School Sport Summer Festivals 2019

The Birmingham School Games Summer Festivals saw 1,700 young people descend on Edgbaston with over 100 schools participating across two days of exciting school sport competition

The festivals once again took place at the fabulous King Edward School and King Edward High School, with the Primary School event taking place on Friday 12^th July and the Secondary festival on Thursday 11th. We are very fortunate to be able to host the events at King Edward School utilising their brilliant facilities and wish to thank the school for their continued support of the Birmingham School Games.

On both days, there were a number of sports competitions and participation festivals taking place, with 5 different sports involved for the secondary school event and 10 sports taking place for primary schools. An Opening Ceremony began both days contribute to the festival atmoshphere, which included an inspiring speech from Chelsey Dixon, GB para-canoeist and a performance from Rebaz Mohammed, a Guinness World Record holder in football freestyle. Throughout the days there was also the opportunity to try new sports and activities in between competitions as part of the Activity Zone, including cycling, wheelchair basketball, climbing and canoeing ergo challenges.

Across the two events there was a quarter of the Birmingham schools represented, showcasing the best of competitive and participation opportunities within school sport. Each year the finals are co-led with young people playing central roles at the festivals, and this year was no exception with over 120 young leaders from across the supporting the delivery of the events.

James Grinsted, Senior Partnerships Manager (Young People) at Sport Birmingham said "The School Games festivals are a perfect opportunity to engage young people in sport and physical activity and to give them a positive experience of a large multi-sport event in an inclusive and exciting environment. The overwhelming feedback from participants on the events was positive and our aim is that this translates into continued long-term participation in sport and physical activity."

The Summer Festivals are the culmination of the academic year's school sport programme, which takes place across the whole city and is delivered in partnership with the network of School Games Organisers for the city. In total there have been 1,872 different events delivered throughout the academic year, with 97,405 participation opportunities accessed.

The School Games will continue into the new academic year 2019/20 and will aim to provide more young people with the opportunity to compete and achieve their personal best. If your school would like to get further involved in the School Games then please contact schools@sportbirmingham.org and we will direct you to the appropriate person to become involved.