Cock-a-hoop! That was the reaction of 17-year-olds Nouri Verghese and Joanna Davison, winners of the 2007 Hoop Trundle. They pitted their skills against other King s and Queen s Scholars of The King s School Ely, in their red gowns, as they raced along a

Cock-a-hoop! That was the reaction of 17-year-olds Nouri Verghese and Joanna Davison, winners of the 2007 Hoop Trundle.

They pitted their skills against other King's and Queen's Scholars of The King's School Ely, in their red gowns, as they raced along a 75-yard course, bowling traditional wooden hoops .

The Hoop Trundle commemorates the re-founding of The King's School Ely by King Henry VIII in 1541.

Having dissolved Ely monastery, which had educated children for centuries, he gave the school its first royal charter and established the 12 King's Scholars.

One of the privileges he allowed them was to play games, including the bowling of hoops, in the cathedral precincts.

In 1970, the school admitted girls for the first time in its 1,000-year history, and three years later the King's Scholars were joined by Queen's Scholars at the request of the Queen during her visit to the school in 1973.

Pupils are nominated as scholars in the sixth form for their academic achievement. They become members of the Cathedral Foundation and also qualify for other privileges.

There were four heats before the Queen's Scholars' final and three heats for King's Scholars.

Nouri and Joanna were each presented with a commemorative wooden tankard by the Major of Ely, Cllr John Ison.