Triumphant local girls side representing Newcastle United beat Liverpool, Brighton and Chelsea in London

A local girls football team represented Newcastle United in style at a national tournament held in London.

Whitley Bay's Valley Gardens Middle School had already conquered competition from other schools in the North East to earn the right to represent The Magpies and carried their form into the finals.

At Watford’s Vicaridge Road, the team beat sides representing Liverpool, Norwich City and Chelsea, as well as drawing with Everton to make it into the semi-final.

A tense semi match against Brighton went down to penalties, but the Geordie lasses triumphed to secure a final clash with Brentford, in which they ultimately had to settle for second place.

Around 7,000 children from 700 other schools across the UK took part in the tournament.

Valley Garden’s team headed to Vicarage Road with their Newcastle United coaches Adam and Paul and their school coach Mr Murphy.

To make their day even more special, the girls received messages of support from local football hero Alan Shearer and players from NUFC’s women’s team.

Mr Jaime Murphy, Girls Football Coach at Valley Garden Middle School, said: “We at Valley Gardens took part in this amazing opportunity and were runners up out of 7000 children from around 700 other schools in the UK.

"I am extremely proud of the team!”

Cllr Steven Phillips, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning at North Tyneside Council, said: “It’s brilliant to see a passionate team of young girls representing North Tyneside at such a fantastic football tournament and even better for them to bring home the runners up medal.

“Opportunities like these create life-long memories for these children and I’d like to say a big thank you to Newcastle United Football Club and Newcastle United Foundation for supporting the team and their amazing coach to attend the stadium and compete on a national level.”