Nottingham's young runners get recognised by the Robin Hood Mini Marathon and Schools Challenge

School pupils in Nottingham were jumping for joy last night as the winners were announced for the 2012 Ikano Robin Hood Schools Challenge. The awards ceremony, organised by Sweatshop Events and headline sponsor Ikano, was held at the East Midlands Conference Centre.

The awards evening was attended by 200 pupils, teachers and parents from local schools. The Schools Challenge, part of the Ikano Robin Hood Mini Marathon held in Nottingham on Sunday 30 September, welcomed school children and their families to walk, jog or run in the fun community 1.5 mile (2.5km) race.

The entry categories were split by gender and age on the date of the race. Trophies were last night awarded to the winning child in each category by Ikano's communication director, Sarah Murphy and commercial director, Dan Joy. The winning school overall by age group also received a special trophy and £100 towards their school’s PE department.

Ikano's Sarah Murphy said: “In this inspiring Olympic year we were proud to be headline sponsor of the Ikano Robin Hood Mini Marathon and the Schools Challenge. The buzz around the race village on the day was fantastic; it was great to see families in their hundreds come together to celebrate Nottingham’s favourite event.

“Last night’s award ceremony recognised and celebrated the huge talent amongst Nottingham school pupils; who knows we might have discovered future Olympians!”

1,260 runners took part in the 1.5 mile Ikano Robin Hood Mini Marathon and Schools Challenge. Prior to the event, the organisers held a competition for a schoolchild to design the official event t-shirt; the winning design, by six year old Al Ameen Mohammed of John Clifford School in Beeston, was proudly worn by all participants.