A winter sportsday at Woodlands Primary has been hailed an enjoyable success by pupils, parents, and staff.The Great Race is a whole school event that saw all 460 pupils, ranging from the nursery and reception class to the rest of the school, in a fun run to gain points for their houses.

A winter sportsday at Woodlands Primary has been hailed an enjoyable success by pupils, parents, and staff.

The Great Race is a whole school event that saw all 460 pupils, ranging from the nursery and reception class to the rest of the school, in a fun run to gain points for their houses.

Pupils ran a range of distances up to 1,500m depending on their age and ability. The results will be announced to the school in a celebration assembly photo show and medal presentation.

The races were marshalled by Year 6 sports leaders and there were even a few official pupil photographers scattered around the course to capture the action and reaction at the finish line.

This is the biggest race the school has organised, and proved to be a popular event with pupils relishing the physical challenge on a cold but sunny day.

PE co-ordinator Stuart Aldous said: “This really was a whole school fun run, and I'm proud of the support, dedication and enthusiasm that the pupils showed towards such an inclusive sports event.”

The afternoon saw the Year 6 boys' football team securing a place in the Great Yarmouth Schools Football Cup final after a 4-0 semi-final win over Martham Primary.

After a tough first half the team began to play to their potential and scored two excellent team goals to break the stalemate, before the final two goals sealed the win.

The final will be played before Easter, with their opponents to be decided.

This match featured the unveiling of the three new football strips, purchased through a �400 grant by the Football Foundation.

Now the Key Stage two years at the school each have a kit for football and sporting activities, as well as the girls having their own white kit.

The final celebration of the day came with the first appearance of the Woodlands Cheerleading squad. The group of 25 girls performed as the cup semi-final teams warmed up, with their newly acquired pom-poms and chants, whilst wearing the Football Foundation kits. The girls finished the performance with a tunnel to welcome the home team onto the pitch.

The Cheerleading Club has been running since Christmas by Kerry Webb who completed her coaching qualification. It is hoped that this is the first of several planned performances at sporting events.

This is part of an East Norfolk School Sport Partnership-funded project to offer new sporting opportunities to young people, and has been noted as a success by the parents, pupils and staff that watched and supported their first performance, and clearly brought good luck to the boys team.

It is hoped that this is the first of several planned performances at sporting events.