DARWEN Moorland High School used a Commonwealth theme for a getting-to-know-you netball tournament -- the first of its kind held in the borough.

For Moorland have become the first school to link up with the Youth Sport Trust in an initiative between secondary and feeder schools.

Seven primary schools were involved in the Top Links event where Moorland year 10 students held coaching sessions before youngsters took part in a mini tournament where teams were named after Commonwealth countries.

They included Tonga, Bahamas, New Zealand, Singapore, Jamaica, Barbados, Australia and Gambia.

And it was the Jamaica side, captained by Moorland's Nicola Gosling, who went on to win the competition. The teams were made of of pupils from the different schools and in the semi finals Jamaica beat Bahamas and Barbardos beat New Zealand.

Jamaica then beat Barbados in the final. The winning team included Kerry Ingham, Laura Hartley and Amy Chadwick of Holy Trinity, Emilia Lonsdale, Jessica Berry and Tanya Hunt of St Barnabas, Natalie Quail and Nicole wood of Ashleigh, Jenny Bradshaw from Sudell, Leanne Fuller from Avondale. Other schools who took part were St Paul's Hoddlesden and St Peters.

The Moorland students, who used the event as part of the Duke of Edinburgh award, were Claire Fairhurst, Claire Slater, Hayley Duckworth, Crystal Pickard, Sarah Lloyd, Nicola Gosling, Bethany Fielding, Rachael Fairhurst and Samatha Halliwell.