East Sutherland primary school pupils had a splashing time at their recent swimming gala at Sutherland Swimming Pool, with Rogart, Lairg and Golspie schools swimming to success. The event on 8 September was the first fixture in the East Sutherland Schools Sports Association (ESSSA) calendar for 2026/27, and we were delighted to have all eight local primary schools represented in the pool.
A total of 45 P4–P7 pupils took part, with every swimmer putting in 100% effort, spurred on by their teammates and generating an incredible atmosphere, with cheers echoing around the pool, particularly during the finals.
A brilliant turnout across East Sutherland
Elissa Stevenson, our Active Schools Co-ordinator, said:
"We've been looking forward to this event since the start of term. The swimmers make it so special by doing their best for their school and also cheering for all the swimmers while the heats and finals are taking place. All the pupils did their schools proud and listened to the race officials which meant all the heats ran smoothly and on time.
"We were delighted to have Councillor Richard Gale and Councillor John Murray along to present the trophies. And even more exciting, we had Double World Champion Hope Gordon in attendance at the event. Being a local girl, she is such an inspiration to the children and she also swam in this very gala when she was in primary school!
"As with all our events, we rely heavily on our local volunteers and for the swimming gala we are fortunate to have some very experienced and willing volunteers who continue to give up their time to lead this event, they are; Rona Gordon, Clare Crisp and Aileen MacKay. We were also fortunate to have a lot of support from the Golspie High School Sport and Young Leaders; Hannah, Daisy, Eliza, Berry, Roxi, Abbi, Brendan, Roane and Donnie who did all the race timings."
Results
Trophies were awarded to the schools coming first in the Rural Schools, Small Schools and Big Schools categories, with every pupil in first place also receiving a medal.
Backstroke – Girls
1st – Emilie (Brora Primary School)
2nd – Arya (Lairg Primary School)
3rd – Katy (Helmsdale Primary School)
Backstroke – Boys
1st – Adam (Bonar Bridge Primary School)
2nd – Jason (Lairg Primary School)
3rd – Bjorn (Golspie Primary School)
Breaststroke – Girls
1st – Bella (Golspie Primary School)
2nd – Daniella (Brora Primary School)
3rd – Eleanor (Rogart Primary School)
Breaststroke – Boys
1st – Lincoln (Rogart Primary School)
2nd – Norrie (Golspie Primary School)
3rd – Jude (Golspie Primary School)
Butterfly – Girls
1st – Bella (Golspie Primary School)
2nd – Freya (Golspie Primary School)
3rd – Arya (Lairg Primary School)
Butterfly – Boys
1st – Adam (Bonar Bridge Primary School)
2nd – Malachy (Golspie Primary School)
3rd – Jason (Lairg Primary School)
Freestyle – Girls
1st – Arya (Lairg Primary School)
2nd – Violet (Bonar Bridge Primary School)
3rd – Eleanor (Rogart Primary School)
Freestyle – Boys
1st – Malachy (Golspie Primary School)
2nd – Adam (Bonar Bridge Primary School)
3rd – Luca (Lairg Primary School)
Medley relay
1st – Golspie Primary School (A)
2nd – Dornoch
3rd – Golspie Primary School (B)
Freestyle relay
1st – Golspie Primary School (A)
2nd – Golspie Primary School (B)
3rd equal – Lairg A & Dornoch
Overall winners
- Rural Schools – Rogart Primary School
- Small Schools – Lairg Primary School
- Big Schools – Golspie Primary School
More Active Schools adventures await
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