TEAMS FROM Bolton and Portsmouth were crowned the winners of this year's Premier League Schools Tournament. The Schools - St Joseph's High School from Bolton and St Jude's C of E Primary from Portsmouth - won the prestigious tournament after playing the finals on the pitch at Old Trafford.

This was the second year running that the Under 11 mixed category was won by a school representing Portsmouth.  St Jude's C of E Primary School drew 1-1 with St Oak's Primary, playing in Bolton's strip, in the final. After extra time failed to find a winner, the game went all the way to sudden death in the penalty shoot-out before the Pompey team finally won.

In an unexpected twist, the Girls Under 13 Final also went all the way to penalties. Flixton Girls School - representing Manchester United - played Bolton's St Joseph's High School and Sports College, with Flixton heavily backed by the partisan Old Trafford crowd. United got into a 2-0 lead and were all set to lift the trophy when Bolton got two goals back, the equaliser coming with under a minute left on the clock.

Again extra time couldn't separate the teams and after a nail-biting penalty shootout, the girls from St Joseph's eventually came out on top.

The Premier League Schools Tournament has seen over 5000 young people from around 600 schools take part in matches at every top flight Club. Sixteen schools came through additional regional finals to qualify for the big day at Old Trafford, which took place on Friday, 25^th May.

The finalists had a day to remember as they went through a full Premier League match day experience. All got to use the first team dressing rooms, and came out through the tunnel to Premier League match day music. All the final games were also handled by top Premier League referees Alan Wiley, Peter Walton, Phil Dowd and Mike Dean.

The young players also met Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton, who made the draw at the start of the day.

And the trophies and medals were handed out by Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore, who said:

"Running out at Old Trafford in their Premier League team strip will be something I am sure these young people will never forget. The Schools Tournament offers them a fantastic opportunity to experience what it is like to be a top player on a match day.

"All of our clubs do a huge amount of unsung work in their communities and this is just part of it. I am thrilled that we have been able to involve over five thousand boys and girls right across the country in the Premier League Schools Tournament."