Competitions and fixtures in a range of games are finally set to bounce back this summer after Covid-19 wiped out twelve months of school sport.

After the longest period without competitive matches in living memory, summer games are on course for a much-welcome return in all parts of the country.

It will bring relief to PE departments all over the country after another term was devastated by another sporting lockdown.

(To read the full report, check out the latest edition of School Sport Magazine out next week. Single copies are available for £7 each or an annual subscription just £29. Email [email protected])

One of the biggest athletics’ events in the schools’ calendar has had to be shelved because of the Covid crisis.

The English Schools’ Athletic Association have been forced to cancel the regional and national rounds of the historic Track & Field Cup.

Athletics bosses said they had no choice because of the uncertainty around large events and travelling that will exist during the first half of term.

Unfortunately it will be the second year in a row that the prestigious finals have had to be scrapped with organisers worried for the next generation of athletes.

School teams can still take part in county championships if enough sides wish to participate.

A spokesman confirmed: The ESAA have found it necessary to postpone the Track and Field cup in its usual format for 2021.

“The restrictions that exist in schools in the current climate and will likely continue until at least June half term have placed such a level of uncertainty on the competition that it is considered impractical to continue as originally planned.

“There will be no national or regional finals this year. All schools that have entered to this date will have their entry fee carried over to the 2022 competition.

“In order to promote the competition and offer a goal for the current eligible year groups, meetings at county level will be offered between the 8th and 25th June with the results appearing on our website as round 1/county fixtures. These meetings will be financed as in a usual competition year.”

(For a full round up of how school sport is coming out of lockdown, check out the new edition of School Sport Magazine out on April 19. Singles copies are available for £7 each. An annual subscription is available for £29).

Former England cricketer Lydia Greenway is offering three teacher-training courses in May aimed at developing the girls’ game.

Her business Cricket for Girls is running a two-day head of girls’ cricket course on May 17 and 18, an advanced batting and bowling workshop on May 26 and an umpiring and scoring workshop on May 27 – all at the County Ground in Beckenham, Kent.

Cricket for Girls specialises in supporting and developing girls’ cricket programmes in schools and clubs including teacher CPD courses, coaching masterclasses, taster sessions, clinics for gifted and talented students and school sport award evenings.

Email [email protected] or visit www.cricketforgirls.com

A Shropshire school has clocked up almost 11,000km in a Race Across the World challenge while families stayed at home during Britain's third national lockdown.

More than 1,100 staff, pupils and parents at Wrekin College in Shropshire have been running, walking, rowing, swimming and cycling in a bid to collectively cover the distance between London and Singapore - the furthest you can travel without flying.

James Shaw, head of boys’ games, was inspired by the hit BBC show when he set the challenge to encourage pupils to keep active in this latest national lockdown.

While pupils stayed at home, entries came in from across the world - with families living in Shropshire, Poland and Singapore.

James said: “After watching the BBC programme during the first lockdown I thought what a great way to encourage everyone to get physically active with a common target in mind no matter where they were.

“Pupils, parents and staff sent me a record of their activities using Starva, Garmin Connect and Map my Walk/Run and I added this to a centralised spreadsheet for everyone to see.

“To track our progress I sent out a map each day with geographical updates on each town and city that we have passed to give a real-life view on where we had been.

“We have emphasised the importance of staying physically as well as mentally active throughout these testing times and we have seen the benefits of this.”

Queen's College, Taunton, is welcoming a host of current sports stars to speak with students during lockdown.

The Sporting Insight series is streamed via the new Queen's Sport website so that parents and the rest of the school community are able to take part.

GB and Scotland hockey player Lee Morton kicked off the talks, speaking about his pathway to elite level sport and answering questions from students about training and playing during lockdown.

Next up was young Warwickshire cricketer George Garrett who gave a valuable insight into combining professional sport with his university students.

The latest guest was England Women's World Cup winning batter Danni Wyatt, who has scored over 2,000 runs in One Day Internationals and T20s.

Danni is currently in New Zealand and spoke about the growth of women's sport and her achievements with the world's number one ranked women's cricket team.

Queen's, an independent school off Taunton's Trull Road, is also looking forward to speaking with Lloyd Wallace, who is currently competing in the Freestyle Ski World Cup for GB in Utah.

Lloyd will be discussing the hurdles he overcomes in competing in a sport which is less well known in the UK, along with his recovery from a serious injury.

Tom Walter, director of sport at Queen's, said: “There is so much for all of the students to take away from these talks and we are very grateful to the athletes for giving up their time to inspire us all.”

Ashville College’s director of sport has raised more than £2,600 for Cancer Research UK after successfully completing a month-long running challenge.

Dominic Bradburne set himself a goal of running a minimum of 5km a day in the first 31 days of 2021, whilst aiming to raise £300 for the national charity.

He eventually went well over the 5km a day and finished with a total distance of 210km – in excess of five marathons.

For the final day of the challenge, Mr Bradburne ran 9.5km in 54 minutes. After successfully reaching his target by pounding the pavements around the Ashville campus, the total he has raised now stands at £2,522, with more still coming in.

Mr Bradburne said: “We have all been touched by cancer, and here at Ashville we sadly lost our headmaster, Richard Marshall, to it last November.

“This spurred me on to do something sports-related to raise money for Cancer Research UK, and I am humbled by the amount raised and thankful to everyone who has donated.

“Smashing the £300 target is simply fantastic, and I’d like to thank everyone for their donations, no matter how small. This money will now go towards helping to find an eventual cure for this disease, one that can’t come soon enough.”

Mr Bradburne added: “Sport has always played a major role in college life and still does despite COVID-19. I’m delighted to say the majority of our pupils are still managing to undertake some form of regular home-based sporting activity.

“Sport is not just good for physical fitness, it’s beneficial for mental wellbeing too. This fundraising challenge got me out of the house in all weathers, and there was certainly some ‘weather’ last month in Harrogate, and although sometimes physically tough, was a welcome mental release.”

Mr Bradburne, who lives in the College’s Greenholme boarding house where his wife is housemistress, said: “The boarders get plenty of opportunities to take part in both indoor and outdoor sporting activities, and they have been a great source of inspiration over the last month.

“During this and the previous two lockdowns, the College’s PE department has focused on keeping pupils active in whatever way possible given their individual circumstances. We also give one-to-one support where needed to maintain pupils’ mental wellbeing.

“There is also a major house competition underway, the House KM Challenge, involving not only pupils, but staff, parents and alumni, with every kilometre run, walked or cycled being translated into points that will go towards the Rigg Cup – the College trophy awarded at the end of each academic year for academic and sporting success.

“We have also extended this by having our first virtual fixture this week, with year 7 to year 10 pupils competing against Giggleswick School to record the greatest distance. Our pupils showed outstanding levels of participation resulting in an 8-4 victory to Ashville.”

For those who would like to contribute to Mr Bradburne’s fundraising total, they can do so here: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/dryathlon-run

Whitgift School have been named the sports school of the year for the first time today.

The Surrey school knocked perennial winners Millfield off the top spot in the exclusive top 200 list compiled by School Sport Magazine.

In an exceptional year, Somerset’s Millfield have been usurped at the top for the first time since the list was first published eight years ago by their longstanding southern rivals.

The Surrey school turned in another fantastic all-round performance with national success in sports ranging from rugby union, hockey and table tennis to swimming and cricket.

(To see the full list and read further details, check out the new edition of School Sport Magazine published today. Singles issues available for £7 and an annual subscription for £29. Email [email protected])

One of school rugby’s most popular national competitions has been scrapped for the second year running.

The Rosslyn Park HSBC National Schools Sevens, due to be held in March, has bitten the dust because of the Covid crisis.

The event, which attracts hundreds of schools from all over the UK, means the whole of the 2020/21 competitive season has now been cancelled following the abandonment of the RFU’s prestigious National Schools U18 and U15 Cups & Champions Trophy and the new School Sport Magazine National Schools U14 Championships

Tournament director Andrew Higgins said today: “Given the disappointment of the 2020 cancellation and the importance that rugby plays in young people’s lives, we have done everything in our power to deliver a tournament in March 2021.

“However, given the serious ongoing circumstances, we feel that we simply cannot proceed with good conscience and, very sadly, we can confirm that we are postponing the 2021 March event.

“While we must be realistic and recognise the current national situation, we are working with the RFU & ERSFU on the feasibility of hosting a summer tournament. This will be contingent on meeting several criteria and we are currently examining the format and safety aspects.

“We hope to consult with as many schools as possible regarding our plans. This may be both directly and through teaching associations/bodies so that we may understand the appetite for attending a summer event.

“If we are unable to stage a tournament in 2021, we will stand by our commitment to either refund or carry over the payment to 2022. However, we would suggest that we should first complete our discussions with the schools, RFU and government about a summer tournament.

“We will then be in a position to either publish details of an updated summer format or decide that it would not be possible to host a tournament this year. We will keep everyone informed.”

A leading youth charity today urged schools not to neglect the physical well-being of children during the new lockdown.

While many classroom lessons will be moving online during the latest restrictions, the Youth Sport Trust is worried that youngsters’ physical activity will decline further.

Chief executive Ali Oliver said: “As millions of young people across the country now move back to remote learning, the continuation of physical education and daily physical activity will be vital in supporting their wellbeing.

“We know that young people’s activity levels plummeted during the first lockdown, and this has contributed to some of the issues they are now facing – from mental health difficulties and low levels of physical fitness to developmental delays.

“Schools have done so much in overcoming impossible challenges in the last ten months to keep children safe and able to learn. Over the coming weeks a virtual physical education curriculum focussed on recovery should be a priority. This could be a game changer for young people’s wellbeing.

The Youth Sport Trust’s Well School movement and its After School Sports Club have been set up to help schools and parents while its team of athlete mentors are providing online mentoring through the Active in Mind mental wellbeing programme.

Ali Oliver added: “In 2019, government set out the initial stages of a School Sport and Activity Action Plan which was due to be developed further last year.

“This current crisis has made the need for a long-term national strategy to tackle inactivity and the decline in young people’s wellbeing through sport and improved physical education all the more urgent.”

The charity’s free support for schools and families to continue with PE, sport and physical activity at home and in school can be accessed at www.youthsporttrust.org/coronavirus-support.

Britain’s future Olympic hopes will be damaged unless schools’ athletics is able to return to some sort of normality.

That’s the view of Chris Cohen, general secretary of the English Schools Athletic Association, the organisation that has nurtured some of the country’s greatest champions.

2020 proved an unprecedented year for the ESAA with most of its major events cancelled, including the Track & Field Championships, the Track & Field Schools’ Cup and the

Now the teacher-led association, whose championships have bred the likes of Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Kelly Holmes, Greg Rutherford and Paula Radcliffe, has warned of the dire effect on future athletes.

(To read the full article, check out the new edition of School Sport Magazine out in January. Subscribe for just £29 a year by [email protected])