St Clement Danes’ dominance of the Watford & District Schools Athletics Championships shows no signs of come to an end after winning the title for a seventh successive year on Wednesday.

The Chorleywood school, which had finished in top spot in 12 of the previous 14 years, once again prevailed ahead of Parmiter’s School by more than 100 points, with St Michael’s edging out Queens into third place.

An enthralling girls competition saw the overall winners and Parmiter’s finish level on 266 points, with Haberdashers Girls a single point further back in third.

But the Chenies Road-based school supremacy in the boys event played a significant part in their triumph as they finished almost 70 points clear of runners-up Haberdashers Boys.

Hundreds of Year 7 to Year 10 pupils braved the soggy conditions to compete in the annual championships at Woodside Stadium and there were also celebrations for Bushey Academy who edged out neighbours Bushey Meads to win the B league title.

The opportunity for schools across the area to compete against each other makes it popular with students and staff alike and this year was no different.

Queens’ School PE teacher Kelly Polson said: “It’s a great opportunity for the kids. A number of kids come and come together as a district. It’s one of the few things where we have every member of the district in terms of schools here for a competition and actually competing against each other so it’s really lovely to see.

“There’s so many numbers of kids here and especially if the weather’s lovely there’s even more to look forward to.”

She continued: “The set-up here makes things a lot smoother, it makes things easier to run. From all school there’s staff on every single event to make sure safety and everything else is covered and there’s still enough staff to go around and make sure kids are on events and looking after different areas and it helps to ensure the kids are still being encouraged. It’s really well organised and really well run.”

St Michael’s Catholic High School’s Anna Higson added: “Every school brings so many children and they love it.”

“We’ve got four year groups here today, 7, 8, 9 and 10. We’ve got one per event, which is about 15 per year group.

“The facilities bring out the best in the kids. I think athletics in Watford is probably the best in the whole country, it’s a really high standard. A lot of schools in London don’t have this.”

Championship Results

Overall A School: St Clement Danes, 617 points; Parmiter's, 512; St Michael’s, 463; Queens', 455; Haberdashers Boys, 283; Aldenham, 279; Haberdashers Girls, 265; Royal Masonic, 251; Watford Boys, 209; St Margarets, 139; Watford Girls, 67.

Overall B School: Bushey Academy, 522; Bushey Meads, 503; Rickmansworth, 430; Westfield, 339; Francis Combe Academy, 318; Reach Free, 315; St Joan of Arc, 275; Croxley Danes, 207.

Overall A Girls: Parmiter's & St Clement Danes, 266; Haberdashers Girls, 265; Royal Masonic, 251; Queens', 204; St Michael’s, 182; St Margarets, 139; Aldenham, 106; Watford Girls, 67.

Overall A Boys: St Clement Danes, 351; Haberdashers Boys, 283; St Michael’s, 281; Queens', 251; Parmiter's, 246; Watford Boys, 209; Aldenham, 173.

Overall B Girls: Bushey Academy, 239; Bushey Meads, 238; Rickmansworth, 198; Reach Free, 170; Francis Combe Academy, 157; St Joan of Arc, 132; Westfield, 122; Croxley Danes, 80.

Overall B Boys: Bushey Academy, 283; Bushey Meads, 265; Rickmansworth, 232; Westfield, 217; Francis Combe Academy, 161; Reach Free, 145; St Joan of Arc, 143; Croxley Danes, 127.