With opposition hard to come by in the west of Scotland at this age group, Hermitage Academy opted to look further afield for competitive matches.

On the day Hermitage welcomed Fettes College, George Watsons College, Hutcheson’s Grammar School and the School of Sport to the Commonwealth hockey pitches for a festival of hockey.

With boy’s hockey only having been recently established in the school, the festival was an opportunity for Hermitage’s top players to test their skills and fitness against teams from around the central belt.

Whilst there were no prizes for the tournament winners, with participation and enjoyment the key focus of the festival, all players involved were nonetheless determined to outwit and outplay their opponents in every match.

After four hours of hard fought and exciting hockey action, Hutcheson’s Grammar School finished the day as the top ranked team, with Hermitage ‘A’ missing out on top spot after a narrow 3-2 defeat to the eventual winners.

A fantastic effort by the Hermitage pupils who entered the tournament with less hockey experience than the other competing schools.

Hermitage’s ‘B’ team were unfortunate to find themselves in the bottom pool during the afternoon’s play, but to their credit they won all their games, scoring 17 goals and finishing a respectable seventh out of the nine teams.

The pupils voted Matthew Appelquist and Adam Carmichael as their players of the tournament.