Sir John Thursby score place at finals

The students battled it out against three other schools from across the Burnley district to bag the top spot, and will now go on to represent the district at the SPAR Lancashire School Games county finals where they will compete against teams from 14 other Lancashire districts to be named county champions in inclusive football.

The students stormed to success after scoring eight goals during the tournament, in which they were unbeaten and conceded just once.

Coaches from Burnley FC Community Trust delivered a training session before Sir John Thursby took on Burnley High School, Unity College and Ridgewood Community High School in the round-robin tournament.

Now in its 10th year, the SPAR Lancashire School Games comprises two main events designed to give all children the opportunity to participate in competitive sport.

The Disability Swimming Gala will take place on March 16th at Lancaster’s Salt Ayre Sports Centre, while the county finals event will be held at Stanley Park in Blackpool on July 5th.

Schools across Lancashire will now battle it out for a place at the SPAR Lancashire School Games county finals, where they will compete against pupils from 15 county districts to be crowned champions in sports including rounders, tennis, orienteering, handball, gymnastics, athletics and netball, as well as two new sports for 2016, triathlon and tri-golf.

Over 2,400 youngsters are expected to take part in the event this summer. Organised by Lancashire Sport Partnership, the event is implemented by the county’s school games organisers and sponsored by James Hall & Company Ltd, the SPAR distributors for the North of England.

It is part of the national £128m school games programme.

Helen Tyson, who is the school games organiser for Burnley and arranged the event, said: “I’d like to thank the coaches from Burnley FC who delivered an excellent session and were very impressed with the standard of skills on display.

“One of the best things about the SPAR Lancashire School Games is that it provides an opportunity for all children to take part in competitive sport, and the inclusive football event is always popular, with 40 children across Burnley fighting it out for a place at the county finals this year.

“Congratulations to Sir John Thursby on their impressive performance, everyone will be cheering you on and hoping for more success in Blackpool in July.”