Chigwell School hosted the 50th annual Independent Schools FA national sixes tournament on Sunday and came runners-up.

The tournament saw 32 teams travel from across the country to compete, including Bolton School, RGS Newcastle and Manchester Grammar.

Chigwell opened the morning’s group matches with a 2-0 victory against Kimbolton School but lost 1-0 to Bede School.

They then went on to beat RGS Newcastle 3-0 to finish second in the group and go through to play John Lyon School in the last 16.

The Essex team overcame John Lyon 2-0 and met Lancing College in the quarter-finals, with the match going to penalties. Goalkeeper Will Sibley’s save saw the team head into the last four.

Their next battle was against City of London which again ended in penalties. Although Chigwell missed two spot-kicks, Sibley saved the day once again as he stopped three from hitting the back of the net, sending his team into the final against Bradfield College.

The two teams had met the previous day in an 11-a-side fixture so Chigwell were aware it would be a tough game. The small Essex school last made it into the finals in 2005 and only won the competition once, back in 1983.

Bradfield scored one in the first half and doubled their tally after the break to seal their triumph.

Chigwell School bursar David Morrison said: “There was universal acclaim for the school’s extensive grounds particularly from ISFA, which publicly congratulated our grounds staff on their fine work which has established Chigwell as the leading school for national tournaments.”

Chigwell have also been busy hosting an Under-11 netball tournament for local primary schools, finishing third, and their annual Under-11 football festival.

The netball tournament involved 16 teams and 160 girls and head of the sport at the school, Sam Dick, said: “It was a fantastic morning providing the players with opportunities to develop both individually and as part of a team at the very start of the season.

“It was a fantastic result for a very talented group of players. We would like to thank every team that took part for making the day enjoyable and successful.”

The football festival featured 21 teams from 16 local primary schools. Each school was placed in a pool and played six matches each.