Thorpe Primary pupils touchdown in NFL tournament

Thorpe Primary in Leeds competed fearlessly in the NFL Flag Summer Bowl finale, presented by Subway, which an annual tournament involving schools from across the country.

In a tense and thrilling competition, Thorpe Primary went head-to-head with schools from Manchester, Tewkesbury and Birmingham to become national NFL Flag Summer Bowl champions at King’s House Ground, Chiswick, only to come up just short in their bid to be crowned winners.

On the day around 1,000 children aged 8-11, were coached and encouraged by six NFL stars, including current Super Bowl champion and Philadelphia Eagles player Mack Hollins, Oakland Raiders’ tight end Jared Cook, Seattle Seahawks Neiko Thorpe and Tennessee Titans’ Jurrell Casey, who acted as honorary coaches.

All six NFL players in attendance will be playing in the NFL London Games in October.

Courtenay Cowperthwaite , Head Coach for Thorpe Primary, Leeds, said, “The kids are delighted to take part in the NFL Flag.

“It has been a great programme to be a part of and we’ve first hand experienced the benefits it has to offer. We hope to be going head-to-head with more schools next year.”

Thorpe Primary School were one of a host of junior schools in the leeds area that initially took part in an NFL Flag Football rally at the John Charles Centre for Sport back in November.

NFL Flag Presented by Subway is currently operating in eight cities including London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol, Gloucester, Peterborough and Cardiff.

More than 10,000 school children across the UK have been involved in the programme since its launch in 2014, with the NFL and Subway sponsorship aiming to help primary school children develop their characters by focusing on the NFL core values of respect, integrity, responsibility, resilience plus the importance of a healthy lifestyle and getting active through NFL Flag.

Schools can register interest in the NFL Flag Summer Bowl, presented by Subway, by clicking here.