A team of under-12 girls have put St Ivo on the national football map.
They have become the first winners of the England Schools FA nine-a-side Cup.
Eight rounds of hard-fought competition ended, on Friday, when the Year 7 team beat Greycoat Hospital School, Westminster, 2-0 at the former spiritual home of English football, Bisham Abbey.
The girls made it through to round five in the under-13 National Cup before being runners-up in the country in the under-12s five-a-side indoor football competition, in March.
No wonder headteacher Mark Patterson said he had been “astounded” by the success of sports teams at the school.
In their latest triumph, St Ivo had to progress through six rounds, beating Priory School, North Herts, 3-1; Queen’s School, Watford, 4-0; Stanley Park High, Sutton, 8-0; Thomas Estley Community College, Leicestershire (who won the 11-a-side Cup) 6-2; national five-a-side Cup winners South Hunsley High, East Riding, 3-2 after being 2-0 down; and Thomas Telford, Telford, 4-0 in the semi-finals.
After a nailbiting first half against Greycoat, Ellie Burgess and Elle Jefferson scored superb goals in the second half to secure the trophy.
Team captain Sophie Tarpey said it was all quite “overwhelming” but she was proud of the whole team effort.
Coach Lisa Trigg, a PE teacher at St Ivo, said she was “exceptionally pleased with the girls’ magnificent achievements” and was looking forward to many more in future years.
Darren Marjoram, under-13 St Ives Rangers coach, said how working together with the school had been “invaluable” for the girls’ success in all of their games this year.
They are now busy fundraising and seeking sponsorship to help two teams travel to Gothenburg, Sweden, next July where they will represent St Ivo in the Youth World Cup.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here