ST BERNARD’S Catholic Grammar School are preparing to take centre stage at Derby County Football Club as they take part in the English Schools’ FA (ESFA) PlayStation Cup Festival.
Staged from May 15-17, 30 school finalists will be given the full matchday experience, making their way to the home or away dressing room before walking out onto the hallowed turf at Pride Park.
Slough-based St Bernard’s Under-13 boys team will be part of the three-day PlayStation Schools’ Cup Festival. They will face Bury Grammar School for on May 16 (3.30pm), with the opportunity to be crowned ESFA PlayStation Small Schools’ Cup champions.
With entry free for all attendees, the festival also provides a memorable occasion for school friends and family members with over 5,000 spectators attending last year’s finals.
As well as cheering on their classmates, a series of spectator competitions and activities will contribute to the carnival atmosphere.
To help encourage each school to bring a large support, PlayStation will be installing a decibel meter to measure the noisiest supporters each day.
PlayStation UK Marketing Director, Richard Keen, commented: “The Festival is built around an occasion that will have lasting memories for the players, which can be shared with their friends and family members too.
“As we enter the latter stages of the fourth season of our partnership with the English Schools’ FA, we have involved a record number of teams to give over 150,000 players the chance of experiencing the pride of representing their school in a high-profile tournament.”
ESFA Chairman, Alan Johnston, added: “The PlayStation Schools’ Cup is an amazing opportunity for all the teams that reach the finals to play at Pride Park stadium in front of a big crowd.
“Thanks to the support we get from PlayStation, we continue to grow the number of the tournaments for secondary schools and have all the ingredients in place to make a massive impact for grassroots football.”
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People can follow all the Festival action on www.playstationschoolscup.com
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