SUPER St Bede’s have moved a step closer to winning a remarkable third national title after reaching the semi finals of the Premier League Under 16s Schools Cup for Girls.

The brilliant Blackburn team have so far progressed through six rounds and have been in stunning form yet again - scoring 21 goals and conceding just three along the way.

And the all-conquering team are chasing glory on two fronts having also reached the semi finals of the Lancashire Cup.

There is still plenty to do for St Bede’s but to win the national crown with the same team at three different age groups would be creating their own bit of history.

The team were Under 13s champions in 2011 and many of the players were in the side that lifted the English Schools FA Playstation Under 15s Schools Cup at Reading FC’s Madejski Stadium last year.

Four of the St Bede’s players are also part of the Lancashire Under 16s team that have reached the Northern Counties finals that will also represent the region in the ESFA Inter County Trophy.

In this year’s competition, St Bede’s were given a first round bye, before beating Loreto High School from Manchester 1-0 in round two.

The Saints showed their fire power in round three after beating Ashton on Mersey 8-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Katie Dudgeon and a brace from Megan Hester with Alicia Johnson, Brenna McPartlan and Katie Samuels also scoring.

Another 1-0 win over Broughton in round four with St Bede’s beating North Liverpool Academy 5-1 in round five - Hester, Dudgeon, McPartlan, Samuels and Tiana Thompson scoring the goals.

And they booked themselves another semi final place with another wonderful display, beating Sandwell Academy 6-2 with McPartlan this time grabbing a hat-trick with Thompson, Dudgeon and Gabby Taylor all netting.

The team’s efforts have seen them rewarded at the Lancashire Telegraph Grassroots Heroes Awards, winning the junior team of the year in 2011 and were runners-up in 2014 where teacher John Turner was named coach of the year.