Schoolchildren put their ball skills to test when they took part in a sports festival run by top Football Association coaches.

The pupils, from Dorothy Barley Junior School in Ivinghoe Road, Dagenham, were invited to the London Soccer Dome in Greenwich last month as part of the FA Tesco Skills Programme, which is in its fifth year.

After being taken through skills, games and drills that professionals use they posed for pictures.

The FA’s director of football development and founder of the programme, Sir Trevor Brooking, was on hand to oversee the sessions and offer his advice to the next generation of budding young players.

The scheme is funded by Tesco and Sport England, and is open to children aged between five and 11, and has provided more than three million places since it started.

Sir Trevor said: “The programme is a great opportunity for children to develop their football skills from an early age with the potential to move on to the elite clubs.”