There was a massive presence at Kings’ School Al Barsha as teams from across the region descended on Dubai for the BSME Under-11 Large Games.

Fifteen schools from the UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia joined the hosts for the three-day event which saw pupils test themselves in various sports.

Basketball, football, swimming, netball and athletics were the five disciplines they took part in and, despite stern competition, there was some exceptional team and individual displays.

There were plenty of reasons for the UAE to celebrate with two of their schools finishing in the top two. Dubai English Speaking School (DESS) did just enough to hold off British School of Al Khubairat (BSAK) to be crowned champions by just four points. St Christopher’s Bahrain finished third with 72 points.

For DESS, it was a fine performance, winning the athletics, swimming and netball tournaments. On the track and field, Nick Fritz won a gold in the 75m before setting a new school record of 21.02 seconds in the 150m. There was also success for James Linton in the turbo javelin after a winning distance and a school record of 25.40m.

In the pool, Maisy Baker made a big splash with three golds, one silver and a bronze, while Isla Henry went home with three golds and a silver.

For the boys, Marnus Wessels was among those to impress with a gold, three silvers and bronze, while Fritz added to his medal tally with two silvers and bronze.

Alan Williamson, director of education at Kings’ Schools was delighted with the quality he saw from all athletes.

“The BSME Games at Kings’ School Al Barsha has been an incredible success,” he said. “On reflection, two aspects made it a very special Games. One was the role of camps international (a Kings’ School Al Barsha initiative) with the aim to provide footballs to poorer communities around the world. It was lovely that each school took away the fantastic recycled trophies and framed certificates.

“The other aspect was that the Games was held in one venue. It’s a tribute to Kings’ that our superb facilities enabled an enhanced number of schools to participate this year. Although there were superb highlights from the competition, and I must mention the Kings’ boys basketball victory, my biggest smile was reserved for the closing gala dinner, seeing so many happy children who had experienced an amazing weekend of friendship and teamwork.”