THE return of a Dorchester football tournament after a six-year absence has been hailed as a roaring success.

Hosted at Dorchester Town’s Avenue Stadium, the Primary Inter-Schools Championship made a triumphant comeback with 12 educational establishments entering.

Teams were split into two groups, Durnovaria and Maiden Castle, with Winterbourne and Manor Park coming out on top respectively.

No official winner was named, with all participants leaving the Avenue a glistening medal to the good.

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Event chief Chris Perry, headteacher at Cheselbourne Village School, told Echosport: “To have teams here from 12 surrounding schools is brilliant.

“We’ve got the Euros coming up, the success of the Lionesses and I look out on to the pitch and I can see boys and girls, some beginners, some a bit more experienced but all playing with smiles on their faces.

“It’s a special experience. Some children are setting foot here for the first time and some watched the Dorchester Town game last week.

“There were complimentary tickets, so I know some of the children from Cheselbourne sat up in the stands.

“They were looking down thinking: ‘What, I’ll get to play on there?’ and we’ve made it happen.”

And the event is pencilled in to return in 2025.

Perry added: “I’d really like it to. I’m passionate about sport and we’ll be doing everything we can to get this running again.

“We’ll reflect on how this goes and I’m sure we’ll be tweaking it for next year.”

Champion Sports also helped deliver the tournament, which ran off the back of the three-day Magpies Football Festival.