Sunderland schoolchildren battle it out at city skipping final

This year’s Skipping School final was once again held at Sunderland University’s City Space campus, in Chester Road.

A total of seven schools qualified to be at the event having won their heats involving Year 4 pupils earlier this year.

They were Academy 360 Primary Unit, Bexhill, Fatfield, Hill View Juniors, Newbottle, Shiney Row and St Paul’s in Ryhope.

And it was Fatfield Academy who came out on top following a day of intense competition.

Chris Corcoran, director of Skipping School Ltd which puts on the event, said: “This is our 9th annual project here in Sunderland, and we are delighted to have worked again this academic year with 35 of the primaries across the whole area. “Within that we have engaged with over 1,600 Year 4 children over the last six or seven months.

“The aim of our project is to share with the children a range of age and ability appropriate skipping skills and traditional playground games, and inspire them to see this as a positive and rewarding experience, that is both fun to do and delivers health, fitness and general wellbeing.

“The commitment we receive towards our project from both children and Teaching staff at each participating school is outstanding.

“We are also delighted with the way in which many headteachers simply renew their school’s involvement with us, and commit part of their annual Sports Premium budget to the project, seeing this as totally beneficial not just for this age group, but for positive play at break times across the whole of their schools.”

The competition saw two and half hours of activity which included a skill-based competition, and each school also presenting their ‘Skip-dance’ - a musically choreographed routine.

Points are awarded for each skip scored throughout the event and when totalled at the end, this saw the winners for 2018 declared as Fatfield Academy in Washington.

Fatfield teacher Anna Soulsby said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to come first.

“The whole class have loved taking part in the skipping festival, and have been skipping non-stop for months.

“I am sure they loved the skipping and will continue for years to come.”

Mr Corcoran added: “In looking to the future, we trust to the schools in Sunderland and Washington renewing with us again for next academic year, and also building our Year 2 project into the same level of success.

“On the afternoon we held the Year 2 City Final with eight teams, and across the area we engaged with over another 1400 children.

“We believe by starting the skipping process earlier with the little ones, the higher their skill level will be when they are in Year 4, and in the long term everyone becomes a very capable skipper.”