THE Sir John Colfox School was the host venue for the Primary Schools Area Championship.

In almost perfect conditions, schools from Beaminster, Bridport and Lyme Regis battled it out to be the number one running school in the area.

In the girls’ event, pre-race favourite Bella Jacobson took the lead and held her advantage until she reached the hill, where she was overtaken by Lucy Selway (Bridport Primary School) and Cecilia Jennings (Loders).

As the girls reached the bottom of the hill to head back towards the finish line, Jennings had built a good lead and it was enough to bring her home seven seconds ahead of Selway and Jacobson took third place.

Symondsbury took the team title with Loders in second and St Catherine’s in third.

Looking to capture the boys’ race, Finley Cauldwell proved just why he was favourite to triumph when he took to the front from the start and never looked back.

Tom Kilcoyne, who came third last year as a Year Six pupil, chased hard but could never quite close the gap and had to settle for a well-deserved second place, with Owen Pitcher picking up third.

St Catherine’s took the team title with Bridport Primary second and Parrett & Axe in third spot.

Race organiser Andy David also gave his thanks to Phillip and Eddie Colfox from Watton Hill Trust, who allowed the youngsters to train on their land.