MIDLANDS schools still involved in the three tiers of competition in the Daily Mail Schools Cup all have a place at Twickenham in the Daily Mail Festival of Schools Rugby on Sunday, March 24 in their sights.

The final of the Under-18 Cup and Vase and the Under-15 Cup form the showpiece finale for the three-pronged competition, which had over 750 teams going to post.

Now those entries have been reduced to 48, with teams now bidding for quarter-final places in the new year.

In the Under-18 Cup, Midland hopes are carried by Leicester Grammar and Bedford Modern who meet at Leicester in round six, and Oakham who have King's School, Worcester as their visitors in the last 16.

King's were last to qualify via a very impressive 35-8 victory at John Cleveland College, Hinckley in the last round.

John Cleveland are never an easy proposition at home, so that result coupled with wins over Old Swin-ford Hospital (25-3), Worcester Sixth Form College (53-17) and Prince Henry's, Evesham (26-7) underlines a powerful challenge.

Oakham, however, are once again a substantial force themselves this season and, with home advantage, will surely provide a worthy test for the Worcester lads when they meet in the new year.

The second round cup defeat for Prince Henry's at the hands of King's may yet prove a blessing in disguise for the Worcestershire boys are now into round four of the Vase.

They were due to visit Solihull Sixth Form College yesterday.

They also have a team in the last 16 of the Under-15 Cup and, as such, are one of a select band who still have aspirations to get two teams to the Twickenham showpiece.

RGS Worcester entertain Newcastle School in the other half of the East Midlands draw.

In the other half side of the division, King's, Peterborough reac-hed round four on the away side rule after drawing 7-7 at Queen-sbury School, Dunstable and they now have Northampton School for Boys as their visitors.

The winners at Peterborough will have ground advantage in the last 16 the winners of the tie at Highfields School, Matlock, where King Edward's, Melton Mowbray are visitors.

In the last 16 of the Under-15 Cup, Prince Henry's will play host to Nottingham High next Thursday, kick-off 2.30pm, while the other Midlands quarter-finalists will be the winners of the tie at Bedford School, who have Solihull School as their visitors.

The early weeks of the new year, then, promise some rich entertainment, especially now that the prospect of an outing at Twicken-ham has started to take on a more tangible form.