Schoolchildren defended their title at a ‘mini-Paralympics’ event.

More than 180 young people from eight north London boroughs took part in the London Final of the Panathlon Challenge at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington.

With triple Paralympic medallist Liz Johnson looking on, pupils from 19 schools – including Whitmore High, Shaftesbury High and Kingsley High Schools - competed in back-to-back heats to a bid to win the champions cup and plate.

Competitions were held across a series of six events, with a place at the London Panathlon Final, held at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in June, up for grabs for the two winners.

Hammersmith and Fulham took home the Champions Cup, beating defending London champions Harrow, while Brent edged out Camden to win the plate, ahead of Westminster and Barnet.

Paralympic swimming champion and Panathlon ambassador Liz Johnson said: “Without Panathlon, many of these children wouldn’t get a chance to take part in any sort of sporting activity, so just getting the opportunity to compete is really important for them, but to compete at the Olympic Park is pretty special.

"I don’t think the children will realise how iconic that is until they look back when they are older. Not everyone gets that chance, so this will always rank up there as one of the highlights of their life.”