“Anything to do with Crystal Palace is absolute gold dust” – schools represent Palace at Premier League Primary stars tournament
Palace for Life teams represented South London at the Premier League Primary Stars finals at the Molineux last month.
Hundreds of schoolchildren had the experience of a lifetime recently at this year’s Premier League Primary Stars Football Tournament.
After coming through local qualifying for the right to represent their Premier League club, a total of 40 schools then played on a top-flight pitch at the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers, wore their club’s kit, came out of the players tunnel and competed under the supervision of Premier League and Women’s Super League officials.
At Palace for Life, three teams made it to the final at Molinuex. Southborough, our girls teams, were knocked out in the semi-finals by overall winners Newcastle, and our mixed team – Crofton Junior School – came second in the group stages.
The event was about far more than the action on the pitch, however.
George Unwin, class teacher, at Crofton Junior School said:
“Premier League Primary Stars has a massive impact at our school because it’s not just the football aspect, it’s also in the classroom. For example, Palace for Life work with reluctant readers in Year 6 and deliver maths activities with our Year 2s.
“Anything to do with Crystal Palace is absolute gold dust, the kids are so engaged. The girls and boys teams have absolutely loved what Crystal Palace has done for them.
George Unwin, class teacher at Crofton Junior School
“Some of the boys, their dream is to play for Crystal Palace – they’re living it today. I’ve never seen a group of lads so excited about a sports competition. I’ve never seen so much energy on the coach. They’ve loved every second of it.
“I don’t think they will understand this until they are older. They will be telling their kids, grandkids that they played on a professional pitch, about scoring a goal and the experiences that they have had.
“As a team they’ve really come together and they’re learning important skills. We’ve noticed that it’s had a positive effect on their learning. Academically they are getting on a lot better because they’ve got this team dynamic around them. They’re supporting each other.”
We run a variety of different football and education related activities in schools across South London. For more information, please head here.