Flag Football
NFL 2026 Great Britain Flag Football Championships
Following their success as South-West Champions, the team travelled to Manchester to compete against the very best school teams from across the country.
Although we didn’t win the tournament and secure the opportunity to represent Great Britain at the international games in San Francisco, the team performed brilliantly and had an unforgettable experience.
A narrow defeat to a team from Newcastle, followed by a thrilling loss to a London school with four times as many pupils as ours, meant we narrowly missed out on a place in the knockout stages.
Instead, we entered the separate play-off competition, where the team bounced back with an impressive victory over a Scottish side before eventually losing to a strong team from Hampshire.
To reach the British Championships after just a handful of training sessions, with most of the players having never even heard of flag football only a few months earlier, is an extraordinary achievement. The players represented the school with outstanding determination, teamwork and sportsmanship, and everyone involved should be incredibly proud of what they accomplished.
The event itself was an incredible experience. It was a high-energy, vibrant occasion, with music blasting from huge speakers throughout the day, creating a real festival atmosphere. The children absolutely loved every minute of it. They even had their boots signed by NFL superstars—albeit in a rather unorthodox manner (see the photos!)—and witnessed some truly spectacular plays from some of the country’s older age group best players.
It was a brilliant day, full of unforgettable memories, and an experience that has only strengthened the team’s enthusiasm for the sport. To think that this journey began just a few months ago, with most of the team completely new to flag football, makes their achievements even more remarkable.
Congratulations to every member of the squad on an outstanding season. We can’t wait to see what next year brings!
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Meet the South West Flag Football Champions!
Flag football is a faster-paced, scaled-down version of American football — and our team excelled at it. They battled through tense, closely-fought contests against the regional champions for Devon and Cornwall and North Somerset, delivering games that were truly thrilling to watch.
One match in particular was particularly thrilling: the referees said it was one of the most exciting games they had ever officiated, and they were amazed to learn that our players had trained for only five sessions. Most of the team hadn’t even heard of flag football two months ago!
But thanks to their natural talent, determination, and commitment to listening and improving, these brilliant young people have earned their place in the national flag football finals, to be held in Manchester in June.
This is a huge achievement — and we couldn’t be prouder.
On a cold, wet and windy Tuesday evening ( a far cry from the weather that will treat the winners of the national tournament when they win the prize that awaits them – a trip to San Fransico!)Â these children took part in their first ever flag football tournament.
Although the children had had only had a short time to practice, they had had perfected some impressive plays.  However, the slippery grass and the wet ball made these plays impossible to execute properly. The children were slipping over and the ball was slipping out of their hands when throwing. This meant that’s the first few games were all quite close and we only just made it through to the final.Â
However, by the time that the final came everything had dried up enough and then the children showed what they could do. It was amazing to see them executing the moves that they had been practising. They were brilliant. They won the final 28 -0.Â
We are now through to the South-West of England finals.Â
Another amazing achievement.Â
