Four students from Walker Technology College represented Newcastle United Foundation in a national touchtennis tournament at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton this week, and were also given the opportunity to experience Wimbledon in its busiest fortnight of the year.
Carsen Creighton, Callum Carney, Chianna Rebair and Kelly Mackain who are in Years 9 and 10 attended a weekly satellite tennis club at the college, as part of the Premier League 4 Sport initiative, and were invited to take part in the tournament which features 18 clubs from premier league, championship and football league clubs represented.
The four travelled south on the Wednesday afternoon for an overnight stay in order to be best prepared for the tournament. They faced teams representing Aston Villa, West Ham and Portsmouth. The Walker students also got the opportunity to play tennis with Greg Rusedski and Graeme Le Saux.
After the competition on the Thursday the players made their way to Wimbledon to watch the tennis, taking the opportunity to sit on the famous Henman Hill.
Callum Carney, from Walker Technology College said: "The whole trip has been brilliant, we all want to come back next year. Wimbledon was just amazing! My highlight was playing against other young people from around the country and getting to play the match with Graeme Le Saux and Greg Rusedski."
Lisa Bell, Senior Project Coordinator at Newcastle United Foundation added, “The students really committed to the tennis club we ran at their college and it’s been fantastic that their efforts and talent have been rewarded with the opportunity to participate in a national tournament. They’ve been great representatives of the Foundation today and I’m so pleased that we’ve been able to take them to Wimbledon where they have been able to see tennis at the absolute highest level, which can only inspire them to get more involved with the sport.”
For more information on Premier League 4 Sport please contact Lisa Bell (lisa.bell@nufc.co.uk)