A group of Fenland school children got to see the world’s best tennis players in action in London after their school won a national competition.
Park Lane Primary School, Whittlesey, filmed a three minute DVD promoting tennis in schools for a Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) competition.
Their film, which featured children at the school playing tennis and included a cameo from the dinner ladies promoting healthy eating, was judged to be the best in the country.
Their prize was a day out to remember - 32 children from Park Lane Primary School and Sir Harry Smith Community College were invited on an all expenses paid trip to the 02 Arena in London to watch the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal compete in the ATP World Tour Finals, which welcomes the world’s eight best players.
If that was not enough, they then picked up rackets and were put through their paces at one of the country’s leading tennis academies.
Deborah Stroud, Park Lane teaching assistant and Sir Harry Smith’s tennis coach, was the mastermind behind the video.
She said: “I was shocked when we found out we won, especially since the LTA said they had a great deal of response to the competition.
“We are just a little Fenland school and were up against a lot of inner city schools. To win was amazing.
“We filmed it on a flip camera and Tom Cave, a GCSE student at Harry Smith college, did a fabulous job editing it.
“The children had a great day at the 02 arena watching the tennis. A lot of the pupils here would never normally have been able to experience something like that.”
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