Hillingdon Archery Club's team finally won London Youth Games gold after six years of taking part in the competition last weekend.

Individual golds and silvers for Himaaya Peiris and Abbie Mason respectively helped the borough finish fisrt om the range.

Coach Simeon Keenan said, "This year I pushed the team harder than ever. It's been my dream for them to win the London Youth Games, it's what inspired me to start Hillingdon Archery Club, and it feels so good to have done it. I don't think it's sunk in yet."

As well as winning gold in weightlifting and trampolining, teams from Hillingdon won silver medals in female cricket and sailing, and bronze medals in fencing, male hockey and year 8/9 netball.

Runner up: Archery individual silver winner Abbie Mason

Students from Hillingdon’s Lady Bankes Primary School claimed second place in the kwik cricket, falling short of first by just seven runs but still qualified for the regional round of the nationwide Kwik Cricket competition.

Teacher Sana Khan said: “It was a fantastic event and all the children have really enjoyed it. It has been really competitive and really nail-biting but they have had a wonderful time.”

Hillingdon also took silver for the second year running at the Regatta at King George Sailing Club, with only reigning champions Tower Hamlets preventing them from claiming the crown once more.

Sally Jones, manager of the team from Hillingdon Outdoor Activity Centre, said: “We were overjoyed with our silver, matching where we came last year.”

Top notch: Hillingdon win gold in the archery

The boys hockey team surpassed all expectations to win bronze, the only match they lost being their semi-final against Wandsworth.

Paul Loudon, Hillingdon's Head Coach said "It was an absolutely fantastic squad performance.  I was really proud of the way they played throughout the day, and third place was well deserved."

Representing Hillingdon were:  Ashwin Hans Von Gurm, Ben Gould, Samuel Hall, Harry Woodland, Joe Snell, Mandeep Saggu, Matthew Pledge, Ollie Lazarevic, Samir Sardana, Thelan Palasuntheram and Tomilda Fajana.

Captain Gurm added: “We might not have left with the gold medal we went for but we got a bronze one and we will take that. It’s the taking part that counts and we all had fun,” the Eastcote Hockey Club member said.

Bronze: For The Hillingdon hockey team

“It’s a great experience to compete at the London Youth Games. It’s like a mini Olympics and it’s the best thing you could ask for for people our age.

“It gives you the chance to play against some of the best players in London and experience hockey in a competitive environment.

“It’s an honour to represent Hillingdon and we were targeting a medal because you’ve got to aim high in everything you do.

“We have players leaving this year but hopefully we can build from this and come back with some new players and push on next year.”

Silver: For Hillingdon at the Kwik Cricket competition

Hillingdon finished seventh in the overall standings, up four places from last year, as Wandsworth took the prestigious Jubilee Trophy with a record haul of 1193 points.

And after experiencing the Games for the first time, sprinter Daniel Njoku, who gave up rugby to focus on athletics, is hoping success will be just around the corner after narrowly missing out on the podium in the 100m final.

“My main target was to reach the final but I’m happy that I did so well in the final as well. It’s a bit gutting to just miss out on a medal but overall I’m happy with myself,” said Njoku, who attends Queensmead School.

“Reaching the final gives me real confidence going into the English Schools’ because I know I can compete against some really good sprinters.

“There are still some things I need to improve on, like my start, and I’ll probably be better next year.

“I really do hope that one day I can compete in athletics competitively. Only time will tell, but I’ve got to keep improving and work hard if I am going to get there.”

The London boroughs and Balfour Beatty invest in the London Youth Games to build stronger communities through competitive sport.