EXCITED students were given a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' to act as ball kids at a prestigious tennis tournament.

The Royal Albert Hall ATP Champions Tennis Event saw 24 students from Charters School in Ascot present themselves as ball kids.

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Students in year 9 and 10 undertook hours of training on cold wintery evenings prior to the event.

The unmissable opportunity saw students retrieve and feed the balls to the tennis players throughout the championships.

Kirstie Hartwell, co-ordinator of the event, said: “This was an incredible opportunity for the students who represented Charters School brilliantly and were speedy and athletic, retrieving and feeding balls with skill and precision."

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The competition was set up in three teams with the captains Greg Rusedski, Tim Henman and Goran Ivanisevic,

Each captain has a team of four past top 10 players to choose from in their singles and double matches.

Mrs Hartwell added: "A few students were even lucky enough to be given a racket and asked to join in, which is something they will remember for a long time.”