Prime Minister urges schools to beat Bolt to Olympic track
Thousands have already signed up for the School Games.
Prime Minister David Cameron has urged schools across the country to follow the lead of those in Thurrock, Essex, and sign up to the School Games.
All bar three of the eligible schools in Thurrock have signed up to take part in the new competition that will culminate with finals being held in May at the Olympic Park.
Speaking at the Newspaper Society event yesterday, the Prime Minister said: “We have got 8,000 schools signed up, with Thurrock leading the way, and I would urge others to join them. There is still time for schools to sign up.”
The School Games are fully inclusive and backed by Paralympics GB, encouraging participation in competitive sport across the spectrum of abilities and experience.
Mr Cameron added that this will be an ideal opportunity for those outside London to be part of the sporting legacy from hosting the Games next summer.
“I want the Olympic spirit to reach every part of the country, not just London,” he said. ”In May next year, British schoolchildren will run on the Olympic track before Usain Bolt; they are going to be swimming in the Aquatic Centre before Rebecca Adlington; they are going to be racing in the Velodrome before Chris Hoy.”
The new School Games format, announced by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt last February, has been planned to motivate and inspire millions of young people across the country to take part in more competitive sport. Designed across four levels, for both primary and secondary school pupils, the School Games offer a fantastic opportunity for all young people to compete in intra-school, inter-school and regional competitions.
Commenting on the latest figures for the number of schools that have signed up in each Local Authority (see the full breakdown), Mr Hunt said; “I would like to join the Prime Minister in congratulating those schools who have already signed up and urge even more to get on board. The School Games competition is a big part of the sporting legacy from London 2012 and I can’t think of a better way to start the first finals than by staging them at the Park before the world’s best athletes arrive.”
Further information
Local Authority Schools participating
Barking and Dagenham 27
Barnet 68
Barnsley 57
Bath and North East Somerset 34
Bedford 23
Bexley 42
Birmingham 183
Blackburn with Darwen 29
Blackpool 41
Bolton 53
Bournemouth 16
Bracknell Forest 14
Bradford 70
Brent 34
Brighton and Hove 12
Bristol, City of 35
Bromley 25
Buckinghamshire 82
Bury 32
Calderdale 36
Cambridgeshire 119
Camden 28
Central Bedfordshire 58
Cheshire East 57
Cheshire West and Chester 119
Cornwall 59
Coventry 24
Croydon 37
Cumbria 84
Darlington 30
Derby 28
Derbyshire 8
Devon 118
Doncaster 11
Dorset 100
Dudley 48
Durham 106
Ealing 36
East Riding of Yorkshire 65
East Sussex 70
Enfield 8
Essex 263
Gateshead 21
Gloucestershire 84
Greenwich 68
Guernsey Offshore Establishments 2
Hackney 8
Halton 2
Hammersmith and Fulham 12
Hampshire 197
Haringey 12
Harrow 29
Hartlepool 37
Havering 46
Herefordshire 25
Hertfordshire 159
Hillingdon 22
Hounslow 51
Isle of Wight 9
Islington 12
Kensington and Chelsea 5
Kent 175
Kingston upon Hull, City of 43
Kingston upon Thames 21
Kirklees 55
Knowsley 58
Lambeth 20
Lancashire 221
Leeds 186
Leicester 42
Leicestershire 88
Lewisham 26
Lincolnshire 155
Liverpool 109
Luton 19
Manchester 75
Medway 22
Merton 26
Middlesbrough 18
Milton Keynes 31
Newcastle upon Tyne 22
Newham 33
Norfolk 6
North East Lincolnshire 7
North Lincolnshire 29
North Somerset 44
North Tyneside 13
North Yorkshire 74
Northamptonshire 55
Northumberland 45
Nottingham 33
Nottinghamshire 141
Oldham 33
Oxfordshire 113
Peterborough 26
Plymouth 56
Poole 20
Portsmouth 15
Reading 32
Redbridge 19
Redcar and Cleveland 17
Richmond upon Thames 15
Rochdale 15
Rotherham 41
Rutland 12
Salford 51
Sandwell 49
Sefton 94
Sheffield 84
Shropshire 64
Slough 39
Solihull 31
Somerset 58
South Gloucestershire 24
South Tyneside 11
Southampton 11
Southend-on-Sea 45
Southwark 15
St. Helens 25
Staffordshire 227
Stockport 35
Stockton-on-Tees 8
Stoke-on-Trent 46
Suffolk 175
Sunderland 17
Surrey 87
Sutton 26
Swindon 22
Tameside 49
Telford and Wrekin 33
Thurrock 55
Torbay 10
Tower Hamlets 7
Trafford 37
Wakefield 15
Walsall 69
Waltham Forest 7
Wandsworth 58
Warrington 48
Warwickshire 93
West Berkshire 18
West Sussex 88
Westminster 5
Wigan 14
Wiltshire 80
Windsor and Maidenhead 35
Wirral 125
Wokingham 24
Wolverhampton 50
Worcestershire 161
York 16