One of the biggest worries of a cross-country is often the weather. However, despite a wet start to the day, our fortunes turned positive, and we were blessed with lovely weather in the afternoon. If the weather is stable, it is always such a treat to see the young Primary School competitors running, the College CSLA students organising the event and the primary staff members encouraging all the runners. We are always so impressed with the parental/guardian support, and this creates such a vibrant atmosphere where both the Warlingham students and the primary runners want to do well.

We were delighted to host eight of our local primary schools at this competition. We would like to thank Audley Primary School, Hamsey Green Primary School, Marden Lodge Primary School, St. Francis’ Catholic Primary School, St. John’s C of E Primary School, Warlingham Village Primary School, Whyteleafe School and Woodlea Primary School for supporting this event. These schools managed to generate over 250 runners between them from Year 3 to Year 6 – with both St. Francis and Whyteleafe bringing in the region of 60 runners each.

There were four races across the course of the afternoon. The top 6 runners in each race were awarded with a medal and it was great to see a good spread of medals across the schools. Schools were competing for two coveted cups – one for Year 3 and 4 and the Ian Simpson Cup for Year 5 and 6. Congratulations to Whyteleafe School and St. John’s C of E Primary School who were crowned this year’s Cup winners. The medal winners were delighted that our Headteacher, Paul Foster was able to present medals and cups to this year’s winners. All runners received a ‘Participation’ certificate. As Sir Roger Bannister said, “Sport is about adapting to the unexpected and being able to modify plans at the last minute – Sport, like all life, is about taking risks.”

The intent of the PE curriculum and enrichment programme at Warlingham School & Sixth Form College is to promote well-being and as part of that for students to enjoy what they do, become life skilled and ultimately life-long participants in sport. Competitions such as the Primary Cross Country enable all the local community to promote this ethos.

Part of the remit of this event is to promote leadership and enable our Sixth Form College students in Year 12 to gain their Level 2 or Level 3 CSLA qualification which enables them to lead young people in sporting activities. These were: Tom C, Milly C, Matt F-H, Harry F, Taylor H, Isabel S, Chloe S, Jess T, Zoe T, Liam W and photographer, Elisa J. As part of that development, we also involve younger students from Year 9 and 10 who show leadership qualities and become our Sports Ambassadors. The Year 9 students who contributed to this event were: Dotty J, Kieran J, Joel G, Tom H and in Year 10: Lucy H, Teagan M, Poppy H, Abi M, Jess C, Sienna D, Mia Rose P, Oliver S, Ethan B, Callum C, Nathan P, Arthur W. Special thanks to Nathan, Arthur, and Teagan who ran multiple races.

The cross-country cup was a joy to help with as part of my CSLA qualification. The event consisted of many primary school students excited and eager to compete for the cup against each other. The massive sense of community was inspirational especially when it came to sharing the results where school children waited at the end of their races desperate for their school to be called out. It really was a fabulous event and even the weather was kind.

Isabel S, Year 12 student 

This type of event intends to reflect all that is good about the local community be it staff and students alike and relies on the contribution of so many different people. We would like to thank the PE department at Warlingham for making their facilities available and Warlingham staff who have worked hard behind the scenes to contribute to this event. These include Steve Day, Steve Tipton, Harriet Raymond, Debbie Westley, Lawrence McConnell, Ian Moore, Carolyn Walker, Judith Standen, and the Site team, especially Elion Tafa, Ismail Haji and Tony Mandry. Finally, we would like to thank Paul Harris, PE Head of Department at de Stafford School for lending us stakes for the course. 

Mrs Vanessa Salem
PE Teacher

Cross Country Results

Year 3 & 4 Girls

Year 3 & 4 Boys

Year 5 & 6 Girls 

Year 5 & 6 Boys 

2023 Cup Winners for Year 3 & 4  

2023 Ian Simpson Cup Winners for Year 5 & 6