PUPILS at a Worcestershire school are cheering on a new sporting hero.

Everyone connected with Hanley Castle High School was glued to their screens as they saw former pupil Sam Foley fire his Yeovil Town FC to play-off glory at Wembley.

Mr Foley, 26, had a hand in both of Yeovil’s goals as they beat Brentford 2-1 in the League One play-off final to reach the Championship, the first time the club has reached English football’s second tier in its 118-year history.

The goalscoring midfielder grew up in Upton-upon-Severn, where his mum Jane still lives, and attended Hanley Castle from 1999-2004. Even then staff knew he could be destined for big things.

Teacher Grant Matthews said: “Sam was an inspirational sportsman while at school, turning his hand easily to a number of sports, including cricket and rugby, but excelling at football, where he would dominate games from midfield.”

Talking to your Malvern Gazette, Mr Foley said he had nothing but good memories of his time at Hanley Castle. “It was brilliant, I enjoyed every last minute of it, especially the sport,” he said.

He said he had been overwhelmed by the messages of congratulations he has received from people back home in Worcestershire.

“I have still got a lot of good friends in Malvern and Upton and I always like to get back as often as I can,” he said. “The last week has been immense. It has been very humbling to think that many people were paying attention to me during the final.”

Mr Foley, who is now enjoying a two-week break in Dubai, said he has just been offered a new deal by Yeovil following the play-off success.

Mr Foley left Hanley in 2004 to concentrate on his football career, which had already started to flourish with Cheltenham Town and earned him an international call-up to the Ireland under-18 squad.

He went on to play for Newport County before joining Yeovil for the 2012-13 season and making 41 appearances during their promotion-winning campaign.

Mr Matthews said his success had caused “lots of excitement” at the school and that everyone was looking forward to following his progress in the Championship next season.