Two teams from the newly-formed Highbury Grove Basketball Academy have fought their way through to the knockout phase of the England Basketball National Schools Competition.

The year 10 team at Highbury Grove School have won all but one of their matches in the tournament, including an impressive team performance to overcome Cumberland School 59-29, with every member of the squad scoring at least one basket.

The Islington team’s most recent outing was a tense 54-46 victory against Lister Academy, which featured outstanding displays from Samie Said, Dreyshun Peterson and Dylan Gellineau.

They are due to meet Haringey’s Heartlands High School in the knockout stages this month – and Highbury Grove’s year 8 side have been striving to emulate the success of the older students.

Three consecutive wins have earned the younger age group a place in the knockout stages, after they saw off Mossbourne Academy 18-11, St Aloysius 34-19 and finally Bishop Challoner School.

Gian Paragas, Ronaldo Jashari and Hamza Mohamed produced the stand-out performances for Highbury Grove as they held their nerve to defeat their opponents 30-27 in overtime.

Mark West, the teacher in charge of basketball at Highbury Grove, said: “The number of students playing on their own at break and lunchtime has increased dramatically, as well as those attending the training sessions within the school.

“With this increase in popularity and hard work through training, the teams have reaped the rewards. Well done to all the students involved and good luck in the knockout stages.”