A SUPERB team effort from Northern junior players brought national sporting glory to a Newcastle state school.
Gosforth Academy's Under 15 Boys squash team were crowned English Schools Champions at the National Squash Centre in Manchester - the culmination of a long unbeaten effort stretching back to October last year.
The team - Alex Robertson, Michael Mattimore, Matty Watling, Sam Broughton, David Home and Phil Stephenson - beat off strong competition from a host of wealthy public schools in the process.
The national honour came after a pulsating 4-1 win over Wakefield's St Wilfrid's Catholic High School in the final.
The boys had secured their place in that showpiece match with a 3-2 last-four win over Heathside School of Surrey earlier in the day.
The Gosforth Academy girls Under 15 team - Josie Barker, Tegan Younger, Caitlin Vitty, Ellie Watling, Sophie Reay and Ellen Weaver - lost a nailbiting semi-final 3-2 to eventual winners, and reigning champions, Tewkesbury School of Gloucestershire.
But they bounced back later in the day to win a trophy by securing third place in the national finals with a convincing 4-1 win play-off win over Downe House of Berkshire.
A young Gosforth girls side also made up the bulk of the school Under 19 team (Rebecca Symmons, Josie Barker, Tegan Younger, Caitlin Vitty, Ellie Watling, Sophie Noble and Anna Watling), who finished fourth in the national ranks having lost to eventual winners Millfield in the semi-final and then going down to local rivals Dame Allan's Girls School in the play-off.
Manager Richard Vitty was understandably delighted with the efforts of his young players - competing against schools such as Millfield, whose teams are coached by six-times former World Champion Jonah Barrington
"This was a tremendous effort from the Gosforth Academy teams," said Vitty, who coaches all but one of the above players through the junior set-up at Northern Squash Club.
"As a state school we were up against some of the richest public schools in the country - Millfield, for example, have six of their own squash courts on site.
"To be mixing it with teams and players from that sort of set-up is a superb achievement, and one that all the players and Gosforth Academy are justifiably very proud."
