The Character of Champions: Student Athletes Put on a Show for Our Biggest Sporting Event of the Year

Over 700 students attended the UEA Sportspark on Friday 27th June for the biggest sporting event of the year – Champions Day! Travelling from all corners of the county and beyond, students from all 9 of our Secondary Schools in Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 competed in a range of track and field events across the day. In the morning, Year 7&8 students took to the track while Year 9&10 students competed in the field, and in the afternoon, it was the turn of the Year 9&10 students on the track, and Year 7&8 students to complete their field events.  

It was immediately noticeable that student athletes from across the trust were well prepared for our biggest event of the year, with the atmosphere around the Sportspark electric from the arrival of the first school through to the departure of the last, and each student gave in their events their all, with races often coming down to photo-finishes on the track, and final attempts in the field. Students stepped up for this event, demonstrating a wide range of sporting values encouraged throughout the year. Individual awards for demonstrating the values of friendship and courage (Year 7), equality and respect (Year 8), determination and Excellence (Year 9) and inspiration (Year 10) highlighted students who went above and beyond expectations, and really stood out on the day. An incredible 19 records were broken! 

The efficiency and organisation of this event is a testament to the teamwork shown by our Secondary PE staff. Each school had responsibilities including running a field event, track timings and running the score desk. The event included over 120 races from 100m-800m and 4x100m relays, and 5 field events: long jump, high jump, javelin, shot put and discus. This required a great deal of collaboration to keep the event running smoothly, and every school stepped up when called upon. 

Paul Wayman, Inspiration Trust Sports Coordinator said: 

"What an amazing Champions Day event! Every student has made their school and community proud today, competing with determination regardless of their finishing position. This competition demonstrated some of the sporting excellence we have within our trust schools, as well as the core values of respect and perseverance of all athletes. Many athletes stepped up when called upon by their school, competing in events that weren’t always their favourites, to help win valuable points in every race. 

We couldn’t have run this even without the help of Clive from Norfolk Athletics, or the collaboration between our incredible Physical Education staff. They managed to keep the day running smoothly, coordinating race starts, finishes, positioning and all of our field events. A massive thank you must also go to our amazing student leaders from Sir Isaac Newton and King Edward VII Academy, who supported in various roles throughout the day, including race positioning, field event ranking and inputting scores into the scoresheet.” 

Individual Awards - (Awarded by Norfolk Athletics) 

That concludes the 2024/25 Secondary Sports Events Series! It’s been a fantastic year, we’ve seen all our Secondary Schools excel across the events series, with several event winners across the year. We can’t wait to see what next year has in store for sport across the Trust, and to keep witnessing the academic and sporting excellence of our students.