Prime Minister urges schools to beat Bolt to Olympic track
Thousands have already signed up for the聽School Games.
Prime Minister David Cameron has urged schools across the country to follow the lead of those in Thurrock, Essex,聽and sign up to the .
All bar three of the聽eligible schools in Thurrock have signed up to take part in the new competition that will culminate with .
Speaking at the Newspaper Society event yesterday, the Prime Minister said: 鈥淲e have got 8,000 schools signed up, with Thurrock leading the way, and I would urge others to join them. There is still time for schools to sign up.鈥�
The School Games are fully inclusive and backed by , encouraging participation in competitive sport across the spectrum of abilities and experience.聽
Mr Cameron聽added that this聽will be聽an ideal opportunity for those outside London to be part of the sporting legacy from hosting the Games next summer.
鈥淚 want the Olympic spirit to reach every part of the country, not just London,鈥� he said.聽鈥滻n May next year, British schoolchildren will run on the Olympic track before Usain Bolt; they are going to be swimming in the Aquatic Centre before Rebecca Adlington; they are going to be racing in the Velodrome before Chris Hoy.鈥�
The new School Games format, announced by Culture Secretary last February, has been planned to motivate and inspire millions of young people across the country to take part in more competitive sport.聽Designed across four levels, for both primary and secondary school pupils, the School Games offer a fantastic opportunity for all young people to compete in intra-school, inter-school and regional competitions.
Commenting on the latest figures for the number of schools that have signed up in each Local Authority (), Mr Hunt said; 鈥淚 would like to join the Prime Minister in congratulating those schools who have already signed up and urge even more to get on board. The School Games competition is a big part of the sporting legacy from and I can鈥檛 think of a better way to start the first finals than by staging them at the Park before the world鈥檚 best athletes arrive.鈥�
Further information
Local Authority Schools participating
聽Barking and Dagenham 聽27
聽Barnet 聽68
聽Barnsley 聽57
聽Bath and North East Somerset 聽34
聽Bedford 聽23
聽Bexley 聽42
聽Birmingham 聽183
聽Blackburn with Darwen 聽29
聽Blackpool 聽41
聽Bolton 聽53
聽Bournemouth 聽16
聽Bracknell Forest 聽14
聽Bradford 聽70
聽Brent 聽34
聽Brighton and Hove 聽12
聽Bristol, City of 聽35
聽Bromley 聽25
聽Buckinghamshire 聽82
聽Bury 聽32
聽Calderdale 聽36
聽Cambridgeshire 聽119
聽Camden 聽28
聽Central Bedfordshire 聽58
聽Cheshire East 聽57
聽Cheshire West and Chester 聽119
聽Cornwall 聽59
聽Coventry 聽24
聽Croydon 聽37
聽Cumbria 聽84
聽Darlington 聽30
聽Derby 聽28
聽Derbyshire 聽8
聽Devon 聽118
聽Doncaster 聽11
聽Dorset 聽100
聽Dudley 聽48
聽Durham 聽106
聽Ealing 聽36
聽East Riding of Yorkshire 聽65
聽East Sussex 聽70
聽Enfield 聽8
聽Essex 聽263
聽Gateshead 聽21
聽Gloucestershire 聽84
聽Greenwich 聽68
聽Guernsey Offshore Establishments 聽2
聽Hackney 聽8
聽Halton 聽2
聽Hammersmith and Fulham 聽12
聽Hampshire 聽197
聽Haringey 聽12
聽Harrow 聽29
聽Hartlepool 聽37
聽Havering 聽46
聽Herefordshire 聽25
聽Hertfordshire 聽159
聽Hillingdon 聽22
聽Hounslow 聽51
聽Isle of Wight 聽9
聽Islington 聽12
聽Kensington and Chelsea 聽5
聽Kent 聽175
聽Kingston upon Hull, City of 聽43
聽Kingston upon Thames 聽21
聽Kirklees 聽55
聽Knowsley 聽58
聽Lambeth 聽20
聽Lancashire 聽221
聽Leeds 聽186
聽Leicester 聽42
聽Leicestershire 聽88
聽Lewisham 聽26
聽Lincolnshire 聽155
聽Liverpool 聽109
聽Luton 聽19
聽Manchester 聽75
聽Medway 聽22
聽Merton 聽26
聽Middlesbrough 聽18
聽Milton Keynes 聽31
聽Newcastle upon Tyne 聽22
聽Newham 聽33
聽Norfolk 聽6
聽North East Lincolnshire 聽7
聽North Lincolnshire 聽29
聽North Somerset 聽44
聽North Tyneside 聽13
聽North Yorkshire 聽74
聽Northamptonshire 聽55
聽Northumberland 聽45
聽Nottingham 聽33
聽Nottinghamshire 聽141
聽Oldham 聽33
聽Oxfordshire 聽113
聽Peterborough 聽26
聽Plymouth 聽56
聽Poole 聽20
聽Portsmouth 聽15
聽Reading 聽32
聽Redbridge 聽19
聽Redcar and Cleveland 聽17
聽Richmond upon Thames 聽15
聽Rochdale 聽15
聽Rotherham 聽41
聽Rutland 聽12
聽Salford 聽51
聽Sandwell 聽49
聽Sefton 聽94
聽Sheffield 聽84
聽Shropshire 聽64
聽Slough 聽39
聽Solihull 聽31
聽Somerset 聽58
聽South Gloucestershire 聽24
聽South Tyneside 聽11
聽Southampton 聽11
聽Southend-on-Sea 聽45
聽Southwark 聽15
聽St. Helens 聽25
聽Staffordshire 聽227
聽Stockport 聽35
聽Stockton-on-Tees 聽8
聽Stoke-on-Trent 聽46
聽Suffolk 聽175
聽Sunderland 聽17
聽Surrey 聽87
聽Sutton 聽26
聽Swindon 聽22
聽Tameside 聽49
聽Telford and Wrekin 聽33
聽Thurrock 聽55
聽Torbay 聽10
聽Tower Hamlets 聽7
聽Trafford 聽37
聽Wakefield 聽15
聽Walsall 聽69
聽Waltham Forest 聽7
聽Wandsworth 聽58
聽Warrington 聽48
聽Warwickshire 聽93
聽West Berkshire 聽18
聽West Sussex 聽88
聽Westminster 聽5
聽Wigan 聽14
聽Wiltshire 聽80
聽Windsor and Maidenhead 聽35
聽Wirral 聽125
聽Wokingham 聽24
聽Wolverhampton 聽50
聽Worcestershire 聽161
聽York 聽16