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Irish Independent

Cork pupils win Ireland's Fittest School contest and an entire week free of homework!

Ballyhass NS principal said pupils had the 'drive to win' Fyffes' Fittest School in Athlone as they narrowly missed out on the title last year Corkman Ballyhass National School was crowned the Fyffes Fittest School in Ireland, a year after finishing second in the nationwide competition. The grand final took place at the Athlone International Arena and was hosted by Irish Olympian David Gillick. The four schools representing their province contested for a prize package which included €8,000 worth of sports equipment. Ballyhass was crowned the fittest school in Munster back in April, which booked their place in the national competition and Prinicpal Tracey Cremin said the team had the 'drive to win' after losing out last year. 'They had to do different activities against other schools, and we came second last year so we had more of a drive to win it this time around,' 'They were used to the hype of the arena and the buzz in Athlone. 'It wasn't their first time so that at least helped them, and they really wanted to win,' she said. 320 schools from across the island took part in the 10-week long competition, which consisted of school-wide exercise while promoting a healthy lifestyle. Each team consists of 16 children, two from each class group, all the way from Junior Infants to Sixth Class. Ms Cremin said it was 'difficult' to choose 16 children out of 231 students but 'all the kids knew that they were still part of getting to Athlone.' 'Parents have said that the kids actually enjoy coming into school early in the mornings because they knew there would be a good buzz, music and it would be great way to be set up for the day. 'We don't have a hall, so we had to do it out on the yard, even if it was cold outside,' she said. The children were greeted with a 'huge turnout' of supporters when they returned from Athlone. After their win, Ms Cremin informed the children that they would be homework free for the week. 'I was asked to speak by the host David Gillick and I just blurted out that there would be no homework for the week, and they were delighted with that,' she laughed. Related topics Martin Mongan