We took 90 girls to watch Aston Villa vs Arsenal at Villa Park. Initially, the trip was for girls who play in the school football team but due to an unbelievable high demand, numbers were increased.
We coached 90 girls from school to Villa Park, pre-match we visited the Club Shop and the Fun Zone, which involved lots of fun football related games and pitches for the girls to play on.
The female mascot also stopped to say ‘Hello’ and post-match saw an ex-Friary student who plays for Aston Villa, Freya Gregory, come into the stands for a meet and greet with all the girls. They got autographs, lots of selfies and Freya kindly gave us a signed shirt to bring back to school.
Hollie Wright, PE teacher and trip organiser, said: “The girls represented the school fantastically, they were impeccably behaved. It was an amazing experience, with it being the first-time seeing a women’s professional football game for many of our girls. It was great to see that the girls were so encouraged, inspired and immensely proud when they met ex-student Freya Gregory. I look forward to giving more girls the opportunity to go next year.”
Matt Allman, Headteacher, added: “We have sought to give our girls a less traditional PE curriculum that ties into the national sports where British women are making waves – whether it be Rugby World Cup Finalists or Football Euro Winners. There is still a place for netball and rounders – and regional tournaments are well-established in these sports – but we have to also keep an eye on the future to remain relevant for our female students as they look across the sporting landscape for aspirations and role models.”
