EIGHT hundred youngsters recreated the iconic Olympic rings at the Art of Sport Festival in Weymouth.

Pupils from across Weymouth, Portland and Dorchester undertook the challenge wearing coloured t-shirts, while Weymouth fire station provided their aerial ladder platform for the shot.

The pupils from Budmouth College, Wey Valley School, St Osmund’s Middle School and Royal Manor Arts College then enjoyed a range of fun activities at the second annual event at Redlands Community Sports Hub yesterday.

They got to grips with wave-boarding, wheelchair art, ultimate-frisbee, tchoukball, rocketball, dance, drumming, plate spinning, cricket and Rugby.

Star guests at the event were London 2012 Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville and England Women’s Rugby League Union player Catherine Spencer, who told the youngsters: “I’ve got 63 caps for England yet I couldn’t for the life of me spin a plate or do wave-boarding, it’s lucky I found rugby.

“What’s great about today is there’s so many different sports and activities, when you leave school you don’t get this so just grasp the opportunity.”

All activities were run by more than 130 students from Bournemouth University, the Arts University College at Bournemouth and Weymouth College, all members of the Regional Educational Legacy for Arts and Youth Sport (RELAYS) team.

Pupils were divided into 32 teams and each group leader nominated the youngster who had shown the best Olympic and Paralympic values of respect, excellence, friendship, determination, inspiration, courage and equality to receive an Olympic spirit certificate.

Project co-ordinator Virginia Bailey said: “It’s been completely run by Bournemouth University, Arts University and Weymouth College students, without those guys giving up their time voluntarily it wouldn’t have happened.

“The weather’s been great, it’s been a massive improvement on last year, we’ve doubled the number of students and achieved the really nice festival feel we were hoping for.”

Royal Manor pupil Harriet Hooley, 11, said: “I’ve been doing Frisbee, rocketball and catapult art. It’s more fun than writing and going to school.”