Newcastle Schools Start Their School Games Level 3 Medal Haul

The last 5 days have seen a flurry of Level 3 School Games activity across Tyne and Wear with the staging of the U13 and U16 Boys Table Tennis and the Year 9 / 10 Sportshall Boys and Girls Athletics competitions. 

On Friday 14th December Newcastle School for Boys attended the Table Tennis to represent Newcastle at both age groups.  The teams entered the sports hall at Sandhill View and were greeted by 14 competition tables and barriers that gave the event an impressive professional feel. 

Both teams were tasked with playing everyone in their respective age categories in a straight round robin to determine the medal winners.  Right from the off it was clear that the standard was going to be incredibly high and eventual podium finishers would have played some top table tennis.

As the competitions progressed it became apparent that all teams participating were capable of taking points off each other, which kept proceedings tight and interest levels keen.  After lots of exciting games, many of which went down to the wire, Newcastle School for Boys were awarded the bronze medals in both competitions.  We'd like to offer the boys huge congratulations and our gratitude for representing Newcastle.



NSB U13 Squad at Newcastle Level 2 Competition



NSB U16 Squad at Newcastle Level 2 Competition



Yesterday, Monday 17th December, teams from across Tyne and Wear converged on Temple Park Sports Centre to contest the Year 9 / 10 Level 3 Sportshall Athletics competitions for both boys and girls.  St Marys, Sacred Heart, St Cuthberts and Heaton Manor all travelled to represent Newcastle.

The Sportshall Athletics events are always great competitions and involve teams completing both field and track events including speed bounce, standing long and triple jumps, sprints and relays.  Each individual participant is only permitted to take part in a certain number of events, so staff have to choose their teams carefully and spread the strength.

School Games Organisers from across Tyne and Wear were on hand to assist organisers with measuring and timing of events; and some of the performances were literally outstanding, by both male and female athletes.  These events run so smoothly and the format is tried and tested so they're always well received by staff and participants alike.

Again from the very first events it was clear that the young people were going to push each other to new levels.  As each individual event came to a close the results were registered and a running total score for each team was maintained. 

A buzz of anticipation grew in volume in the sportshall as the results were about to be announced.  The fantastic news for Newcastle was that Heaton Manor Girls won GOLD and St Marys Boys won SILVER medals.  Huge congratulations have to go to both squads as the standard is always high at these events, so winning medals is very impressive.

The Newcastle School Games Team would like to thank all the schools mentioned above for representing Newcastle brilliantly - each school should be very proud of their young people as they conducted themselves perfectly without except.

WELL DONE AND HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Newcastle School Games Level 2 U16 Boys Table Tennis

Benfield School hosted the 2nd School Games Table Tennis event yesterday afternoon and the standard of play was impressive to say the least; this time it was the turn of the U16 Boys to step up to the plate and compete for the coveted Newcastle School Games Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates.  The following schools attended with their squads of 4:

St Mary's Catholic Comprehensive (2), St Cuthbert's, Newcastle School for Boys and Excelsior

The numbers of teams involved allowed the School Games Team to arrange everyone to play everyone once in a round robin, probably the fairest way to identify the true winners of any event of this type. 

The event was staged across 6 competition tables and it was clear from the outset that all 5 teams were intent on striving to be Newcastle's representatives at the Level 3 event next month as the standard was incredible straight away.

One of the things that's impressed organisers recently has been the levels of maturity, behaviour and sportsmanship displayed by all participants.  The event yesterday was simply a pleasure to involved in as it showcased young people focused on being the best they can be, competing with a smile on their face and respecting each other throughout.

After a whole host of hotly contested matches with some incredible individual battles, mainly thanks to each school having strong players in positions 1 / 2, it was the depth of the squad that proved to be crucial, with the final standings looking like this:

GOLD - Newcastle School for Boys

SILVER - St Cuthbert's

BRONZE - St Mary's

Huge congratulations and thanks must go to absolutely everyone who attended, both participants and school staff alike; and a special mention for Newcastle School for Boys who go forward to the Level 3 as Newcastles representatives.  A clean sweep for the school in Table Tennis terms as they also won the U13 round last week.

Newcastle School Games U13 Boys Table Tennis

Yesterday afternoon, Thursday 22nd November, saw Benfield School host the School Games Level 2 U13's Boys Table Tennis competition here in Newcastle.  Excelsior Academy, Kenton, St Cuthbert's and Newcastle School for Boys all entered teams in an attempt to take home the spoils.

Every team was asked to rank their team members from 1-4 and then the format and fixtures were supplied by the School Games Team; the matches themselves were officiated by the players themselves and they managed this task brilliantly with no disputes taking place; indeed the atmosphere was great with hand shakes, effort and encouragement all being displayed.

As the competition progressed more and more quality Table Tennis was being played, with some games going down to the wire; and where the result ended in a draw, suddenly points scored became important.

Steve Beharall, Lead School Games Organiser, said "we're really pleased with this event, numbers are up and it's fantastic to see some new individual faces and indeed new schools to this years School Games programme.  The standard of play has been great and the participants and school staff have all thrown themselves into proceedings".

The final was eventually played out by Excelsior Academy and Newcastle School for Boys and the podium finishing positions were:

GOLD  -  Newcastle School for Boys

SILVER  -  Excelsior Academy

BRONZE  -  St Cuthbert's

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the event and especially to Newcastle School for Boys who progress to the Level 3 School Games event on the 14th December.