JORDEN Best from Shefford lived up to his name at the Bedfordshire and Luton Schools Athletics Association Combined Events Championships. Best was the leading senior boy and helped his school, the Samuel Whitbread Community College, to win the senior boy

JORDEN Best from Shefford lived up to his name at the Bedfordshire and Luton Schools' Athletics Association Combined Events Championships.

Best was the leading senior boy and helped his school, the Samuel Whitbread Community College, to win the senior boys' team event.

It was one of the biggest combined athletic events in the UK at the Bedford International Athletics Stadium.

A massive 300 pupils competed in one of the largest number of competitors recorded in a combined athletics event over a one-day period.

It involved athletes from 26 schools within the county competing in a pentathlon which included hurdles, long jump, high jump, 800m or 1500m and shot putt, javelin or discus.

The event was organised by Ian Roberts, senior lecturer in physical education at De Montfort University Bedford.

A former teacher in Letchworth GC and winner of the coach of the year at The Comet Sports Awards, Roberts is also the South of England schools' co-ordinator for combined events and the English schools' AA international track and field team manager.

Roberts said: "The event was a great success and it was really encouraging to see so many youngsters taking part and so many schools involved.

"The standards were extremely high, and it was gratifying that for some children this event was their first experience of competitive athletics. With so many competitors, this was almost certainly the biggest competition of its type in the country.