Hermitage Park lads leave primary school on a high

Lewis Glasgow struck the only goal of the game with an extra-time penalty for the Lochend school, condemning Cramond to their only defeat in an otherwise successful campaign comprising more than 30 games.

Hermitage head teacher Gaye Linklater said: "I'm really proud of these boys. They played this game in a downpour and they've brought me in the cup and photographs of the event and have been all round the school showing everyone the cup. They're very proud of themselves.

"We have quite a bit of football talent at the top of the school just now, and one of the boys (Josh Williamson] was selected for the Edinburgh Select."

Williamson will accompany classmates Lewis Glasgow and Cameron Walker on a three-day 'taster' of Broughton High School, where he hopes to enrol from next year. Rather than graduate from primary school with a place at his local secondary, Leith Academy, 12-year-old Williamson is keen to take advantage of Broughton's football academy, where pupils receive extra football training within their academic schedule.

As he signs off as skipper of Hermitage Park - a role in which he relishes the added pressure - Williamson will feel like his job has been done by bringing silverware back to the school he'll soon leave behind.

"It was really good," he said of the final. "It was really tight, and we missed some chances. It was 0-0 and it went to extra time, and we got the penalty and won 1-0.

"As captain, I feel the game is more in my hands. I feel like I have to play well as captain.

"We've played 30 games this season and been beaten once, and that was by Cramond. They knocked us out of the Inspector's Cup - we had a bad game." Earlier this month, the same Cramond team were involved in the Lloyds TSB Scotland National Fun Fours festival at Meggetland Sports Complex in the city.

More than 160 boys and girls from 23 schools attended the event having qualified from a series of regional heats throughout Scotland, and the crack Capital side posted a positive showing.

Alan McIntyre, Local Bank Manager for Lloyds TSB Scotland said: "It's a great achievement for those involved to represent their respective regions in a National Final, especially given the high number of schools who took part."

Cramond will be represented at another Capital showpiece tomorrow, as the local primary school football season concludes with a trio of finals.

Cramond and Parson's Green will contest the prestigious Inspector's Cup (for pupils in primary seven), while Duddingston will play St Mary's in the P6-and-under School Board competition. In the third final at Warriston Playing Fields at 6.30pm, Holy Cross and Longstone will line up for the final of the Edinburgh Primary School Sports Association (EPSSA) Cup, a tournament for smaller schools with a roll of fewer than 200. The games will take the format of two halves of 30 minutes each, with extra time and penalties if required. Entry is free of charge and spectators will be asked to contribute to a bucket collection.Greg Dimeck, head teacher at Ratho's Hillwood Primary School, is part of organisers EPSSA, which is made up of primary teachers and heads from in and around the Capital. He explained how increasing opportunities for football at primary school level has encouraged a rise in the levels of participation.

"We've only just got football going again in our schools after an absence of ten years," he said. "School football's had some interesting times over the last 20 years. We try to get parents and members of staff involved. That's hard when everyone's got massive workloads and with cuts, but we're relying on the good support of parents and our school has a fantastic dad of a girl in nursery, Chris Bain, who coaches, and takes training and matches.

"We have a policy of encouraging any parents who want to get involved by offering free coaching on Scottish FA courses."