Athletics Day sees records smashed

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The annual school Athletics Day was held on Friday 9th March. The event drew many participants from across the school and saw two long-standing records broken.

Events on the day included sprints, long jump, high jump, discus, shot-put, and javelin, while longer distance running events were held throughout the week during lunchtimes.

A huge highlight was seeing two records being broken. Year 12 student Ella Holmes broke the javelin record, while Year 13 Leon Nichols’ set a new bar for the long jump. “Watching Leon Nichols jump over 6 meters, was impressive!” organiser and head of PE and health Brennan Geddes said. “This jump broke a record that had been held for 14 years, since 2004.”

Many staff echoed the high rates of participation, especially among the junior school. “It was positive seeing lots of juniors participating in many events. Not only to compete and win, but there were also lost of students out their giving it a go for their house in order to earn a point. This really shows great school spirit,” PE teacher Stephen Teece said.

Participation was also up for distance running.  “Traditionally these events are not as popular as the throwing and jumping events as it requires a lot of physical investment,” PE teacher Matua Bruno Watkins said. “However, it was pleasing to get a quite a few entries across most of the age groups, especially given that they had to complete during their own lunch break. This really highlights the work ethic and commitment of those students.”

Athletics Day finished with a fiercely fought-out house relay which saw Phoenix come out on top, followed by Aquila, Draco and Pegasus. House points awarded for both participation and achievement in the individual events put Draco as the front-runner. Phoenix scored second, while Aquila and Pegasus came third and fourth respectively.

Mr Geddes thanked the PE department and student helpers for their support, as well as ex-staff members Athol Webster and Jo Turner who returned for the day. Chris Lukies’ help in setting up the sound system and caretaker Bill Hart work on setting up track was invaluable. 

By Sera King – Media & Publicity