Thursday 24^th September 2026 – The sun was shining, the course was set and the children were excited! Teams from Plympton St. Maurice, Old Priory and St. Matthew’s came along to Plympton Academy this afternoon to take part in our annual Cross Country warm-up event. As well as show casing some of the vast talent that our young people have, this was an opportunity for us to celebrate some of the schools games values: Self Belief and Determination.

We had 66 children taking part and every one of them was determined to do their best and finish the course. This was our first year running this event at our new venue and the course proved to be quite deceptive – at first glance it looks fairly flat with one short but steep incline – the long grass definitely played a factor as well in draining those legs. For both the Y5/6 and Y3/4 age groups it was two laps of the course but the younger children had a shortened version of the course. All of the children dug deep and there were definitely some relieved faces when they crossed the finish line. Well done to every one of you—all of your teachers and family that came to cheer you on were so proud of you and they were great races to watch. As the runners came over the line they were given a place card and these were collated by their staff—the top 4 runners from all schools were counted and the school with the overall lowest score for the boys and girls were the winners. Congratulations to Old Priory – I am not sure we have ever had 1 school take all 4 top-spots before – what are you feeding those children?! Awesome effort – well done all. As well as the team competition, the children who finished in the top 3 in each race received a medal: Congratulations to Willow/Nara and Oife from Old Priory for being the top 3 in the Y3/4 Girls race; and to Carter (Plympton St. Maurice)/Ben (St. Matthew’s) and Jaxon (Old Priory) for taking the top-spot for the Y3/4 boys. Congratulations to Emily (Old Priory)/Heather (Plympton St. Maurice)/ Nina (Old Priory) as well as Dylan (St. Matthew’s)/Ollie (Old Priory) and Nolan for the winning girls and boys in the Y5/6 races. Excellent performances all round! Well done to all of the children who took part today – you should be incredibly proud of yourselves no matter what positioned you finished and I really hope you enjoyed it. A full table of results can be found below. I would like to say a special thank you to the young leaders from Plympton Academy who volunteered to be our marshals and hares—you did a great job, thank you. A special thank you as well to the Plympton Academy site team, Miss Trevorrow and Miss Wilson for all of your help making this a great event for our Primary schools.

 Mrs Claire Cormack

Plymouth School Sports Partnership

Chaddlewood took 2^nd spot as they had a higher placed runner.

The Plymouth School Sports Partnership will be holding the annual Primary PE Conference on Friday 11^th September 2026, kindly hosted by Plymouth Marjon University. 

What a fantastic four days at Mount Edgecumbe! Blessed with beautiful weather throughout, the children enjoyed a wide range of outdoor activities that encouraged teamwork, creativity, and personal development.

Each day was packed with exciting experiences, including beach art, where the children worked together to create designs using natural materials found along the shoreline. Orienteering activities challenged them to develop their navigation and problem-solving skills while exploring the stunning surroundings.

The children also took part in a variety of sports sessions, demonstrating great enthusiasm, determination, and sportsmanship. Team-building activities throughout the week helped strengthen friendships, build confidence, and encourage cooperation as the children worked together to overcome challenges.

It was wonderful to see everyone fully engaged, supporting one another, and making the most of the opportunities on offer. The four days have been filled with laughter, achievement, and memorable experiences that will stay with the children for a long time.

A huge well done to all the children for their positive attitude and excellent behaviour, and thank you to everyone who helped make the week such a success, especially to all the leaders from Eggbuckland, Notre Dame and Coombe Dean who supported the event. Mount Edgecumbe truly provided the perfect setting for an unforgettable OAA week.

Thursday 25^th June 2026 – What an incredible morning! Today we hosted the ‘Spirit of the Games Rowing’ challenge, supporting the Strength of Spirit Games on Plymouth Hoe. With the temperature set to reach incredible highs today, we moved the rowing machines into the shade of the marquee with some industrial style fans so we were all sorted. Each year the British Armed Forces, supported by Plymouth City Council and the Royal Marines Charity, host a rehabilitation triathlon for veterans of the armed forces. The Plymouth School Sports Partnership organise and host an accompanying event for children from military families. 6 children from each school were invited along to take part in 3 different challenges: a 100m sprint/a 2 minute row and a 6 minute team relay challenge. With school closures due to temperatures we had 13 schools attend today but it did nothing to dull any noise and excitement – the marquee was absolutely buzzing with excitement.

Once again we were supported by an amazing group of Sports Leaders from Devonport High School for Girls: they greeted the teams on arrival, checked names and led on all of the races. Before we knew it we were underway and the results were coming in thick and fast.  Once all of the races were completed and the numbers were being crunched, our sports leaders gave every child who participated their very own medal, certificate and a goodie bag (courtesy of Samworth Brothers). Making the most of the shade, we stayed in the marquee to announce the winners (insert drum roll please)…Congratulations to Emily and Harry (both from Elburton  Primary) for rowing 100m in the fastest time and Emily being fastest overall. Harry also took the top prize for rowing the greatest distance in 2mins for the boys and congratulations to Betsy (St. Andrew’s) for winning this round in the Girls category.

To calculate the overall winning team, we combined all of their teams’ individual distances over 2 minutes with their team relay distance. A huge congratulations to the team from Elburton who were the overall winners on the day and the recipients of the coveted shield. Well done to everyone who took part today, it was incredible to see wo many smiling faces from children enjoying  being physically active and competing. Once we had all enjoyed some snacks from the Samworth team, schools were invited to stick around to take part in some of the other activities laid on by the Council: from simulators to field gun, entertainment and music on the main stage. What a fantastic morning! I would like to say a huge thank you to some very special people who helped significantly to make this event such a success: firstly to the sports leaders from DHSG and their teachers – you were amazing and the children had the best time; to my colleagues Jan and Anna for all their help and support throughout the day; to Steven and Sara from Plymouth City Council for everything you do to make this event happen; to the Samworth Brothers for providing the icing on the cake with a goody bag of treats for the children and last but not least to Tom and the team from the Royal Marines. Thank you all so much! I can’t wait to do it all again next year and I hope to see you all there.

Mrs Claire Cormack - Plymouth School Sports Partnership

On Wednesday 17th June we held the Mini Red Tennis event for year 3 and 4 pupils at the Plymouth Life Centre which provided an exciting opportunity for young players to develop their tennis skills in a fun and supportive environment. This format is designed to introduce children to competitive play while focusing on teamwork, enjoyment, and basic technique.

Each team is made up of four players: two girls and two boys, encouraging inclusivity and equal participation. Matches are played on smaller courts using softer red balls, making the game more accessible and allowing players to build confidence as they learn to rally, serve, and score.

The event promoted key values such as sportsmanship, cooperation, and respect, alongside improving hand-eye coordination, agility, and tactical awareness.

Overall, the Mini Red Tennis event is a fantastic introduction to competitive sport, helping pupils to develop skills, make new friends, and enjoy being active in a positive and encouraging setting.

The PSSP Year 3 & 4 Hockey Festival brought brilliant energy, teamwork, and sportsmanship to the pitches at Stoke Damerel Secondary School, as pupils from St Matthew’s and Hyde Park came together for a morning of skill‑building and friendly competition.

🌟 A Festival Focused on Fun and Development

The festival was designed to give young players the chance to develop their hockey skills in a supportive environment. The PSSP coach and sports leaders from Stoke Damerel helped guide pupils through a series of activities, including:

• Dribbling drills to build control and confidence

• Passing challenges to encourage teamwork

• Mini‑matches where pupils could put their new skills into action

Throughout the morning, the focus remained on enjoyment, participation, and celebrating progress rather than competition.

Both St Matthew’s and Hyde Park pupils showed outstanding enthusiasm. Well done to everyone who took part, and a massive thank you to the leaders from Stoke Damerel.