A PROGRAMME to promote sport in Huddersfield schools is celebrating success in a new national award scheme.

Newsome High School Sports Partnership, which forges links between schools and sports clubs, has been given an accolade in the first National Development Awards for Achievements in School Sports Partnerships.

Newsome High works with three other high schools, two middle schools, one special school and 29 primary schools to raise standards of PE and provide new sports clubs.

The awards are run by the Youth Sport Trust, a charity set up in 1994 to support the development of young people through sport.

The Newsome partnership won a runners-up award in the School-Club Link category, for connecting schoolchildren with local sports clubs. The award was presented by the Minister for Sport, Richard Caborn, at the National School Sport Conference in Nottingham.

The partnership has built links with Kirkburton Cricket Club to hold a "kwik cricket" festival involving Year 5 and 6 pupils from 12 schools. As a result, many pupils joined the club's junior section.

It also led to the English Cricket Board giving the club extra equipment and a trip to a Test match at Lords next summer.

The partnership has also established Kirklees's first junior netball club - Shelley Pyramid Junior Netball Club. This runs each Monday at Shelley High School for Year 7 and 8 girls.

About 40 girls attend training sessions and some have been chosen to represent Kirklees in the West Yorkshire Youth Games and the West Yorkshire County Squad.

The partnership's development manager, Brenda Hilton, said: "It was good to bring some prestige to West Yorkshire and Huddersfield in particular."