Children from New Horizons in Portsmouth enjoy Mini-Olympics for first time


Children from New Horizons Primary School recently ran, threw, jumped, and danced as they competed in their first Mini-Olympics.

The event, which took place at Winchester Sports Stadium, saw thousands of young people from across Hampshire enjoy the vibrant and energetic challenges.

There were 30 different sports available across the day, ranging from traditional sports such as football and rugby, to more niche sports like karate and boccia.

The team at New Horizons Primary School participated in basketball and dance, and other Olympic-inspired tasks.

Tony Wiggins, one of the teachers and the multi-sport lead at New Horizons, said the day was all about making memories and providing the group with a new experience.

He said: “We took a team of nine children from Years 4, 5 and 6 to the Mini-Olympics event after being invited by Hampshire Schools, it was so encouraging to see them all getting stuck in and having fun.

“It was all about providing some of our children on Pupil Premium with the chance to participate in a large-scale event which they may otherwise not have the opportunity to do.”

The team had Singapore as their country to represent, which they did proudly during the opening ceremony of the games.

From waving flags, to making plenty of noise, the opening event was styled very similar to what people see in the Olympics with thousands of excited children lapping the track.

One of the most popular activities for the New Horizons team was Quidditch – inspired by the Harry Potter films.

Mr Wiggins said Quidditch was “really challenging but great fun for everyone involved” adding that all the children received a T-Shirt for the games which they can now keep as a memory of the day.

Impressively, the team had a dance session too, where they choreographed their own dance to perform within 45 minutes.

“One of the boys within my class keeps showing off his dance moves to his friends, it’s funny to see. But now they are all joining in so have become part of that Mini-Olympics memory” Tony said.

Jake, from Year 4, said: “My favourite activity was Quidditch because it was a very fun activity and I liked working with the leaders.”

Milad, from Year 5, said: “If you don’t work as a team, and only work on your own, you can use your teammates to reach a goal and to play fair.”