THREE Bolton youngsters have been selected to take part in the 2018 School Games this week.

Benjamin Peatfield and Nick Jackson Jr will compete for the North West at cycling, and Danielle Collins at cricket.

They will be among more than 1,400 of the country's most talented school-age athletes at the four-day event which takes place at Loughborough University from Thursday.

Peatfield, aged 14, a student at Chorlton High School, and Canon Slade 16-year-old Jackson Jnr, from Atherton, both ride for Giant Halifax RT – the former already having an impressive track record, including a number of podium finishes at national events.

Eighteen-year-old Bury College student Collins will compete for Team Sciver looking to build on her previous success which last year saw her win the Sporting Female of the Year award presented by Sport England's ‘I Will if you Will’ initiative.

The School Games features 11 sports, five of which include disability disciplines, and give young people an experience of high-level competition in a multi-sport environment similar to Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This year the School Games has introduced four new sports – canoeing and rowing, laser run, netball and triathlon.

The event will give many young people, across a variety of different sports, an experience of high-level competition in a multi-sport environment similar to an Olympic or Paralympic Games.

The Bolton trio will be following in the footsteps of some of Britain’s biggest sporting stars who have competed at the event before going on to senior international success.

Previous competitors include Paralympic champions Hannah Cockroft, Ellie Simmonds and Jonnie Peacock, Olympic champion Adam Peaty, heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson and sprinter Adam Gemili.

At the event the cyclists will experience the excitement of competing at the highest level and will live in a dedicated Athletes’ Village on the Loughborough University campus, take part in a School Games ceremony and perform in front of huge crowds of spectators.

“The School Games National Finals provide a great opportunity for talented young athletes,” said Ali Oliver, chief executive officer of the Youth Sport Trust.

“Competitors get a real taste of what it’s like to be part of a world-class sporting event at the amazing sporting venues of Loughborough University, and the event is a great way to see our future sporting champions in action today.”

The School Games was established after London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as part of the legacy programme.

The event is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and Home Country Sports Councils and is delivered by the Youth Sport Trust.

Tickets for the event are available now at https://www.schoolgamesfinals.org/buy-tickets/