51 matches over four weeks of competition, but just one winner. One team will take glory in France this summer but one local school will also be crowned champions in the Echo’s predictions competitions. Six schools will take on each other and the Echo sports desk over the next four weeks, with each school assigned a group to predict and all predicting the knock-out matches.

But who will be the winner?

Holt Farm Junior School will be looking to add the European predictions crown to their trophy cabinet having finished joint top when doing battle with local schools in 2014. How will they fare predicting England’s fate in Group B?

Here is what Harry, Oliver, Chelsy, Danielle, Alex, Jack, Riley and Jessie had to say.

Echo reporter Luke: You guys got the group everyone wanted. So will they win Group B?

Harry: They should win this pretty comfortably.

Oliver: They aren’t as good as Germany though so they can’t win the competition.

Chelsy: There are other good teams too. Turkey gave England a good game in the warm-up matches but I went there on holiday and didn’t understand what anyone was saying.

Luke: (Laughs) But what about Group B specifically?

Jack: Wales are a good team but sometimes they can be absolute beasts so you just don’t know.

Danielle and Jessie: England have to be favourites though.

Harry: It depends what the referee is like. The one in the FA Cup final (Mark Clattenburg) was terrible.

Riley: It will be a good group. I think it will be really close.

Luke: And who would you play up front for England?

Majority of the group: (Jamie) Vardy and (Harry) Kane!

Alex: (Wayne) Rooney will still be an important player though.

Oliver: I think Rooney could still play up front as he has done well there up to now.

Harry: No, I think he will play just behind the strikers so he can set them up. Vardy and Kane have chemistry.

Jack: I think England stand a chance as there are no teams like Brazil or Argentina in the competition. It is easier to win then the World Cup.

Luke: Who do you think will win then?

Riley: I think the main two will be Germany and France.

Jack: France have so many good players. (Franck) Ribery, (Dimitri) Payet, (Antoine) Griezmann, there are just so many.

Danielle: England have a good team too, but I don’t know if they can beat the other good teams.

Chelsy: But look at Leicester. No-one thought they would win the Premier League so maybe another team that isn’t very good could win the Euros.

Harry: I don’t think (Cristiano) Ronaldo will be as important as he once was. He is a bit old now so he won’t be as quick and his skills won’t be as good.

Luke: Let’s hope if they play England. Thanks guys!

The scoring: We have asked Great Berry Primary School, Whitmore Primary School, Hadleigh Junior School and William Read Primary School to join 2014 World Cup prediction winners Holt Farm Junior School and Rayleigh Primary School in this year’s competition as we bring Euro 2016 to south Essex.

Schools will be given three points for predicting the correct score line and one for the correct result. So who will come out on top this time?

SATURDAY: Wales v Slovakia – HF 2-0, Echo 1-0

SATURDAY: England v Russia – HF 2-1, Echo 1-1

15/6: Russia v Slovakia – HF 0-1, Echo 1-0

15/6: England v Wales – HF 1-1, Echo 2-1

20/6: Slovakia v England – HF 0-2, Echo 1-3

20/6: Russia v Wales – HF 0-1, Echo 1-1