There were celebrations all round when players from a WNAT primary triumphed in a football tournament.

Heacham Junior School fought off all competition in the Croydon Cup to progress to the semi-finals in the contest, where a nail-biting penalty shoot-out saw the Year 5 and 6 pupils win through to the final.

James Agate is PE Lead at the school.

“A team of eight boys represented the school brilliantly, giving absolutely everything throughout the tournament,” he said.

“After winning two of their opening games, the boys faced the mighty Hunstanton, many of whom they knew well from playing against them at club level at the weekends.

“Despite this challenge, we topped our group and progressed through to the semi-finals.”

He continued: “The semi-final proved to be a real test of nerves, with neither side able to find a winner during normal time or extra time. The match went to penalties, where four confident strikes were enough to send Heacham through to the final.”

The team faced tournament host Glebe House School in the hard-fought final, which saw the Heacham players claim victory over their rivals in the closing moments of the match to lift the Cup for the first time.

Mr Agate explained: “Things got off to a difficult start when we went 1-0 down after four minutes. However, the boys refused to give up. A fantastic individual run from our number 7, taking on two defenders before calmly slotting the ball into the bottom corner, brought us level and set up a thrilling finish.

“With barely a minute remaining, our number 8 unleashed a furious strike that found the back of the net, completing a dramatic comeback and securing a memorable 2-1 victory in the final.”

He added: “We won a trophy and gold medals. At our celebration assembly, we walked in as a team to the Champions League theme music, and I gave a speech of our journey through to the final. Then we all celebrated together and cheered we won.

“The boys showed tremendous determination, teamwork, and resilience throughout the competition, and their achievement is something the whole school can be incredibly proud of.”