Northdown Primary School, Margate, has teamed up with Margate Football Club this term to offer some amazing opportunities for local children.
On Monday afternoons, two teams of children from Years 4 to 6 have been travelling in the school’s minibus to Margate football ground to take part in a competition using the club’s facilities.
Accompanied by Northdown’s ACE tutors, the pupils have been testing their football skills and teamwork. ACE is a programme that aims to provide children with a mentor to support them at school with any issues they may have that might impact their learning and wellbeing.
The first visit to the football ground kicked off the ACE mini league programme. Children from Years 4, 5 and 6 have been competing against each other in a battle to win the prestigious ACE championship. The first match involved both Year 6 classes – Margate Sands Vs Ramsgate Sands – ending in a frantic, but well fought 5-4 win, with Ramsgate Sands emerging as victors. Team captain Kaycee said: “My team played well, and we tried our best”, and newcomer to football Shyanne added: “I loved how well our team worked together and how we all joined in.”
Margate FC’s Director of Communication, Ryan Day, and women’s team captain Steph Meek then joined the youngsters in school for a special assembly where they explained their roles and took questions from the eager children.
Christina Goldsmith, Northdown’s Inclusion Manager, said: “We wanted to find different experiences for our pupils so contacted Margate Football Club to see what we could work on together.
“After meeting with Ryan, we were really excited to start our football league and the children have been loving their weekly matches.. Moving forward we can’t wait to see where our joint projects take us.”