Gloucester secure treble as schoolboys win at Stoke City, Derby County & Wembley Stadium
May has been a fantastic month for Gloucester, as two schoolboys sides have tasted success in National competitions.
This weekend saw Longlevens Junior School’s U11s Boys side win two cups in two days – including success at Wembley, whilst St Peter’s High School’s U16s Boys side lifted the ESFA U16s Elite Schools’ Cup a week earlier, winning their final at Stoke City’s bet365 Stadium.
The successes of both sides see Gloucester hold the title of best Primary School side in the Country at the U11s age group, whilst Longlevens also represented Cheltenham Town in the Utilita Kids Cup, where they beat a school representing Port Vale before the League One play-off final on Saturday.
St Peter’s High School’s side ended up easing to a 5-0 win over Wilmslow High School to set the tone for a fantastic May for the City.
St Peter’s Martin McDermott praised his side for bouncing back from defeat at the same stage two years ago.
“The boys lost in the final two years ago and have bounced back in style to right the wrongs!
I personally am very lucky to work with a squad of boys that are so talented, we are lucky to have 5 boys that are affiliated to professional clubs, but also a squad of players that all share the same desire to win!
They have worked hard all year to achieve their goal and have been excellent at every stage of the competition,” McDermott added.
Longlevens, Captained by Forest Green’s Will Cornell, won their Primary Schools final at Derby County’s Pride Park on Friday and travelled down to Wembley, where they stayed ahead of Saturday’s final.
The boys were taking part in the final of the Utilita Kids Cup – a competition that saw school sides representing clubs within the EFL and after a 3-1 win, they were able to celebrate by being presented the trophy in the same way that either Manchester City or Manchester United will be in the FA Cup Final this weekend.
Cornell and his side walked the steps up to the Royal Box and were able to hoist the cup high as fans from both Oxford United and Bolton Wanderers began to fill Wembley.
Speaking about his side’s manic 24 hours, Manager and teacher, Matt Jeynes said:
“I can’t tell you how proud I and the whole federation are after the achievements of this weekend. To get to two national finals, beating everything that came before, is one thing, but to go on and win them was an achievement that can’t be bettered.
I’d like to thank all of the parents and families for their unrivalled support since the first ball was kicked back in September, as these weekends don’t happen without them.”
Following their successes, both of the sides have been shortlisted in the Future Star category in the Severn Sport End of Season Awards – with the full list of nominees in that category released on Tuesday morning.
Cover photos courtesy of Longlevens Junior School and St Peter’s High School respectively
