Prince Henry’s Grammar School went the way of many before them in the Under-18 AASE (Achieving Academic and Sporting Excellence ) elite final at Saracens’ Allianz Park.

The Otley school’s sixth form were not disgraced in the showpiece against Hartpury College, whose 38-8 victory meant that they claimed the title for a fifth straight year.

Prince Henry’s, on the other hand, can console themselves that they beat some good teams on the way to the decider and got the last points via Sam Allan’s try in the 67th minute.

Their other points came from Dan Tai’s early penalty, which made it 3-3 after a Josh Bainbridge break, but the final scoreline was made starker by two interception tries against the run of play.

Several of the Prince Henry’s team are already playing for England in their age groups and are expecting to have careers in the sport - such as hooker Jack Walker, who, incidentally, was sin-binned in the 63rd minute for killing the ball.

Trevor Davidson, Prince Henry’s Key Stage Five progress leader and Sixth Form head said: "It was an excellent performance from every single one of the lads, who represented themselves and the school with pride and passion.

“They will be incredibly disappointed but can take solace from the fact that they identified themselves as one of the top two schoolboy teams in the country - a fact confirmed by the England under-18 coach in the commentary on the match."

The AASE rugby programme at the school is run in partnership with Leeds Rugby. It supports talented youth level elite players.

Students who follow the AASE programme study A Level and BTEC courses, alongside their specialist sports-related provision, therefore enabling them to integrate fully as part of the Sixth Form community.