It’s been a fabulous season of football for the teams of Norton Hill School this term. Four of the five year group teams managed to reach their respective B&NES League Cup finals, and incredibly all those teams managed to do this following unbeaten league campaigns.

Optimism was high as the season progressed towards the latter stages, particularly due to the success had by the Year 9 and 10 teams on their recent sports tour to Holland during the Easter break.

The Year 7 team won all five of their games leading up to the final and, under the captaincy of Charlie Bullock, racked up an impressive 34 goals along the way. They beat local rivals Writhlington 2–0 in their final, with Charlie Bullock and Josh Perry scoring the goals.

The Year 9 team continued their 100% winning record in the B&NES competition with a comprehensive 8–0 win against Writhlington. Will Gould bagged four of the goals, with captain, Finlay Haines and Jacob Bird also netting a couple of goals each. The boys have now won all 16 of the games played across the three years in the B&NES League competition, and retained the title for the third year running.

Year 7 and 9 team coach and PE Teacher, James Wetton, expressed his delight at the boys’ achievements this year. “It’s been great to see the lads make the progress that they have this year and I am particularly pleased for the Year 7 team for making such a positive start to school football at Norton Hill. The parental support has also been brilliant, so I would also like to thank the parents for this too.”

In their final, the Year 10 team, who also won five out of five league games, faced a Beechen Cliff team who had beaten them in the final last year, team motivation was extremely high going into this game. Despite goals from Conor Ford and a fantastic free-kick by Jacob-Brooks-Scully, the team unfortunately went down 3–2, but should be very proud of the progress they have made this season. Year 10 team coach and PE Teacher, Craig Price, has been extremely pleased with the team’s development over recent years. “Since the boys were in Year 8, they have transformed themselves into a team who have made two consecutive B&NES cup finals following two unbeaten league campaigns. Only a few weeks ago, they went over to Holland on a school sports tour and finished as runners-up in a challenging competition. Their hard work and commitment is certainly starting to pay off.”

The Year 11 team also made the final for the second successive season. They went into their final against Writhlington after a hard fought league decider against their perennial rivals in the age group, Broadlands. An excellent goal by Harry McLachlan in the first half put the side 1–0 up, before a controversial equaliser saw a half-time score of 1–1. A superb Monty Burgess strike put the team back in the lead, before another equaliser pegged them back once more. Finally, the boys’ usual free-flowing football was rewarded when Zac Drew put them ahead for the final time. The lead was held until the end to deservedly secure another district title with a 3–2 win, ensuring revenge against Writhlington for their defeat in the final last year. Year 11 team coach and PE teacher, Steve Ireland, said: “I feel very privileged to have been involved with and see these young men develop. Their movement, skill level and overall standard of play has been a pleasure to witness and sets an extremely high aspirational level for our teams in the future.”

The school would like to wish Year 10 students Lewis Bond-Kendall, Jacob Brooks-Scully, Conor Ford and team captain Callum Payne the very best of luck in their trials for next year’s Somerset County team, which begin next month at Millfield School.