential that they get used to leading sporting activities as this is the kind of duty that they will undertake once in work. Therefore sports and education wise, this was a great day for everyone.”

Although participation and having fun were the focus for the day, the element of competition was evident. St Marys School won the netball tournament, while Kyson Primary beat Orford in the final of the football, winning 1-0 on penalties.