ONE of the biggest events in the school sports calendar welcomed 1,800 children and young people last week.

Some 1,500 attendees, and a further 250 young leaders, attended the Herefordshire School Games at Halo Leisure Centre in Hereford at the beginning of the month.

Brought to the county by Active Herefordshire and Worcestershire and Stride Active, attendees took part in 25 different activities – ranging from established sports like rugby, tennis and football – to alternative activities such as teambuilding, bowls and a silent disco.

The programme is all about forming positive relationships at an early age with sport, physical activity and movement – and is underpinned by the School Games values which the attendees embody throughout the day.

The Summer School Games offers young people more than just the opportunity to participate in physical activity; it creates a sense of belonging and personal achievement for every young person involved.

The most recent Active Lives Children and Young People data shows that 48.4 per cent of Herefordshire’s youth, aged five to 16) are classed as active, meeting an average of 60 minutes or more a day – which was an increase from the previous year.

Sarah Milward, children and young people project officer at Active Herefordshire and Worcestershire, said that the school games programme has changed so much locally, and the efforts of its organisers were instrumental in helping these changes.

“We want to ensure those who are the least engaged with sport and physical activity have every opportunity to be active for life,” she said.

“And the brilliance of an event like this which introduces lots of new methods of staying active can help to make this happen.

“We want to thank all the deliverers, school staff and event organisers for making the day possible.”

This year’s Summer School Games festival was also supported by a variety of Herefordshire organisations and businesses.