Valley Gardens Middle Schools girls football team is celebrating after they claimed second place at the national Premier League Primary Starts tournament at Watford FC’s home, Vicarage Road.
Around 7,000 children from 700 other schools across the UK took part in the tournament, and the girls made it through to the final where they represented Newcastle United Football Club.
To make it to the competition, the Valley Gardens team from Monkseaton, qualified through the regional Newcastle round where they beat the competition from schools across Newcastle, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear to earn the right to be NUFC’s representatives at the finals.
Valley Garden’s team headed to Vicarage Road with their Newcastle United coaches Adam and Paul and their school coach Mr Murphy, where they beat teams from Liverpool Norwich City and Chelsea and drew with Everton to make it into the semi-finals. In the semi’s the girls beat Brighton in a tense round of penalties to secure their place in the grand finale.
To make their day even more special, the girls received messages of support from local football hero Alan Shearer and players from NUFC’s women’s team.
Mr Jaime Murphy, Girls Football Coach at Valley Garden Middle School, said: “We at Valley Gardens took part in this amazing opportunity and were runners up out of 7000 children from around 700 other schools in the UK. I am extremely proud of the team!”
Cllr Steven Phillips, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning at North Tyneside Council, said: “It’s brilliant to see a passionate team of young girls representing North Tyneside at such a fantastic football tournament, and even better for them to bring home the runners up medal.
“Opportunities like these create life-long memories for these children and I’d like to say a big thank you to Newcastle United Football Club for supporting the team and their amazing coach to attend the stadium and compete on a national level.”
Adam Herczeg, Primary Area Coordinator at Newcastle United Foundation, said: “The Premier League Primary Stars finals is one of the highlights of our Primary Stars programmes and we were delighted that Valley Gardens could represent us at Vicarage Road this year.
“The girls gave a great account of themselves and were unfortunate to get beaten in the final by a single goal. They should be incredibly proud of their achievements representing Newcastle United and Newcastle United Foundation.”
The Premier League Primary Stars programme uses the appeal of the Premier League and professional football clubs to inspire children to learn, be active and develop important life skills.
Newcastle United Foundation staff from the official charity arm of Newcastle United work with teachers to deliver fun, educational sessions in a range of subjects with local partner schools. More information about the programme can be found here.
Valley Gardens Middle School is based in Monkseaton, Whitley Bay. You can find out more about the school on its website.
