Sports News

We believe that sport plays a vital role in the development of children. The values and attitudes that can be acquired through improving personal performance or working as part of a team are values for life. All our children have the opportunity to experience a wide range of sporting games and activities at individual and team level through our PE curriculum and extra-curricular clubs.

School Year 23-24

Girls Football Finals at St Bedes

On Tuesday 5th December, the girls' football finals took place at St Bedes High School. They played their first game against Shadsworth and lost 1:0. Next, they played against Lower Darwen and although Debbie-Leigh scored a beautiful goal, they unfortunately drew 1:1. Finally, they played their last match against Ashleigh and managed to win 2:1.

A huge well done to all the girls that took part: Debbie, Lily, Esther, Amelia , Melody, Swanika and Harper.

Written by Esther and Debbie-Leigh

Boccia Festival

On Friday 17^th November, a group of children were taken to QEGS Sports hall and playing fields in Blackburn.

The group of three children ranging from year 3 to year 5, were a little apprehensive. They had only started playing Boccia in the last 3 weeks.

When the group entered the hall, there were a lot of different schools ready to play.

We had our first game and made a draw, the three children gained confidence.

Our next game was a loss, but then the last two games the team won by 4-2 each time.

The behaviour and sportsmanship of the team was outstanding. Mrs Hudson and Mrs Dewhurst were extremely proud of the team.

Well done St James Jets.

Girls football Tournament 14.11.23

On Tuesday 14th November, our KS2 girls football team played in their first competition at St Bedes.

We played 5 matched in total.  We drew one, lost one (narrowly) and won 3!  There were some amazing goals from our year 5 girls and even our youngest member, Harper, managed to get herself on the score sheet.

We finished in second place and as such qualify for the finals night on Tuesday 5th December.

A huge well done to all the girls for a super team effort.

Football League – Week 5

Last night our year 5’s represented school in our week 5 match.  Due to the year 6 children being away and unavailable to play, we had a few new faces.

We played against St Edwards – It was a very close match and our new players performed really well, despite not having played with the team before.  We pushed hard and had some great chances before they scored twice in the space of a few minutes.

We didn’t let this get to us and continued to work hard.  We were rewarded at the very end of the match, when Lily-Mai scored a wonderful free kick that snuck into the bottom corner of their goal.

Although we lost 2-1 the team played well and showed great determination throughout the game.

A huge well done to all the children who have represented St James’ Football Team during the league fixtures this year.  Also a massive thankyou to the parents, grandparents and carers who have turned up every week in the rain and wind to cheer the team on.

Week 4 League Matches

Thursday 2^nd November

Last night, our football team once again ventured out, this time in the pouring rain and wind, to play our 4^th week of matches.

We had 3 games to play.  The first against Holy Trinity which we won by a convincing 3 – 0.  The second match was St Peters. They were a very strong team and although we tried our very best and played as a team we were no match for them this time.  Our last game was St Barnanbas – another strong opponent.  By this time we were all very cold and very wet.  The ball was almost impossible to keep hold of bvut we played on and Axl once again made some amazing saves.  Unfortunately they were the better team and we lost.

The team showed determination, spirit and grit.  We are very proud of our performance.

Well done everyone.

On Thursday, St James' football (year 5 and 6 team) took part in two league matches.  The first game was against St James' Darwen.  We took an early lead thanks to Reun who also scored two more for his hatrick but St James' Darwen scored another thress against us so this game ended 3-3.

Then we played St Pauls. We played really well in this game but they won 2-0.  Overall we played really well and are proud of our performance.

Report by Harrison Yr 5

School year 22-23

On Tuesday 4^th July, Mrs Wilton, Mrs Cookson and Mr Hudson took 10 year 3-4 children to Stanley Park in Blackpool for the Lancashire School Games Event. St James’ had been invited to take part in a traditional sports day.  We were all really excited and hoping that the rain would hold off.

After marching around the track with the other Blackburn with Darwen schools in our blue event

t-shirts - Olympics style - we then followed our event leaders to the field where we would be taking part in our sports day.

There were lots of schools there and all the

different coloured shirts made it look like a huge rainbow.  We were put into our holding pen and

given instructions as to what we would be doing.

The first events were the field events.  The wellie throw, vortex throw, bean bag accuracy challenge and finally the tug of war.  The team approached every event with enthusiasm and cheered each other on.

But who knew? The tug of war would be our event of the day.  We smashed it! With a huge amount of knowledge and tactics shared form our teachers (all tug of war experts it seemed?) we won pull after pull after pull.  We were amazing.

After lunch we moved on to the track events.  The sack race,

3-legged race, space hopper race, egg and spoon and finally team relays.  Again, we approached every event with enthusiasm and a real give it a go attitude.  We cheered and laughed and had a huge amount of fun.

Then it was time for the teachers to choose a boy and a girl from the group who had shown the school games values.  Ruby (now

re-named Ruby “The Flash”) was chosen for her positive attitude to everything she does and her huge infectious smile.  Archie was

chosen for showing some real promising leaderships skills and a

wonderful, positive attitude towards his team mates.  Let’s hope this continues next year as we could be looking at a team captain, young sports leader in the making.

The sun shone, we were tug of war champions, we worked brilliantly as a team and had lots of fun.  St James’ really do show all of the school games value every time we attend a sports event.

A huge thanks to the staff and parents who came to school early and stayed late or came to pick us up late in order that we could attend the Lancashire School Games 2023.

Our Team

Ruby “The Flash”, Willow, Esme-Rose, Emily, Ella, Saif, Archie, Harry, Ashton, Elliot.

Junction 4 Skatepark 

On Monday 10^th July, a group of year four boys were taken to Junction 4 Skatepark in Blackburn by Mrs Hudson.

They were invited to join in with a session teaching them how to perform tricks and use the skatepark ramps on BMX bikes.The boys arrived a few minutes early, and had chance to see the new outdoor park being constructed.

When the other school arrived for the session, the boys looked over and commented that they were a lot older and bigger. But it didn’t stop them. The boys all stuck

together and looked out for each other, always full of encouragement and helpful advice for each other.

The boys were taught how to use the bikes to get speed, pass through obstacle courses, and pull all the wheels off the floor – this trick is called bunny hopping. Some of the boys even tried out the high ramps.There were a few times when the boys fell from the bikes, but every time each one of them showed determination and perseverance, they got up, picked up the bike and started again. Some of the boys have come home with a few bruises and scrapes, but the smiles on their faces were bigger.

Once again St James’ children have shown great teamwork, compassion for others, and amazing manners. The organisers and other school teachers all commented on the behaviour of the boys.

A big thank you to Mrs Wilton for organising this trip.

Y3/4 Football Festival

On Wednesday the 28th June, Y3 and Y4’s football team went to Witton Park to play in the Y3/4 Football Festival.

We played a total of 6 games against 3 different teams.

We have never played together as a eam before, so both Joel and Mr Whitely were very impressed.

We ar very much looking forward to playing again and building our confidence more and more.

Sports for Champions

On Friday 23^rd June, St James' had a very special visit from British, Wheelchair

basketball Champion, Sophie Carrigill.

Sophie presented a whole school assembly, about overcoming adversity and shared the story of her car accident at the age of 16, which left her paralysed from the waist down.  She found an inner strength, driven by her love of sport, that enabled her to pull through and go on to win medals for Great Britain in the wheelchair basketball team.

Sophie then spent some more time with our KS 2 classes working on mental wellbeing and ways to overcome difficult situations that the children may face in their lives, before ending the morning with a Q&A session with the Year 5 and 6 classes.

We had some lovely feedback from both children and staff and hope that the visit will leave a lasting impression.

"It was amazing.  I learned that even if you have a disability, this should not be a barrier to stop you from achieving greatness." Esther Y5

"I think she should come back again in the future so our younger siblings can listen to her." Amelia Y5

"Sophie was so inspiring." Y5

"It was fun to meet Sophie and it taught me that you should follow your dreams even if something gets in your way." Logan J Y6

"I was very proud of Sophie, as some of the questions we asked were very hard.  I rate this as 10/10 and wish she could come back and do more work with us."

We enjoyed working with Sports for Champions and look forward to working with them again in the future.

Mrs Wilton

Tri-Golf Competition

On Thursday 15th June our Year 4 Girls along with a couple of Year 3 Girls went to St Bede’s High School to compete in a

tri-golf competition.

Lots of us have never played golf before, and this was the first time holding a golf club so quite understandably we felt a little nervous.

We had six holes which we had 10 minutes to putt as many balls as possible, we use two different types of golf clubs, the Putter and the chipping wedge. After our first go we really started to get the hang of it!

We completed all six holes and had an amazing afternoon in the sun.

Thank you to Mrs Wilton and Mrs Jacques for our transport. We can’t wait to get to the next event!

Cricket Competition 

On Wednesday, 8 children from years 5&6 took part in a cricket competition held at Darwen Cricket Club along with 14 other schools from the area.

We were extremely excited and couldn't wait to spend a day playing cricket in the glorious

sunshine! Even though it was our first cricket match for most of the team we were confident and enthusiastic.

Although we didn't win our group and make it to the semi finals we played some great cricket. The umpire commented on Joseph and Miron's terrific bowling technique and commended the perseverance shown by Miley and Amelia

allowing them to improve their game throughout the day. Billy and Reun showed great

determination and were a credit to the team. Logan made a couple of great catches during the day and Axl hit a few fabulous sixes too!

Thank you to Mrs Wilton for giving us the

opportunity to take part in this event and

helping with transport along with Mr Hudson. Thank you to Miss Kelly and Mrs Malik too!

On Tuesday afternoon, Mrs Wilton and Mr T took 8 year 3 and 4 children to Witton Park to compete in this year's Quad Kids event.  We all took part in 4 events:

60m sprint

400m run

Vortex throw

Standing long jump

Everyone gave their best in every event.  

The scores were counted up and Mr

Eastwood emailed them to Mrs Wilton on Thursday.

We were absolutely thrilled to have finished 7^th out of the 18 schools that competed over the afternoon.

There are some promising athletes across year 3 and 4 this year who are capable of amazing things in future years.

We are all very proud of our selves 🙂

Race 2 - Thursday 25^th May 2023

After school on Thursday, the cross-country squad were at St Peters Darwen for the second race.

It was a glorious day - a huge difference from our first race just a few weeks ago!

We were all excited to run again and still a little nervous.  Mr Eastwood mixed thigs up a bit this week with the boys running first.  Our year 3-4 boys were amazing and all completed the run with smiles on their faces.  The year 3-4 girls were up next.  Wow! what a team! Lily-Mae held on to her first place from the last run, striding in confidently with a huge lead - even managing to give the supporters a wave!  The rest of the girls coming in close behind her with much improved times.  The work the girls have all been putting in really showed.

Next up were the 5-6 races.  Both boys and girls ran brilliant races and we are expecting even better results next time as they have all now run the course.

The determination, sportsman ship and willingness to 'give it ago' was shining brightly from the whole team.  Mrs Wilton, Mrs Pearson and Miss Whaley are so proud of the whole team and the way we continue to represent St James'.

A huge thank you also to the parents and carers who turn up every time to watch and support us.

The St James' Cross Country Squad.

Wednesday 17th May - Tennis

Harrison, Alfie, Debbie-Leigh and Lily Mae  from Year 4 attended a mini tennis competition at Blackburn Northern Tennis club on Wednesday afternoon.

We have only had 4 tennis lessons so far this year so we were quite nervous about what to expect and how we would get on.

That was completely unnecessary, however, as our St James’ team did what we always do and got on with it with enthusiasm, determination, fair play, perseverance and some unexpected tennis prowess!

Mrs Pearson was immensely proud of us as teachers always are when St James’ children compete in competitions with other schools.

We missed the semi – final stage by half a point!!  A fine margin indeed! And though we were disappointed, we held our heads high, played games amongst ourselves and applauded and congratulated the eventual winners.

Netball - Thursday 11th May

We played two matches, our first was against St Peters’ and although we started slow, we began to pull it back in our second game against St Paul's.  During our second match Naomi and Esther our Goal shooter and Goal Attack both scored.  Each player was back working as a team and passes became seamless.  The ball was soon travelling down court towards our shooters quickly and frequently, which made for an exciting watch for all supporters on the side lines. Although we didn't win, we love playing netball together and supporting each other during matches. Mrs Wilton and Miss Barnes have decided to award Lola player of the match for our first game and Leah player of the match for our second game.  Our last match will be in June and we will keep you updated! 

 Cricket Competition

On Wednesday 8 children took part in a cricket competition held at Darwen Cricket Club along with 13 other schools from the area.

We were extremely excited but a little bit nervous as we’d never played cricket at a competitive level before!

We won our first match, which really boosted our confidence.

Our second match was much closer and our fielding and team working skills were amazing!  We hit 3 wickets and made a super comeback, winning 43 runs to 41.

The third game was tough and even though we were

significantly improving we lost to an awesome team after they hit several sixes.

We won our fourth game which placed us runners up in our group and we qualified for the semifinals.

The semifinals allowed us to show off all our skills.  The

umpire said Finn, Muhammed-Yusuf and Kacper bowled some brilliant balls. Axl hit a tremendous six, Lily-Mae and

Debbie-Leigh made a great batting pair and Esther and

Miley gave it their absolute all, scoring runs and motivating the team. It was a close semifinal however we lost after their last batter hit two sixes.

We came 4^th on the day which is a fabulous achievement. As always, we represented school amazingly, showing good sportsmanship, courtesy and determination. 

Thank you to Mrs Wilton for giving us the opportunity to take part in this brilliant event and helping with transport.  Thank you to Miss Kelly and Mrs Malik too!

The Cricket Team

Kurling festival

On Tuesday 2^nd May, Mrs Hudson and Mrs Dewhurst took a group of six children to St Bede’s for the Kurling festival, between 10 schools.

At the festival, all the children were given the opportunity to compete in different Kurling activities and shown by a great team of leaders how to play the game.

Although St James’ team did not get placed in the top 3, the team played really well and showed great sportsmanship. All the children received a medal and a

certificate.

A great time was had by all the children, who were very tired at the end of a long session.

Netball - Year 5/6 Round 1

Kicking off the netball tournament, we played our first two netball matches and were happy the sun was shining, and we were able to socialise with other teams from different schools across Darwen. We were excited to put all our practice into action and pleased to see that so many parents came to watch us, as well as Mrs Cookson and our newest and youngest supporter Keira on the side line. Our first match was against Turton and Edgeworth and although the match was challenging, we persevered and stayed positive. Mrs Wilton and Miss Barnes have decided to award Edith, who played goal keeper, player of the match for her determination and grit! Our second match was against Ashleigh and our shooters, Esther and Naomi both scored, giving the team the confidence boost we needed. Throughout this match, we began to gel as a team and our passes and defence became much more seamless. For the second match, Mrs Wilton and Miss Barnes have decided to award Marcelina, who played Goal defence, player of the match, for her extraordinary interceptions! Although we didn’t win, with each match we are growing stronger as a team. As always, we were proud to represent St James', and we were polite and courteous to all students and staff at the sport event. We look forward to our next match and will keep you all updated on our progress throughout the league.

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Cross Country - Race 1 

Key Stage 2 - Cross Country at Darwen Vale Thursday 30th March saw 16 KS2 children attending the first cross country race of the year. Some of the squad had competed before but a few children were experiencing this challenging event for the first time. We knew it was going to be a wet and muddy race, due to the fact that it had rained all day but at least the rain eased off in time for the first race. The event is split into 3 race nights, of which this was the first and most challenging. Year 3/4 girls compete first, followed by year 3/4 boys, (running one and a half laps,) then year 5/6 girls and finally year 5/6 boys (running 2 laps.) A few of the children had raced before but were stepping up into the next year brackets which would be a new challenge. The year 3/4 girls were up first. There were lots of schools in attendance and the start was a bit of a battle. The girls set off at a good pace and managed to maintain this throughout. Lily-Mae started from the front and managed to stay there throughout, giving us our first 'first place' finish in quite a number of years. This is however, a team event and the other girls got stuck in and all placed well. Emily, Debbie-Leigh and Harper all finish mid group. The year 3/4 boys were up next and all first time runners. The boys again battled through the start and managed to keep going despite the course becoming more and more muddy. Filip and Ryan placed towards the front of the group with Thomas and Riley really working hard to push each other and encourage each other through to the finish line. Outstanding determination and team work from the boys. Year 5/6 girls were all experts, having raced last year. The going was getting really tough but again they battled through. Miley and Marcelina finished towards the front of the pack with Lia and Gabriela again showing outstanding determination and team work to carry each other through to a well earned finish. Finally the 5/6 boys were up. The track was now just a muddy mess and very difficult to run on. The start was fast and there were a number of fallers at the first corner. Our boys stayed on their feet and battled through the mud. Joseph and Reun were matching each other step for step the whole way round and finished towards the top of the group with Benjamin fighting through, not too far behind. The team spirit and support that the children showed each other, the effort, determination and grit shown by them all was inspirational. Mrs Wilton, Mrs Pearson and Miss Whaley could not be more proud of you all. You are all amazing!!!

Girls Biggest Ever Football Session

On Wednesday 8^th March, on what was possibly the coldest day ever, 8 girls from year 3, 4 and 5 were invited to St Bedes, to take part in a country wide event which aimed to introduce girls to football and sign post them for the future.

The girls were excited to take part.  The event involved a 4 training stations led by various football leaders.  They joined lots of girls from other schools who were also participating.  Despite the freezing cold, they all joined in well and really enjoyed being part of this event.

Libby in year 5 said " It was really good that we were taught by different people and more people will now want to play the game."

Hannah in year 5 said " It was really fun and it taught me a lot more about football.  I will 100% play football again now."

The girls were a credit to St James' as usual and I hope to see them all progress with the sport going forward.

Mrs Wilton. 

Year 5/6 Boys Football Tournament

On Tuesday 7^th March, 8 boys from year 5 and 6 took part in a football tournament at Witton Park.  

We played 5 matches in all against Shadsworth, Avondale, Lammack, Lower Darwen and QEGS. 

It took us a couple of games to get going but once we did there was no stopping us.!

We drew two games and won 3.  The team played brilliantly together, supporting and encouraging each other at all times. There were some super goals and we had some amazing saves too from our super goalie!

Well done to all of the boys on a very successful tournament.

Mrs Wilton

School Games Silver Level Mark Award!

We are delighted to announce that we have achieved the School Games Silver Level Mark Award for the 2021/22 academic year.

The School Games Mark is a government led awards scheme launched in 2012 to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community. Participating in this process allows schools to evaluate their PE provision and assists them in developing an action plan for future progress.

We are extremely proud of our pupils for their dedication to all aspects of physical activity and school sport, and we are committed to using the School Games to try and engage those young people who haven’t previously been active or represented our school and to try and ensure that all our students have a positive experience.

As part of our application, we were asked to fulfil criteria in the areas linked to the five School Games outcomes and we are pleased that the hard work of everyone at our school has been rewarded this year!

Final Cross Country Meet 2022

We want to say an enormous well done to all the children who took part in the final cross-country race on Wednesday at St Peter’s school. Yet again, the children were real ambassadors for the school and all the staff couldn’t have been prouder. They tried their very best and performed better than they ever have; doing this with enthusiasm and smiles on their faces. A fantastic achievement!

Netball 2022

On Thursday evening, our year5/6 girls took part in the rescheduled Netball Leagues first set of fixtures.  They faced some really tough opposition, playing against girls who were very obviously club players.  The girls resilience a determination was second to none.  Their confidence increased throughout the two games and we are all now looking forward to competing again next Thursday.

A huge thanks to all the parents/carers who attended to show their support.

Cross Country 2022

A great big WELL DONE! To all the children who represented St James LD in the town cross country championships. The four teams from across KS2 have competed in two races and have one more to go. They have shown resilience and determination completing two tough courses (running in snow and hail at times) and competing against a high standard of club runners. We are all extremely proud of them, especially as they have stayed positive and motivated and are true role models for others. We are all looking forward to the last race and seeing that same team spirit again!

Swimming Gala 2022

Well Done St James’ Swim Team!!

We at St James’ have yet again been blown away by the efforts of the children.

On Friday 18^th March, the swim team attended the Darwen Primary Schools Swimming Gala at Darwen Leisure Centre. Pre-Covid we attended this event regularly but this year we were definitely ‘Wowed’, as for the first time ever we had finalists in seven races.

Ralph - Boys Backstroke;

Lia - Girls Backstroke;

Axl - Boys Breaststroke;

Joseph - Boys Front Crawl;

Lacey - Girls Front Crawl;

Kacper, Ralph, Benjamin and Axl – Boys Medley Relay & Boys Freestyle Relay.

Unfortunately, on this occasion no medals were won but the achievements of all the swimmers was something to be just as proud of.

Boys Football league 2021/22

We started our football season at Witton park on Thursday 16th September.  The boys from years 5 and 6 had only had a couple of practices but were excited and ready to give it their best shot.

We played T & E and St Edwards.  Unfortunately we lost both matches but we did not give up and got better and better as the games progressed.  There were some outstanding saves from Jenson in the last half and Ayo showed amazing determination throughout the whole evening.

Well done Boys and we will hopefully have some goals to report next week.

Mrs Wilton