PUPILS from two schools in Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley are head over heels after qualifying for the county gymnastics finals.

Baxenden Primary School and Salesbury Primary School won their respective borough heats and will now take on the best of the rest in this year’s SPAR Lancashire School Games County Finals at Stanley Park in Blackpool on June 30.

The Hyndburn and Ribble Valley qualifiers were held at secondary schools in the two boroughs.

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First up was the Ribble Valley event which was held at St Augustine’s High school. Due to a record number of teams that wished to take part - 21 teams in total - the competition was run in shifts and schools were allocated a time slot to come and compete.

“This actually worked really well as there was much less waiting around on the night,” said Jane Johnson, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley school games organiser. “But it did mean that schools were left waiting in anticipation for their results until the next morning!”

“The standard of competition had again increased since the previous years and it was evident that many schools had been working with gymnastics coaches and running gym clubs.”

Youngsters performed gymnastics drills and the vault and it was Salesbury who took the top two slots with the B team just finishing ahead of the A side. St Huberts were third.

Individual honours went to Harry Cross of Simonstone who was first with Olivia Cordeau (Waddington and West Bradford) second and Emily Evans (St Michael and St Johns) in third place.

“With the highest number of entrants ever recorded for Ribble Valley gymnastics, the standard of competition was extremely high,” added Johnson.

“Salesbury Primary absolutely dominated the event, with a team from the school snatching both first and second place, while St Hubert’s Roman Catholic Primary School finished in third.

“A huge well done to the pupils from Salesbury Primary for securing a highly sought-after place at the Lancashire School Games county finals, I look forward to cheering you on in Blackpool.”

The Hyndburn event was hosted by Hollins High school and this was of equally high standard and had 13 teams taking part.

In the end, Baxenden retained their crown but Peel Park were a close second and are definitely closing the gap on Baxenden. All Saints were in third place.

James Firminger of St Marys Oswaltwistle was the stand-out individual, taking top spot with runners-up spot going to Keira Graham from Peel Park while Baxenden Primary School pupil Rebecca Jackson was third.

“The top teams have qualified to represent their districts in the level three school games which is in Blackpool in June, along with the highest scoring individual gymnasts,” said Johnson.

“Thanks must go to St Augustine’s and Hollins High schools for their venues and young leaders who helped with the scoring and judging and also to Ribble Valley Acrobatics Club.

The event is organised by Lancashire Sport Partnership and is implemented by the county’s school games organisers. It is sponsored by James Hall & Company Ltd, the SPAR distributors for the North of England. The SPAR Lancashire School Games, now in its ninth year, is the biggest school games scheme in the county and is part of the national £128m school games programme. The finals, which aim to give every child the opportunity to participate in competitive sport, will see over 2,000 children compete in sports including; gymnastics, handball, football, netball, rounders, athletics, tennis and tag rugby.

This year’s event was officially launched at Accrington Academy. Johnson, who helped to arrange the event, said: “Youngsters across Hyndburn are already training hard to compete in the qualifiers which will determine who will make it through to the county finals.

“Each year the event provides an exciting and inclusive competitive platform.”