Dr Challoner’s School Pupil James Tunney enjoyed the experience of a lifetime on Sunday as he got the chance to train like an England rugby player.

After being selected for the NatWest Schools Cup Academy Day, Tunney trained alongside England internationals Chris Robshaw, Matt Kvesic and Dave Attwood.

Tunney was one of 30 of the nation’s most talented schoolboy rugby players to be chosen for the day, which saw participants train using the same facilities as the England rugby team.

Former international Mark Cueto, who played in the Rugby World Cup Final defeat to South Africa in 2007, was also in attendance and was clearly impressed with both Tunney and the standard of play in general.

“The level of quality at the NatWest Schools Cup Academy Day was extremely high. English rugby is in a good place following the Grand Slam win,” he explained.

“The calibre of players on show suggests we have a promising future to look forward to as well.

“James performed consistently throughout this NatWest Schools Cup and his contribution to Dr Challoner’s season has been rightfully rewarded.”

Tunney’s inclusion came as reward for his outstanding performances in Dr Challoner’s NatWest Schools Cup campaign as he played a pivotal role in the school’s progress.

Their run was eventually halted by a narrow 24-23 defeat to Lord William’s School, but Tunney had nonetheless done enough to earn a place on the Academy Day.

England’s Pennyhill Park training base in Surrey was the location for the event which saw participants take part in a filmed training session.

They then used state of the art video technology to go over their performances with England team analysts to discover how they could improve technique and also learn new skills.

The day culminated in a video shoot with England players as the youngsters were given the chance to experience every aspect of life as a professional rugby player.

The NatWest Schools Cup sees 883 teams from across the country compete in both under-15 and under-18 age groups.

Teams take part in knockout matches as they aim to advance to finals day which is held at Twickenham stadium.

This season saw Sedbergh School and Bromsgrove School win the under-15 and under-18 age group respectively.

From 2017 the tournament will take on a new format as multiple tiers of competition are introduced in an attempt to encourage more schools to take part.

Applications for the 2016/17 tournament must be made by Friday, May 23 and schools can enter by clicking here.