Farlington Sports Days 2024

Farlington Students from Reception to Year 13 all enjoyed their respective Sports Days this year, which all had a different format and atmosphere across all three events. Reception to Year 2 competed in their houses, Hawking, Luther King and Parks, for the first time, with points gained during their competition being added into the overall scores for the houses across the whole school.

The Year 3 to Year 6, and Year 7 to Year 13 Sports Day was held off-site for the first time in many years, making use of the fantastic facilities at The Bridge Leisure Centre, including their athletics track.

Reception - Year 2

Reception to Year 2 certainly made a loud entrance to the event being held on the top field. Parading onto the field behind their house flags for the first time there was lots of chanting and noise from all of the age groups! This was the first time that these children had competed in their houses and they certainly showed plenty of house spirit. The pupils were able to compete in a number of different events including hurdles, sprints, agility races, bean bag races and house relays. 

The hurdle and sprint races had many close finishes, with competitors needing to dip for the line in order to achieve extra points for their houses. It was fantastic to see skills that we have worked on in their PE lessons being put to good use. The agility race created some different challenges for the competitors having to weave their way in and out of the cones on their way to the finish line. 

The final individual race was the bean bag race. Balancing the bean bag on the tops of their heads the runners made their way down the track as quickly as possible. With different skills on display this allowed others to take the top spots in the different heats. We also got to see some intense concentration on their faces as they crossed the finish line whilst keeping the bag on their head.

The event culminated in the relay races which proved challenging for the staff! Running to the end of the track and back before handing over the baton, there were some incredible efforts cheered on by their very loud friends in each of the houses. A fantastic event overall with lots of stickers and smiles. All of the pupils put on a fantastic show for their parents and families, demonstrating all of the skills that they have learnt in PE over the course of this term. We look forward to Year 2 taking their talents to the big track next year!

Year 3 - 6

The day started with a mass warm-up and a sea of colour running around the track, followed by the pupils parading down the track behind their house flags chanting loudly. As boys continue to flourish at Farlington, there were a number of new records set, as well as old ones being broken. Starting with hurdles there were a number of nervous waits on the finish line as times were compared across the different heats before the medalists were announced with Tilly (Yr5) also setting a new hurdles record of 9.38s.

There were some impressive efforts across the board on the track with new records in both the Year 3 and 4 girls 60m sprint from Isabella and Sophie. Tilly in Year 5 continued her form with strong performances in the 150m and 600m ahead of the ISA National Finals. There were some excellent efforts in tight finishes to pick up extra points for their houses as well as fantastic support of teammates in some of the longer races. 

Sports Day gave us the opportunity to have the field and track events run simultaneously for the first time, having previously been held as separate events. There was plenty of action in the middle of the track with highly competitive competitions in the Ball Throw and High Jump. The Year 5 boys High Jump competition saw a tie for 1st place with both setting a new school record. Raff in Year 5 now owns the Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 Ball Throw record with his eyes on the Year 6 record next year!

All bar one winner on the track in the boys side of the event set a new record across the hurdles, sprints, 150m, 400m and 600m which is a phenomenal achievement by our boys in years 3-6. 

The pupils enjoyed the new surroundings and the chance to compete in front of a full stand of support from their classmates and parents. We had an ice-cream van on hand too, providing everyone with a well-earned treat after their races which was well received by everyone, including one student who said, “Sports day this year was a massive improvement from others years. The change of venue made us feel more engaged in this year's sports day. The ice cream van was a personal preference of course!”

Year 7 - 13

The top end of the school arrived in good voice and were excited to get going. There was plenty of face paint displaying house colours with everybody getting into the right spirit for the afternoon. 

Again the track events were very competitive with some tight finishes. Augustine in Year 11 managed to complete the sprint double, taking both the 100m and 200m in record times. Flora in Year 8 managed to break the 100m record on the way to victory in the girls competition. Mog, also in Year 8 managed to break long-standing 200m and 300m records. Records also fell in the boys middle distance races with four new markers. 

Again, the field events ran concurrently in the middle of the track meaning there was lots of action, making it a very busy afternoon for some athletes. Abi in Year 7 continued to break records, taking the Javelin record this year. The highlight of the afternoon was the Senior Boys High Jump competition between James and Owen. Both matched each other at every height. With James on the verge of elimination he managed to clear the penultimate height on his final attempt before Owen was unable to clear the bar on his three attempts at the next height. A very competitive event with some excellent displays of sportsmanship throughout. 

The day finished with the relay races, with some late additions to a few of the teams. It was great to see everybody giving it their all for their houses, as well as the support they received from the grandstand as they came down the home straight. 

A special mention must go to a number of Year 13s who competed in over 7 separate events to earn those all important points for their houses. It was fantastic to see them give it their all in what was their last chance to compete for their houses and a great way to finish their time at Farlington.

All of the events were well-attended by our parent body and their loud support certainly pushed all of the competitors across the finish line. Bringing all members of the Farlington community together for one joint event gave the day a special atmosphere.

Director of Sport, Mr Simon Faulkner said, “I really enjoyed my first Sports Days at Farlington and I’m glad that all of the pupils, parents and staff embraced the changes to previous editions. I was so pleased to see everybody buying into the event and want to thank all of the staff and pupils for making all the events so successful and enjoyable.I’m already looking forward to next year when hopefully we can make the event even better.”