Team of the term

The Grange School’s Under 13 football squad

The headmaster of a prep school in Somerset recently explained to a new parent why he felt that it was right that his school played rugby, but not football. He pointed out that when boys were called in from playground football, they’d ignore the request, but after playing at rugby, their obedience would be instant. His words highlight that old adage that football is seen as a game for gents played by oiks, and rugby as a game for oiks played by gentlemen. It also highlights that football is still regarded as a poor relation to rugby, despite the fact that one of the first school masters to take a serious interest in the game (Richard Mulcaster, high master of St Paul’s School in the late 16th century) believed that athletic development should play a part in education.

But times are changing. Schools such as Eton are strong in football – it’s the major winter game – and others, like Millfield, are large enough to field really good teams in a huge range of sports. Some, like Winchester and Eton, have an historic tradition of football. Even more, like Dulwich, have recognised they could lose boys by not offering football, and the Independent Schools Football Association is thriving, citing a dramatic increase in popularity in the game over the past 10 years.

So it is with this in mind that we select the Under 13 team from The Grange School in Cheshire as our team of the term. Why? Because of its spectacular 2-1 win at the Rensburg Sheppards IS FA Under 13 Cup Final against Alleyn’s from Dulwich in March. The winning goal was struck right at the start of the second half from striker Callum Saunders, son of ex-Welsh international and former Liverpool forward, Dean Saunders. He’d already helped his team take an early lead, courtesy of a looping header from their captain, Oliver Walker, after feeding him a cross. Alleyn’s powerful centre forward and captain, Tom Sealey, equalised with seven minutes of the half remaining, leaving the 325 parents on tenterhooks. But the Grange held its nerve and provided a day that Chris Ray, senior investment director of Rensburg Sheppards, said, “will leave these two schools with a day to remember for years to come”.