News: Sporty students work with Old Basford School
Seventy pupils at a local primary school have received their very own football, as part of a successful sport project between Old Basford School and Nottingham College. Maddy Ubee, Nottingham College FA Women’s Football Apprentice, presented the children with the footballs at a special celebration event in July.
Throughout this school year, 24-year-old Maddy has been providing weekly football sessions for some of Old Basford School’s year 5, year 6 and Foundation Stage pupils. She has been supported by Nottingham College student ambassadors, including 17-year-old Libby Zommers, who recently completed her Level 2 Sport course.
Maddy and the students arranged lots of fun activities for the pupils. As part of Maddy’s role, she worked especially hard to encourage more girls to try football. One way of doing this was to introduce games using the football to help them get more comfortable with it. They also introduced fun activities such as soccercise, where the football is used in an exercise session.
I’ve always loved football and I’ve been interested in getting more girls involved. This past year has been a lot of fun.
“I have learnt so much from the pupils and am very grateful to the staff at the school for the opportunity they have given me and I hope that the children carry on playing football in the future.
— Maddy Ubee
Maddy has now completed her apprenticeship, and has been offered a job at Old Basford School starting in the autumn term. She will work there every day from lunchtime until after school, continuing to promote the importance of sport. She will also be running 10 free extra-curricular clubs each week giving the pupils the opportunity to play and compete regionally in a range of different sports.
On receiving their surprise footballs our pupils we just thrilled! I heard one of our youngest pupils say: ‘Wow, I have never had my own football before!’, which was a magical moment.
“Old Basford School thrives upon sport and opportunities, in fact our school motto is Opportunities Bring Success (OBS). We have benefited tremendously this year from our new partnership with Nottingham College, and have been privileged to have had Maddy work alongside us all year.
“She too is incredibly passionate about how sport can open doors and unearth hidden talents, and how it promotes a healthy, active lifestyle!
Vicky Shaw — Headteacher, Old Basford School
As part of the celebration the pupils also surprised the student ambassadors with the gift of a football each, signed by the children, for them to remember the experience by.
The FA Women’s Football Apprenticeship Programme is designed to be an opportunity for passionate young women to join the football industry via apprenticeships in sport development, in conjunction with the Association of Colleges (AOC) Sport.
AoC Sport is the membership organisation for colleges, leading the development of sport and physical activity in 16+ education. AoC Sport provided the funding to give all 70 pupils a football, as a way of encouraging them to continue to play the sport.
Published on:
- 2nd August 2019 (4:13 PM)
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