St Ivo School female footballing talents are chasing a major piece of silverware for the second successive year.

The local pupils have been selected to take part in the Rod Houston Cup – a British Isles tournament for the leading Under 14 school sides – this month.

The St Ivo stars will represent England in the event at the National Sports Centre at Lilleshall between October 14 and October.

The champion Welsh and Irish school sides, as well as another English outfit, will provide the competition – and the current crop of St Ivo players will bid to follow up the triumph of their classmates in the same competition in 2016.

St Ivo manager Lisa Trigg said: “The opportunity to compete at such a high level is the next logical progression for this team.

“It is an honour for us all to have been asked to represent England and the girls are so excited for the competition. They all work incredibly hard in training when showing real commitment.

“I must thank Darren Marjoram whose expertise has been invaluable. He has given up hours of his time to help me coach all of our teams who play at national level.”

PE teacher Trigg has been the driving force behind a stunning wave of girls’ football success for St Ivo which began with national glory for an Under 12 side back in 2014.

They triumphed again in that age group in 2016 when also sampling glory at Under 13 level. The same side were then crowned champions at Under 14 level earlier this year, while the new crop of Under 13 players suffered penalty shoot-out heartbreak in their final.

The St Ivo squad for the Rod Houston Cup is captained by Angel Lyden. It also features Sasha Brown, Lia Chambers, Ruby Day, Kellie-Marie Dixon, Macy Driver, Maya Edwards, Tia Everdell, Ella Hampton, Martha Hiscock, Jess Jarah, Melissa Lorman-Hall, Tegan Martin, Lucy O’Brien, Megan Scott.

The St Ivo girls have received sponsorship for the event from Engage Education, Go4Schools and Randstad. Any other businesses interested in backing them can make contact through the school on 01480 375400.