The fit and active schoolchildren of Bristol will be living legacy of London 2012

MORE than 1,000 school children have taken part in competitive school sport as part of the first School Games festival in the West of England.

In 2005 Lord Seb Coe, made a promise to the International Olympic Committee that the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics would "inspire a new generation to take part in sport and create a long lasting legacy for Sport in Britain".

To deliver this pledge the government has tasked sporting bodies to create Olympic Legacy projects.

One of which is called the School Games and is designed to deliver competitive sport to school children all across the country.

Thursday last week saw The West of England Sport Trust (Wesport) launch the School Games in the West of England. The event was held at Filton College WISE campus and allowed 300 pupils the opportunity to take part in a range of sports as well as experience an opening ceremony which included a parade by the eight invited primary schools.

Sports which they had a go at included fencing, table tennis, lacrosse and tag rugby. In the afternoon the secondary schools were given the opportunity to experience wheelchair basketball as well. Over the four days of the festival there will be a variety of both taster sessions and county finals.

England netball player and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Pamela Cookey who attended the launch event, said: "It is great to see children being given the opportunity to take part and compete in such a wide variety of sports. Schools are normally the first time children get to take part in sport and having an event like this means that they will be inspired to do more.

"London 2012 will inspire the nation to take part in sport and projects like the School Games will allow the next generation to act on that inspiration."

Many schools across the area have been competing against their local schools over the past few months to qualify for the county finals but to also have the opportunity of attending some open entry events, meant schools could bring along other pupils as well as their qualifying teams.

The Boys County Basketball finals were a fiercely contested affair. Schools from Bristol, S Gloucestershire and Bath and North-East Somerset came along as the respective top teams from their areas all vying to be crowned County Champions. There was both an under 14 and under 16 competition but after some very close matches and a three-way tie in the under 14's it was Bristol Metropolitan College who took a clean sweep of both titles. Beechen Cliff and Wellsway school were unlucky to have been pipped to the top under 14 spot by virtue of basket difference.

Other county final highlights of the first School Games in the West of England were Backwell School winning a close match against St Gregory's in the Year 9 rugby county final. In the netball county finals, Redland Green School took the Year 7 title with Ashton Park the Year 8 and Norton Hill the Year 9.

The girls open entry seven-a-side Football competition was a huge success – with 16 teams from across the area in attendance, showing how popular the game has become with girls. Grace Bunker from the Gloucestershire FA ran the event supported by girls from the Bristol Academy Ladies football squad. The final was between Brimsham Green and Ashton Park and after a penalty shoot-out, Brimsham Green just came out on top!

Lisa Wood, Youth Sport Manager at Wesport said: "I am really happy with how our first School Games went but this is only the beginning as our focus moves to an even bigger Summer School Games festival on the 20th June 2012 at the University of Bath."

For more details, please visit www.wesport.org.uk/schoolgames or contact Lisa Wood on 0117 328 6250 or email info@wesport.org.uk.