THE Earl of Wessex stopped for a few games of ‘real tennis’ at Canford School as part of a fundraising tour.

Prince Edward played against pupils as part of his tour of every court in the world to support the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

The real tennis facility at Canford School is one of only two in Dorset and fewer than 50 across the globe.

To raise money to help disadvantaged children get involved with the award, the Earl of Wessex is playing three games on all of the courts over the course of 2018.

His interest in the sport began when he played it as part of his own gold award work and has continued with it since.

Nationally, more than 200,000 people took part in the scheme last year and a target has been set to increase this to 350,000 by 2021.

In Dorset, 3,235 youngsters took part in the award scheme last year, of whom 11 per cent were classed as being from a disadvantaged background.

On Wednesday night Prince Edward hosted a fundraising dinner at the school with award participants from the school speaking at the event.