Our great Gunners ground victory

From the archive, first published Tuesday 24th Apr 2007.

PARENTS and pupils at a Billericay school are celebrating after its football team won a cup final at Arsenal's training ground.

The Year 6 seven-a-side team from Sunnymede Junior School went to the pitch used by players of the Queen's favourite team.

At the Walthamstow venue they faced Benhurst Junior School from Hornchurch in the Jim Smith Memorial Cup, an Essex-wide competition.

And their reward for battling through three qualifying rounds was a 2-0 victory.

Headteacher Karen Cooke said: "We are delighted for the boys and for the school but we think the secret of their success was the send-off we gave them.

"We hired a coach to take them and they were surrounded by their fans as they boarded the coach."