The morning of the big day - the calm before the storm. Whilst a tone of trepidation was detectable, it was dominated by a distinctive sense of optimism, excitement, and pride for the call up to represent the Academies at the 2025 Basildon, Billericay & Wickford District Athletics Championships.

Kitted out and ready, we arrived at Basildon Sporting Village bright and early, affording our athletes a moment to settle and breathe ahead of the trials and tribulations the day promised. From the first 'bang' of the starter’s gun right through to the last dip over the line, our students were a credit to themselves, their families and the Academies. Only selected as a reward for consistent commitment to our Extracurricular Training Programme, our athletes put on a resounding display of resilience, teamwork and character. Their loud cheers for one another could be heard from all corners of the track.

We are immensely proud not only of the students that represented the Academies on the day, but also everyone that showed commitment to training but didn't quite make the cut this year. With that being said, special congratulations are in order for:

Kyra.G: Gold Girls 200m

Stephanie.E: Silver, Girls 300m

Toal.A: Silver, Boys 800m

Cristian.G: Silver, Boys Discus

Kaili.R: Silver, Girls Hammer

Franchesca.B, Kyra.G, Stephanie.E and Victoria.S: Silver Girls 4x100m Relay Team

Leon.S: Bronze, Boys Hammer

Victoria.S: Bronze, Girls 200m

Franchesca.B: Bronze, Girls 100m

Finally, in terms of the team results, we are proud to have finished in 2nd place at this year's Year 10/11 Districts Track & Field Championships.

1^st - Woodlands 325pts
2^nd - Basildon Upper Academy 128pts
3^rd - James Hornsby 124pts
4^th - Beauchamps 112pts
5^th - De La Salle 101pts
=6^th - Bromfords 98pts
=6^th - Mayflower 98pts
8^th - Billericay 91pts

If you are interested in getting involved in athletics and would like to be considered for selection for next year's team, our extracurricular athletics training will continue to run for the remainder of the academic year. Why not come along and get involved?

J.Prentice
Head of Sporting Excellence