In a truly memorable day in Southampton, pupils of Bitterne CE Junior School went one step further than their heroes thanks to the efforts of young Saints fanatic, Andrew Whittingstall-Bean.

Bitterne CE Junior School opened their doors to The FA and put on one hell of a show. As part of an FA Cup themed day the pupils celebrated the Saints first appearance in a Cup Final in 27 years with a number of activities. The school was awash with the red and white stripes of Southampton Football Club as the pupils came to school in the strip of their favourite team (a couple of brave fans also proudly wore their Arsenal shirts).

In a specially arranged football assembly pupils sang songs, read poems, pretended to be football commentators (John Motson beware) and even gave a wonderful trumpet rendition of Oh When the Saints. However, the highlight of the day came when man (boy) of the moment, Andrew, surprised his schoolmates with the introduction of world famous, FA Cup.

Headteacher, Monic Devayya, said, "The children and staff had a fantastic time and haven't stopped talking about it. In fact, quite a number of children left the school building saying to their teachers it was the best day of their lives!"

The FA would like to thank the pupils and staff of Bitterne Junior School for a wonderful welcome, and especially Andrew, for making it all possible.