Ballymena primary schools receive sports day boost from McKillop’s SPAR

Eamonn McKillop with Kirkinriola Primary School pupils at their sports day. 

Three local primary schools in Ballymena have received a generous donation from McKillop’s SPAR, helping to make this year’s sports day events a resounding success.

Braidside Primary School, Kirkinriola Primary School, and Castle Tower School were all recipients of specially prepared sports day kits from the local retailer.

Each kit included essential items such as banners, posters, race bibs, finish line tape, and medals—along with water and healthy snacks to keep pupils energised throughout the event.

The initiative is part of SPAR, EUROSPAR, ViVO, and ViVOXTRA’s Schools Sports Day Campaign for 2025, which has supported an impressive 606 primary schools across Northern Ireland this year.

Eamonn McKillop with Braidside Primary School pupils at their sports day. 

Eamonn McKillop, owner of McKillop’s SPAR Ballymena, expressed his delight at being involved:

“It is an important end to the school year for children’s parents to gather and enjoy sports day with them, so we were delighted to support local primary schools again this year, in making their event the best it could be.

“We see the families every day in our store, so we were also happy to attend the event and cheer everybody on, while also providing water and snacks courtesy of our store.”

This marks the fifth consecutive year that McKillop’s SPAR has made such contributions to local schools, with over 30 kits delivered in total from the Ballymena store alone.

The Schools Sports Day Campaign has been running for over 13 years, and according to Bronagh Luke from SPAR NI, it has become a cornerstone of community involvement across the region:

“There are over 500 SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO branded stores in NI which support their local primary schools in many ways throughout the year, so providing the Sports Day kits to schools is a fantastic way to round off the summer term and school year.

“Keeping active and enhancing the health of those in our local communities is a key priority for our stores as we continue to nurture the neighbourhoods we operate in.”

She continued:

“This is a really valuable engagement tool for our retailers to form meaningful connections with those in their community. These partnerships are created to engage with young people and help our store areas thrive across Northern Ireland and we’re very proud to see them grow year upon year.

“We wish all our sports day participants a very happy summer holiday!”

The initiative has been warmly welcomed by teachers, parents, and pupils alike, with the support of McKillop’s SPAR and SPAR NI helping to foster a stronger sense of community spirit while promoting physical activity and wellbeing among young people.