WEST Dorset School Sport Partnership has held a First Steps Gymnastics Festival for year one and year two children at Salway Ash Primary School.

Sixteen pupils paraded their vaulting skills using apparatus such as a bench and a springboard before performing a choreographed floor routine.

The enthusiastic youngsters also judged each other’s displays and were able to award one or two stars if supreme levels of control and technique had been demonstrated.

All the children concentrated extremely hard to produce their best performances and received certificates for both their floor and vault routines.

Proud parents were also entitled to sit and watch while their young ones took centre stage.

Gymnastics coach Jan Thorne said: “I’m really pleased with how the children have performed. They’ve worked very hard to achieve such a good standard of work after only five sessions to prepare.”

Competition manager Gill Jones, the co-ordinator of these events, added: “It’s wonderful to see how hard the children have worked, and how hard they concentrated to remember their routines.”

It is hoped that a combined display involving different schools from across the region will be organised for the summer term.