A ROSSENDALE school were a runaway success at a borough wide athletics competition.

Alder Grange School took home 35 gold medals and set four new records at the Rossendale Schools Athletics competition at Seedhill in Nelson.

The Alder Grange team displayed commitment and enthusiasm in all their events, with year seven pupils Ryan Heneghan and Phoebe Barker taking home the first gold medals in the 1500m – with Phoebe equalling the competition record.

While Chloe Broughton also in year seven brought home golds in both the 800m and the javelin.

The year eight team strengthened the success with Rafiul Islam winning the triple jump, Max Haworth the 400m and Charlie Norman the 200m.

Both Jasmine Jarrett and Kaine Cassell raised the bar in the high jump competition.

Jacob Walmsley and Jahid Miah both completed the double, Jacob in the discus and javelin, Jahid in the shot put and 100m – contributing to the year eight Alder Grange boys being crowned winners.

While Year Nine continued the success with Jeremy Darrell winning the 100m and the 200m. Joe Simpson won the javelin and then went to smash the discus record by throwing a convincing 33.24m.

Amelia Chadfield broke the 200m record by half a second, winning the event in 28.94 seconds. She completed her haul of medals by also winning the long jump and the 1500m.

Melissa Rose doubled her success with a 300m and 800m victory and Hameem Ali took home a win in the 400m.

The final event of the day was the year nine relays, both won by determined Alder Grange pupils. The year nine boys relay team broke the record from 2012 with a convincing winning time of 51.84 seconds. The year nine girls and boys were both given the winning titles.

Vanessa Holland Curriculum Leader of PE said: “It was been a fantastic day for all involved. We are very proud of every pupil. They were a credit to us and the school.”

In total 75 athletes took part in the event, with 84 podium places up for grabs.