Blackpool Sports Centre was an amphitheatre of noise as participating children from 11 primary schools across Lancashire cheered and supported their peers at the hotly contested event.
Schools had six minutes on each of nine activities to earn as many points as possible to become Lancashire winners.
Activities included Messi Football, Table Cricket, New Age Curling, Parachute Popcorn, Flight Path, Precision Bean Bag, Slam Dunk, Boccia Blast, and Ten Pin Topple.
At the end of the competition, children from St Anne’s CE Primary School in Rossendale were crowned Lancashire Champions, and the team will now go on to represent Lancashire in the North West Panathlon Finals held in Greater Manchester this month.
Deepdale Community Primary School in Preston finished as runners-up, and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Leyland completed the podium in third place. Support on the day was provided by volunteer Sports Leaders from the Valley Leadership Academy in Bacup.
Panathlon provides competitive sporting opportunities to children with disabilities and special educational needs and the primary school final capped off a successful year for Panathlon as part of the SPAR Lancashire School Games.
Panathlon activities within the 2025-26 academic year have involved almost 4,000 participants from 570 schools across 55 events in Lancashire. This includes nine Lancashire County Finals.
This year, Panathlon has also provided volunteering and skills development opportunities for almost 500 Sports Leaders – secondary school children and previous participants of the SPAR Lancashire School Games who support and encourage younger children in their participation in the Games.
“It was so good to play in a team with my friends, and I enjoyed all the activities included in Panathlon,” said Dexter Carrington, age nine, from St Anne’s CE Primary School.
“We top scored in the bowling which was our best activity. It is a great feeling to win a second competition after our district event and now we go to the North West Finals.”
Liam MacMillan, Head of PE at Deepdale Community Primary School, said: “Our school is in a deprived area, and we enter everything we can in the SPAR Lancashire School Games to offer our children a chance to compete. We have loved it here after winning the Preston competition.
“Inclusion games like this are absolutely vital. It is all the skills development that comes with the physical activity which gives children a little bit of a head start going into secondary school.”
John Bowman, PE Coordinator at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, said: “The Panathlon competition gives the children so much confidence. Our SEN children are quite sporty so in this environment they can show off their talents. They may not stand out in class, but participating in this gives them a chance to shine and feel proud.
“Our children are involved in the SPAR Lancashire School Games every year. In the 24-25 academic year, 83 per cent of our children at Key Stage 2 participated in the School Games in one way or another which is fantastic.”
Debbie Davies, Panathlon Coordinator, said: “The level of performance on display was excellent and the children absolutely loved the activities. It was very competitive but played in the right spirit, and the children are a credit to their schools.
“I would like to say a huge thank you to Active Blackpool and the School Games Organisers for supporting Panathlon within the SPAR Lancashire School Games and growing it across the county to the benefit of children.”
Run by Active Lancashire and the School Games Organiser Network, the Lancashire School Games have been sponsored by SPAR through its association with James Hall & Co. Ltd since 2006. Twenty years of SPAR’s sponsorship is being celebrated in the 2025-26 academic year.
SPAR Lancashire School Games activity is delivered in three distinct clusters across the county – Coastal, Central, and Pennine – aligned to local needs. In the 2024-25 academic year, this included 45 feature events.