Newcastle Schools win the School Games Level 3, Tyne & Wear Badminton Final

Heaton Manor & Benfield Schools win the

County Badminton Championships

Congratulations to Heaton Manor Girls and Benfield Boys who won the School Games, Level 3, Tyne and Wear, Key Stage 3 Boys and Girls 'Centre Parcs' Badminon Finals this afternoon hosted at John Spence Community High School. The competition was made up from the champions and runners up from schools in Sunderland, South Tyneside, Gateshead and North Tyneside.

A special mention must also go to Sacred Heart who finished runner up in the girls competition  in a close match against Heaton Manor.

The winning schools will now go forward to the North East Round on 11th March which is being hosted by Northumbria University in their £30 million venue, Sport Central . The North East Final is made up of from the champions and runners up from Tees Valley, County Durham and Northumberland and is one stage away from the National Schools final in Nottingham.

Best video clip of 2012

Still the best film of 2012..........

 

Merry Chrsitmas from us all here at Newcastle School Games....

....and all the best for 2013

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 Key Stage 4 Badminton

On Friday 7th December the Centre for Sport on the West Road hosted the Newcastle School Games Key Stage 4 Badminton competitions.  In total 6 boy's teams and 3 girl's teams attended the event and as normal the standard was impressive.  The following schools entered teams:  All Saints, Kenton, Gosforth Academy, Sacred Heart, Heaton Manor and Benfield.



Participants Displaying the Right Way to Win OR Lose.

The boys played out the initial stages of their competition in two groups of 3 to establish who'd play for medal positions, whilst the girls played a straight round-robin to identify their finishing positions.

Always Good to See Smiles.

The event always draws good numbers and the staff and students alike seem to really enjoy the format which involves players being ranked 1-4 and both individual and doubles matches ensuing.  In direct contrast to the Sportshall events this competition allows organisers to actually catch some of the action and the Newcastle School Games Team were thoroughly enthralled by some of the rally's and matches.



Do You Reckon This Was Returned??

After 2 keenly fought competitions the final standings looked like this:

Girls Key Stage 4

GOLD - Heaton Manor

SILVER - Gosforth Academy

BRONZE - Sacred Heart

Following the straight round-robin the top two places were decided by the finest of margins and congratulations must go to all the girls who participated.  Heaton Manor and Gosforth Academy go forward to represent Newcastle at the Level 3 early next year.  (Well done and apologies for the lack of photo's girls.)

Boys Key Stage 4

GOLD - Benfield

SILVER - Heaton Manor

BRONZE - Kenton



Our Boys Competition Winners..... Well Done!

Congratulations to Benfield and Heaton Manor who go forward to represent Newcastle at the Level 3.  The School Games Team and their mascot Paddy would like to thank all the staff and students who attended the event and each of the schools should be proud of their young people; they conducted themselves brilliantly throughout.

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 L2 Key Stage 3 Boys Badminton

It may be a surprise to some that despite the appalling weather and anticipated travel issues the Newcastle School Games Level 2 Key Stage 3 Boys Badminton competition still went ahead successfully yesterday afternoon at Walbottle Campus.

The following schools from across the city ignored the elements and boarded their buses to make the journey:

Kenton, Gosforth Central Middle, St Cuthbert's, Gosforth Junior Academy, Gosforth Academy, Benfield, Heaton Manor and St Mary's.

The Key Stage 3 Badminton has been well attended in recent years and yesterday's event was no different with 13 teams participating and the standard was really high.

As a result of the fantastic sign up and turn out 3 groups were set up and every team played everyone in their group once.  Staff and participants alike threw themselves into the busy schedule and simply got on with getting down to business.

One thing that's stood out to the School Games team this year has been the atmosphere at every event to date; the Sportshall events were really loud and electric and the Table Tennis last week and the Badminton yesterday had a more relaxed whilst competitive feel about them.  Participants were certainly focused and dedicated to performing to the best of their ability and more importantly displayed some great values such as sportsmanship and respect.

Following the group stages winners and runners up progressed to the next round; group winners went on to play each other once and ultimately decide who took home the Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates whilst runners up did exactly the same to decide final placings after the podium finishers.

The final games were hotly contested and participants continued to perform and conduct themselves brilliantly; and the final standings were

GOLD - Benfield

SILVER - Gosforth Central Middle A

BRONZE - St Cuthbert's A

4th - Gosforth Junior Academy A

5th - Gosforth Central Middle B

6th - Heaton Manor

Congratulations to absolutely everyone who took part yesterday, with a special mention for Benfield and Gosforth Central Middle School who are invited to represent Newcastle at the Level 3 School Games event early next year.

Finally huge thanks to Walbottle Campus for hosting the event and all those teams who braved the anticipated traffic issues and weather to attend the competition, which was appreciated very much by the School Games Organising Team. 

National School Sport Week 2013

Inspiring more young people to do more sport

24th - 28th June 2013

Since 2009, nearly 9 million pupils and 84% of schools in Britain have taken part in Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week. In 2012 the Olympic and Paralympic Games came to the UK and we had an amazing time! Schools took part, inspiring young people through the Torch Relay, staging their own Games during National School Sport Week and welcoming the world’s athletes and cultures on London 2012 World Sport Day.

Now the Games are over, we want to continue the enthusiasm that young people have for sport and start planning for the next National School Sport Week, taking place from 24-28 June, 2013.

This is your opportunity to keep the momentum going in your school and engage the wider community to enjoy sport and activity. We’ll be taking the most inspirational ideas and strategies and showing you how to make them work in your school, engaging all your pupils in a week-long celebration of school sport

Whatever your school, whatever your resources, there’s something fun and positive you can do as part of Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week.

• Inter/Intra School Participation
• Links with Sports Clubs
• Multi Sport Events
• Holding an Opening Ceremony

Keep the momentum of London 2012 going by signing up to National School Sport Week 2013. The first 5,000 schools to register receive a free support poster featuring Olympic gold medallist Katherine Grainger.

Register today at www.schoolsportweek.org  and you’ll have plenty of time to plan your week, involve your pupils as young leaders and volunteers, engage your local community and use the week to build upon your whole school priorities.

Contact your Newcastle School Games team for support in planning your National School Sport week by contacting Helen Taylor on 265 6091 ext 317 or helen.taylor@benfield.newcastle.sch.uk

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.





Year 5/6 Girls Football Festival

Today saw Walkergate Primary School take on St Charles RC Primary in a friendly but competitive game of football at All Saints College. The festival is a new School Games initiative for 2012-13 and is aimed at girls school teams who are new to competitive football and not for those girls who already enjoying plenty of regular girls football for a community club.

Each of the festivals has been held outside on 3G pitches and we have been lucky with the weather (although the girls have never complained) with Walbottle Campus hosting the last festival in October. Special mention goes out to Walkergate Primary who have attended both festivals to date.

The festivals are supported by Northumberland FA with Nicola Hepworth, Girls Football Development Officer commenting " this is an excellent staring point for girls keen on testing themselves against other girls of a similar standard. We will work with any of these girls who would like to try and find a community club to play further".

The programme is delivered by the Hatrick Programme, Emma Brown said "We currently run competitive girls football leagues in the East and West of Newcastle and this is the opportunity to fill the gap in competition and give schools a different route for girls football.

Steve Beharall, Lead School Games Organiser commented "We plan to organise the next couple of festivals indoor in March and April with the final festivals outdoors in May and June".