BOTH the under-14 and under-16 boys’ hockey teams from Ballard School won their age groups in the Independent Schools Association 7-a-side national hockey tournament.

They won all their matches without conceding a single goal between them at the event, held at Rugby School in Warwickshire.

The Under-16s beat teams from Somerset, Suffolk, Bedford and Lincolnshire and their closest match, which proved decisive, was a 1-0 win over Queen Ethelburga’s College, York.

The Under 14 team was even more dominant with wins over teams from Bedford, Lincolnshire, Berkshire and Cheshire.

One of the members of the under 16 team, Tim Nurse from New Milton, had a particularly good day as he also learned he had been selected for the England Under 15 Hockey training squad.

Headmaster Alastair Reid said “The boys should be very proud of their achievement and teamwork. They are a talented group and it is also a credit to the coaching that they did so well.

“I am really pleased that our investment in our new Astro pitch is producing some excellent teams.”

Ballard, in New Milton, is running two major hockey competitions this month for local schools.

The first is a boys’ under 10 hockey festival tomorrow and then a mixed under 9 hockey festival on Friday, March 21.