NETBALL teams from across the John Spence School Sport Programme played in a competition held at King Edwards Primary School.
The Year 5/6 pupils played High Five netball, the modified game for Years 5 and 6, to introduce them to the full court game. Most of the players had not played competitive netball before.
Pupils had received a unit of work in netball in the lead up to the event followed by over 60 pupils spending an additional two weeks training in preparation for the event led by Adam Pilkington, a PE teacher from John Spence.
All five feeder schools were represented, most providing an A and B team. A total of eight teams played in two separate leagues on the first night of competition.
The competition involved all teams in each section playing against each other, with the top two teams in each section advancing through to a Trophy round the following week, and the bottom two teams playing in a Christmas fun league.
Preston Grange A won their section, with King Edwards A finishing a close second. In the other section, Preston Grange B won with Spring Gardens A finishing second.
The following week, the teams played in their respective leagues with some excellent Netball being demonstrated in both competitions. Whitehouse won the Christmas league going unbeaten on the night with Christ Church and King Edwards B closely following.
The Trophy league showed its class, but it was Preston Grange A, who again went unbeaten to take the top honours. Valiant efforts from the remaining three teams, but they could not keep up with the passing, moving and sharp finishing of their counterparts.
A total of 60+ pupils participated in the tournament, once again highlighting netball as the fastest growing sport in England.
Organisers congratulated all players, teachers and officials and wished Preston Grange A luck in representing John Spence in the High Five finals in February.