Kingsland CE Primary School’s football team are celebrating unprecedented success this academic year. Having been crowned runners up for Herefordshire in the English Schools’ FA U11 7-a-side Schools’ Cup 2022 in the autumn term, they were invited to participate in the regional finals, held in Birmingham. 

On Wednesday 30th March, they travelled to Birmingham, spirits high, advocating the school’s vision of ‘Let your light shine’. Despite playing some quality teams, Kingsland stormed through to the semi-final with 1-0, 2-0 and 4-0 victories, and a 0-0 draw. The semi-final was a tight affair but Kingsland squeezed through to the final with an impressive 1-0 triumph.

And so the team, proudly led by captain Charley, stepped onto the field for the West Midlands regional final. All the players played fantastically, epitomising excellent team work. It was a tight game but Kingsland managed to find the net and win with an inspirational 1-0 victory. 

For the first time in its 176-year history, Kingsland CE Primary School are English Schools’ FA U11 7-a-side Schools’ Cup 2022West Midlands regional winners! 

As a result of winning the regional finals, the team travelled to Coventry stadium on Friday 6th May to take part in the national finals. After winning two matches (2-1 and 3-0) and drawing one match (1-1) in the group round, they progressed to the semi-final, winning that match 1-0 against St Andrew’s Primary School. By this point, excitement was at fever pitch. And so to the final, where they played St Paul’s CE Primary School, Kent. After normal time, the score was 1-1. During extra time, Kingsland scored what they thought was the winning goal in the last minute of the match, only to concede an equaliser seconds later, resulting in a 2-2 draw after extra time. Penalties were to decide the final … and Kingsland came through triumphantly, winning 3-2.  For the first time in their history, Kingsland CE Primary School are English Schools’ FA U11 7-a-side Schools’ Cup 2022 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! 

Headteacher, Mr Stewart Debenham said, “We are extremely proud of our fantastic football team and what they have achieved this year. They have demonstrated excellent team work and epitomised our school vision of ‘let your lights shine’.”