Youngsters shine at athletics, badminton, netball
Redbridge youngsters were in sparkling form at the spring finals of the London Youth Games at Crystal Palace this week, winning five medals.
The borough was represented by Ursuline Academy, St Aubyn’s School, Beal High School and Bancroft’s School as around 2,500 youngsters from across the capital competed in eight events over two days at the climax of the school season of competitions which saw an estimated 50,000 young Londoners take part.
Ursuline Academy won gold in the year seven girls’ sportshall athletics event just ahead of Barking & Dagenham’s All Saints, while St Aubyns won silver in the year five/six mixed netball after losing to Richmond in the final.
Bancrofts won silver in the KS4 boys and KS3 girls badminton events, while Beal High School won bronze in the year eight sportshall athletics.
Ursuline Academy Team manager Jane Mansell said: “Unexpected but brilliant! Really proud of the girls.
“I think it’s brilliant because they get to see lots of other people and all of the other events around. As a platform for sport in general it’s got everything that you need to be a sports person all of the agility and speed.
“We’ve been doing it every week, sometimes twice a week since September.”
Bancrofts team manager John Raw added: “For the second year of entering the National Schools Badminton Championships, Bancroft’s managed to get two teams through to the final of the London Youth Games.
“Performances were strong all round and there were some fantastic games to watch, particularly some of the singles matches. We beat two out of three of the teams, losing against some very strong teams from Sutton, meaning that in both categories we placed second, going home with silver medals for a consecutive year.
“With some more training and hard work I hope that next year we might go one better and get through to the Finals of the Championship. All the students should be proud of their performances.
“Badminton is growing in the school. There is a Monday club for everyone, training on a Friday and it’s becoming more popular. To get a silver medal here was really pleasing.”
St Aubyns team manager Shawnett Morgan said: “We have a really strong team of girls this year and they all played very well. They play outside of school as well, so I thought we’d do well and they have done very well.”
Sportshall Athletics, Badminton, Netball, Football, Boccia, Hockey, Inclusive Zone Basketball and Water Polo are among 31 sports in the 2015 Balfour Beatty London Youth Games, Europe’s largest annual youth sports event which is driving the legacy for increased participation in competitive sport and volunteering for young Londoners.
A record 126,897 young Londoners took part in the record-breaking 2014 Balfour Beatty London Youth Games, taking the event to over one million participants since it first launched in 1977.
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