Queen of Apostles Catholic Primary School student Rachel Raphael and her fellow year six classmates were thrilled to be invited to Patersons Stadium this week as special guests of the West Coast Eagles, thanks to the club’s “Design a Banner” competition.

Schools across WA were asked to come up with a slogan for a run-through banner for the squad to burst through before a training session in the week leading up to the club’s 25th year celebration weekend.

Over 140 entries were received, but Rachel’s efforts were awarded the top prize, with the team proudly running through a banner which declared: “Eagles are the best, Better than the rest, Give three cheers, To 25 years”.

As part of her prize, Rachel and her classmates attended West Coast’s training session at Patersons Stadium and watched the players burst through her banner, before meeting up with star ruckman Dean Cox.

Before they headed out on to the oval, Rachel’s group were also presented with West Coast Eagles merchandise to ensure they had plenty of items for their favourite players to sign.

After the training session, Cox and the rest of the West Coast squad wore out their wrists signing the students’ posters, guernseys, caps and footballs. Cox then took some time out and sat down with the kids for a chat.

“To watch training and meet our heroes is so exciting,” said Rachel. “I can’t believe I won!”

Rachel’s teacher Maria Valli said the “Design a Banner” competition was a great opportunity to combine sport with educational outcomes.

“It combined literacy, artistic skills and creativity, and gave students the opportunity to have fun whilst learning at the same time,” Maria said.

“This will be something the students look back on as a highlight of their year,” she said.