A fantastic day of festivities was held on the Hill last week to help celebrate the 150th anniversary of the FA Cup, in conjunction with the forthcoming 450th anniversary of the founding of Harrow School.

The School was delighted to welcome Debbie Hewitt, chair of the FA, to the Hill for the day, as well as several former professional players, including current Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp.

Despite the appalling weather conditions - heavy rain fell throughout the day - a football tournament took place on the east side of the Hill, with games being played on the Julian and Sunley Fields. The Harrow 1st XI took part, as did a Wanderers side that included several OHs and current beaks. The School eventually lost in the semi-finals to Forest, the visitors scraping through via a penalty shootout. Younger age group tournaments also took place, involving a number of schools from the local area.

Debbie Hewitt was on hand to award medals to the successful teams and she then joined Headmaster Alastair Land to unveil a plaque adjacent to the Sunley Field commemorating Charles Alcock, the Old Harrovian credited with inventing the FA Cup, basing the competition on the House soccer tournament he used to play in at school.

Jamie Redknapp was joined by Bayo Akinfenwa and Danny and Emmanuel Shittu in Speech Room for an hour-long Q & A session that was enjoyed by the boys, although somewhat disappointingly Jamie's dad Harry was unable to attend.

The climax to the celebrations was a superb dinner in the private dining room of the Shepherd Churchill where OHAFC President Andy Butler greeted guests and introduced Debbie Hewitt. Both then spoke more formally after the dinner, Andy presenting the FA chair with Dale Vargas' book on football at Harrow. There were numerous famous faces in attendance, including former beaks David Elleray and Mel Mrowiec as well as a number of current staff involved in football at the school. The OHAFC were well represented with former President Fred Woolley, current 1s and 2s skippers Fraser McGuinness & Geoff Taunton-Collins and many other current players enjoying a lobster starter followed by roast lamb served with purple potatoes - it's unlikely the boys were tucking into the same fayre downstairs...

The final treat was the presence in the dining room of two rather special guests - the oldest FA Cup in existence and the current model - which, for insurance purposes, cannot be removed from Wembley completely, the base with the engraved names of the winning teams down the years having to stay securely locked away.

The occasion was a wonderful reminder of the famous connection the school has with one of football's oldest and most famous competitions and recognition of the continuing growth of the game on the Hill.