The BUCO Winter Interschools, a week-long festival of sport and activities, kicked off at Somerset West Primary School (SWPS) on Monday (17 August) and runs through to Saturday 22 August.

Now in its third year of BUCO Somerset West sponsorship, the event brings together learners from Somerset West, Gordon’s Bay and Mikro primary schools for a programme that goes well beyond the traditional rugby and netball fields.

The week opened on Monday with coding and robotics in the school hall, where Grade 2s and 3s tackled unplugged stations, Grade 4s and 5s got hands-on with building challenges, and Grade 6s and 7s designed and debugged Scratch games. Chess followed on Tuesday in the library, while an art presentation organised by Moyo and presented by Jo Shepherd took place in the Sport and Culture Centre. Cross country rounds out the midweek fixtures on Thursday.

Friday is hockey day, with fixtures spanning under-7 through under-13 boys and girls across the astro and mini-astro, building to the marquee under-13A clashes in the late afternoon.

The festival culminates on Saturday with a full morning of mini-rugby, rugby and netball, featuring age-group fixtures from 08:30 and the traditional introduction of under-13A teams and singing of school songs at 12:15 ahead of the headline matches.

SWPS principal Kobus van Schalkwyk encouraged every participant to be a true ambassador for their school. “Let them play in the spirit of good sportsmanship and with gratitude towards our Heavenly Father, for the privilege to participate,” he implored.

Van Schalkwyk also expressed gratitude to Bertus Malan of BUCO for sponsoring the event for a second consecutive year, and thanked staff members Koos Reyneke, Dean Williams and the broader SWPS team for their preparations.

“There is potential in every child, and with this day Somerset West Primary strives to develop that potential,” Van Schalkwyk said. “Enjoy the week with us and watch our children enjoy being children.”