A group of pupils from Victoria Park Primary School were welcomed to The Hawthorns by The Albion Foundation’s Premier League Primary Stars team for a day of reading experiences last week.
Year five and six classes had the opportunity to learn about the club’s iconic Three Degrees trio of Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson, who played pivotal roles in changing the culture of football for years to come.
Students were also given a stadium tour, while linking the history of the football club, and their own personal experiences – to the theme of superheroes.
“They’ve learned a few facts about those players, they’ve designed their own superheroes with different attributes that they feel the superheroes should have,” Nathan Russon, Early Years & Pre Academy Lead said. “We’ve been lucky enough to take the children around then stadium and learn a lot about the history of the football club.
“Premier League Primary Stars-wise, these guys have worked with me throughout the year, and gone through our curriculum for reading. It’s nice to invite them back and have the opportunity to do this.
“For the football club, those players have done so much, they’re a famous part of the history.
“Especially from Victoria Park in general, there are a lot of ethnic backgrounds in the school and the area, so for them to learn about those figures and understand what it was like – is important.
“The children have really enjoyed it, they’ve been energetic, lively, excitable. They’ve had a real willingness to get stuck into the work as well.”
Though the day wasn’t all about recognising their footballing heroes, Nathan and the team were keen to show the pupils that superheroes can exist in everyday life too.
“From a learning perspective, it’s being able to look at information and understand it," Nathan said. "To see how the skills that we deem everyday life skills, we don’t always acknowledge, but they’re used in every way.
“For example, the superheroes, most of the children went to a superhero saving everyone. We do it every day, somebody can be there to help us in everyday life, and it’s been good to see that appreciation from the children, there are a lot more everyday superheroes than we probably expect.
“In terms of the reading side, being able to skim through work, read it and apply it to their learning as well, is great.”
Premier League Primary Stars is the Premier League's primary school education programme. Funded by the Premier League, through the Premier League Charitable Fund, the programme uses the appeal of football to help children to be active and develop essential life skills.
