A SCHOOL netball team have been banned from competing after reaching a national final – because of a 10p debt.

Central Newcastle High School had two teams of girls in the finals of the tournament run by England Netball.

The under-16s and under-18s made their way through county and regional heats earlier this year, but as the girls trained for the national finals in March this year, the school was confronted about a tiny unpaid debt.

Each year, the girls-only school pays a subscription to Netball England of £24.10-a-year to gain affiliation to enter the school-wide competition.

But the school mistakenly paid £24 instead of the full amount.

Once made aware of the debt, which amounted to 10p for the 2011/2012 season and an unpaid subscription in 2012/13, the school paid all their dues immediately. But headmistress Hilary French was shocked when England Netball continued the ban on her teams, meaning they cannot compete alongside other finalists on March 16 in Basildon, Essex.

She said: “It all seems very petty to me.

“We have always paid our subscriptions for all the different sports played here.

“We weren’t made aware of the small underpayment and we didn’t get any further bills – either about the 10p or the fee for affiliation to England Netball the next year.

“It was only when two teams reached the finals that we were told about the problem.”

The school were put on a debtors list without their knowledge, meaning that they weren’t sent an invoice for 2012/13.