One of the area's largest school sporting events returns to Perth Racecourse and Scone Palace on Tuesday 24 March 2026 for another highly anticipated day of sporting activity.
Over 1000 children and young people from Perth and Kinross schools are expected to take part in this year's event - in 2025 more than 1200 pupils participated.
Runners will tackle a scenic course route across a one-mile loop, starting at the racecourse entrance, through the grounds of Scone Palace, and finishing on the racecourse track.
The primary school event runs from 10.15am to 12pm, followed by the secondary school event from 12.30pm to 2.30pm, with individual medals, team awards and trophies presented throughout.
The event is being led and coordinated by Cath Devanny, Active Schools Coordinator at Live Active Leisure, in partnership with Perth and Kinross Council's Education and Learning service. Cath said: "The Cross-Country Championships are a highlight of our year. It is fantastic to see so many pupils represent their schools in such a beautiful setting. As an Active Schools Coordinator with Live Active Leisure, working alongside Perth and Kinross Council's Education team, a big part of our job is creating pathways from volunteer-led extracurricular clubs into competition, and events like this bring those pathways to life."
The event is supported by staff from individual schools, Active Schools and Sports Development colleagues at Live Active Leisure, Perth Roadrunners, and volunteer marshals from Aviva and SSE. Their assistance is greatly appreciated in helping to make this such a successful event.
A special thanks also goes to Lady Mansfield for allowing access to the grounds of Scone Palace, and to Perth Racecourse for providing the facilities and on-site services for the event.
Learning and Families Convener, Councillor John Rebbeck commented: "The very best of luck to all the schools competing in this year's Cross-Country Championships. This is always a popular event and the support from Live Active Leisure and the wider community is greatly appreciated to make it a success. I hope everyone attending has a great day."
This year's Schools Cross-Country Championships also has an exciting special guest - Finnie, the official mascot of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. Finnie will be attending between 10am and 2pm to cheer on runners, meet pupils and families, and help build excitement ahead of this summer's Commonwealth Games.
