MORE than 60 pupils from across the region attended a conference on sports leadership.

The conference, which was held at Durham University, was a Youth Sport Trust initiative designed to foster leadership skills in young people by encouraging them to organise festivals of sport or dance for primary schools.

The conference began with a keynote speech, followed by workshops led by university students.

The workshops dealt with a range of subjects, including leadership skills, management and the media.

Pupils were also given an opportunity to lead practical activities and games, giving them additional ideas for their festivals and enabling them to run safe and enjoyable sports events.

Dr Mike Waring, of Dur-ham University, said: "This important initiative encourages young people to use sport as a vehicle to promote leadership skills and enhance their notion of responsibility.

"The involvement of the PE PGCE trainees is significant because, as future PE teachers, they aim to foster independence and ownership of learning."