Paralympic gold medalist David Weir opened the games

By Zara, Charis and Tharini aged 13 School Reporters from St Marylebone School, London

On 1 July 2011 the London trial event for the School Games took place at Crystal Palace.

It was a bright sunny day and the Kingsdale African drummers played a samba beat. Pledges were taken, the torch was lit and speeches were given to inspire and encourage competitors.

The pledges were made by young people competing for London boroughs. They said they would do their best and to play fairly.

The Mayor of Lambeth attended the event

Despite technical problems - the microphone stopped working - the ceremony was a worthy opening of the School Games event.

The event will see 72 schools' teams from seven London boroughs and 1000 athletes compete in nine sports in one venue - all in one day.

We spoke to the Mayor of Lambeth Christiana Valcarcel about the event. She said: "Superb, the weather is nice and everyone is excited. I'm loving it."

David Weir, Paralympic gold medalist, motivated people by describing his first experience of competing at the London Youth Games. He said it was "one of the proudest moments in my career, a dream come true".

So, all in all, it was a magical way to open the 2011 School Games.

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