A FESTIVAL to celebrate sport for children saw hundreds of youngsters getting active in a series of sporting challenges.

The festival took place at Sir Thomas Boteler High School and saw more than 300 year six pupils from primary schools across the borough taking part in workshops for a number of different sports.

Club coaches, secondary PE staff and young sports leaders from six Warrington High Schools ran the event.

Paula Pearson, the school sports partnership development manager and event organiser, said: "It is the Government's ambition that every child should be taking part in four to five hours of high quality physical activity by 2010.

"Increasingly, as schools develop their out of hours opportunities through the Extended Services agenda, coaches will come to play a more active role in ensuring that this ambition is met.

"The positive contribution that being physically active can make to a young person's lifelong health and wellbeing should not be under-estimated."

As well as making new friends, the children were presented with a goody bag and a directory of information featuring details of sports groups in the borough.