The competition, which features 23 teams from 12 schools across the north of England, features a range of activities including a nighttime orienteering challenge, throwing basketballs through a hoop while balancing on canoes and a series of mental agility tests.

Hurworth School were also champions in 2019 and 2020, but the competition – held at the National Activity Centre, Windermere – could not take place last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year’s winning Year 11 team included Head Boy Luke Ebdon, Derek Warwick, Jack Norris, Ethan Brown, Callum Peacock and Toby Hall. Hurworth School also took second place with their Grade 10 team.

Luke said: “It is a great achievement to win the competition against so many schools for the third consecutive year and we are proud of the way we have all worked together. We are all friends and it was a really fun experience.

Ethan added: “We can take a lot from it because it was a great lesson in the importance of listening to each other and collaborating.”

Competing schools compete on different weekends and the results are based on the number of points accumulated during each challenge. Hurworth’s winning team amassed an incredible 112,000 points compared to the 60,000 points earned by their youngest finalists.

The Hurworth teams were overseen by geography teacher Si Gray and the school’s STEM science coordinator Sam Welch

Mr Gray said: ‘The competition is a very thorough test of the students’ communication, listening and teamwork skills, and they really rose to the challenge. It’s fantastic that the school has won the trophy three times in a row, as it underlines the consistency of our approach.

Ms Welch added: ‘All of the Hurworth students who took part in the competition made the whole school proud.’