Jamie Roberts and Sam Warburton go head to head to support schools rugby

Two of the Blues’ Grand Slam heroes will be breaking ranks next week to support their old school rugby sides, at the Welsh Schools Cup Final.

Ysgol Glantaf and Whitchurch High School will contest the final at the Millennium Stadium – with Blues stars Jamie Roberts and Sam Warburton cheering from opposing sidelines.

The two teams have already played each other once this season, with Whitchurch High School coming out on top with a 9 points to 7 win.

Whitchurch High School won this cup competition in 2007, when Welsh captain Sam Warburton was in the victorious side against Neath College.

The same school-year produced cricketer Tom Maynard, Spurs and Wales footballer Gareth Bale, and rugby league international Elliott Kear. The school also boasts Olympic cyclist Geraint Thomas as one of its sporting alumni, and its football team has also qualified for the equivalent schools final this year.

Sam Warburton attended one of the final training sessions at his old school earlier in the week, to wish good luck to a side that has won 8 out of 9 games this season against 1st Division league opponents:

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Cathays High wins Robo-Doc challenge

image Bright sparks from Cathays High School have scored success in a competition at Cardiff University’s School of Engineering.

A team of six Year 8 pupils entered the Faraday Challenge at the university, competing against students from other high schools in the Cardiff and surrounding area. The event was one of 50 Faraday engineering challenge days involving pupils from 300 schools across the UK, organised by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

Amber Arnold, Gethin Jones, Jamal Mohamed, Catherine Nicholls, Tejan Sesay and Jodie Voss tackled the challenge brief to develop a remotely-controlled surgical instrument that would allow surgeons to operate on their patients without actually touching them.

Marks were awarded for the initial designs, the video log, teamwork and the final challenge. The challenge organisers were extremely impressed with all the teams’ efforts, praising the high scores of the top three schools in Cardiff and the excellent engineering work from all involved.

The Cathays team won with a score of 155 out of possible 175 and were presented with a glass trophy which is now on display in the school’s reception area, and £15 worth of iTunes vouchers for each team member.

Executive Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Freda Salway, said: “Many congratulations to the team of young engineers from Cathays High School. The Faraday Challenge sounds like an extremely interesting event and it’s good to hear that the competition in Cardiff was of such a high standard.”

Design and Technology teacher, Mrs. Karan Durrant, said: “I knew that these pupils had what it takes to win this challenge. They went about the day in an organised and mature manner and did themselves and their school proud. Most importantly though, these pupils were introduced to engineering and how much it can affect life in the real world.”

Olympic hopeful joined by Pudsey

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Olympic archery contender, Amy Oliver was joined by BBC Children In Need star Pudsey Bear on a special visit to St Teilo’s High School last week.

The event saw Amy, Pudsey and the school’s 5×60 archery team photographed for an official 2012 BBC Children in Need charity calendar.

Amy has been keen to show the beneficial effects that the Sport.Cardiff 5×60 programme has had on schools in Cardiff enabling young people to take up sports such as archery.

The initiative encourages young people in Cardiff to be more active by taking part in 60 minutes of exercise five times a week.

It comprises a variety of different activities from which the children choose what they want to participate in. Activities include competitive, team and individual sports as well recreational activities such as climbing, dance and swimming.

The charity calendar is a fundraising project established by Hybu Pobl Ifanc, a young group of volunteers aged 16 to 20 years who dedicate their time to raising money for BBC Children In Need.

Each month features Pudsey taking part in a different sport such as snowboarding at the Manchester snow dome , racing a horse at Ffos Las, playing a game of golf and rafting racing .

Executive Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, Cllr Nigel Howells said: “I am thrilled that Sport.Cardiff is involved in this project, helping to raise money for BBC Children in Need.

“We are committed to providing a diverse sports provision across the city and the 5X60 programme has given opportunity for young people to become more active and healthy through sport.

“BBC Children in Need is a fantastic charity and Hybu Pobl Ifanc should be praised for their work in raising vital funds for the cause.”

Marc Phillips, Head of BBC Children in Need in Wales, said: “The idea of this calendar has been initiated by young people in Cardiff and is a testimony to their considerable maturity, generosity and professionalism.

“BBC Children in Need is very grateful to them, Sport.Cardiff and to Amy Oliver. The ultimate beneficiaries will be children and young people in Wales who need our help to overcome disadvantage in their lives.”

Hybu Pobl Ifanc consists of a team of over 100 volunteers are based in Cardiff, Newport and Bleanau Gwent and meet up every week throughout the year to organise and take part in various fundraising exercises.