CHILDREN racing in a sack and running while balancing an egg on a spoon can only mean one thing — it's the start of the school sports day season.

Clevelands Preparatory School, in Heaton, helped kick off the annual summer event with the traditional fun sports which also included long jump and the ever popular obstacle course.

They were cheered on by parents and relatives who sat in the sun watching the fun and games on the track.

Headteacher Mrs Lesley Parlane said: "It was an amazing day, after the cold weather we have been having, it was lovely.

"The event was lovely, with parents and grandparents attending to support it."

All the children — from nursery to year six — took part, with some spending weeks training for their particular race or event.

The House Cup went to the Stuart House and the winners, who scored the most points in all of the races, were: infant boys Alexander Morris; infant girls Coco Campbell; junior boys Pierce Giblin and junior girls Pippa Everest.

Mrs Parlane said: "Balancing an egg on a spoon can be quite difficult for the little ones, but they did really well and kept the egg on the spoon most of the time.

“The obstacle course was very popular with the children.”

"There was a friendly family atmosphere. We call the school a family, so it was lovely, and we got lots of positive feedback from parents about the day."

She added: "A big thank you goes to the parent teacher association which provided a lolly to every child and served coffee on the field creating a social atmosphere.”

Sports day often marks the start of summer and are a highlight of all school calendars where lessons are cancelled and everyone takes to the field for some energetic fun and competition.