Category: Schools’ Football Week

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Winner announced for the Women’s Football Magazine and English Schools’ FA ‘Design a Front Page’ Competition

The English Schools' FA

Today, the Women’s Football Magazine (TWFM) and English Schools FA (ESFA) are excited to announce the winner and runners-up from their “˜Design a Front Page’ competition. The competition, run in association with Schools’ Football Week, challenged school children to design the front cover of TWFM’s April print magazine focusing on the next generation of women’s footballers in the UK.

Over 100 entries were received from more than 21 schools and a panel of judges from TWFM and the ESFA were hard pressed to choose a winning entry. We are delighted to announce that Indie from Grey Court school is the winner of the competition and her artwork will become the front cover of the TWFM printed edition in April. As well as receiving a copy of the magazine featuring her artwork and an annual digital subscription to TWFM, Indie, aged 14, has also won a TWFM “˜season ticket’ for Grey Court which will give 25 annual digital subscriptions to be shared with teachers, parents, pupils and supporters.

We are also excited to reveal that due to the high standard of entries, five runners-up are also being rewarded. All runners up will receive a copy of the April magazine and a TWFM annual individual digital subscription.

The five runners-up, whose artwork will also feature in the April Magazine, are:

  • Florence, age 11 – Aughton Town Green Primary
  • Isabella, age 14 – Outwood Valley Academy
  • Isla, age 11 – St. Veronicas
  • Simrah, age 11 – Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Primary School
  • Sophie , age 8 – Stormont School

Helen Rowe-Willcocks, editor of TWFM said: “We were delighted by the number and quality of the entries we received from all age groups. It certainly made judging very difficult. Seeing the love for women’s football grow amongst the young generations is fantastic and with initiatives like Schools’ Football Week, it will continue to strengthen.”

Stuart Botham, ESFA Chair said, “On behalf of the English Schools’ FA (ESFA), I was delighted that we were asked to support The Women’s Football Magazine with their “˜design a front page competition, launched during Schools’ Football Week 2023. As the National Governing Body for Schools’ Football in England, the continual growth and promotion of the girls’ game is a high priority for us, which is why we are keen to support the work carried out by TWFM. This competition was a great fit for the Association, as we work to encourage football to be brought into the classroom, creating inclusivity for all children that are interested in the sport to participate in a way that works for them. The entries received were of superb quality and the participants didn’t make the judging process easy. I would like to thank all those schools that supported this activity and also congratulate all those pupils that submitted their entries for this competition. I very much look forward to seeing the final article in April.”

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Schools’ Football Week in the community- How the campaign is supporting pupils of all ages

The English Schools' FA

Veritas Primary Academy in Stafford teamed up with the Stafford Rangers Academy to show how Schools’ Football Week can benefit pupils of all ages

Schools’ Football Week, in partnership with Pro:Direct Sport, in an ongoing English Schools’ FA initiative, designed as an opportunity for schools from across the country to embrace schools’ football and the wellbeing benefits it provides to pupils and players.

On Tuesday 7 February Veritas Primary Academy in Stafford hosted some fun training sessions for pupils in years 3 to 5, with the help of Stafford Rangers Academy students. The students, who are enrolled in Stafford Rangers’ full-time education and football programme for 16 – 18 year olds, used the opportunity as valuable work experience, to go towards their university applications.

Sam Brown, one of the students enrolled on the course said “Today has been a great opportunity to get work experience, which links to the university courses I’m looking to do. It has given me a good insight into what I have to look forward to.” Sam, who also has experience in playing schools’ football said “Schools’ football is important because it provides an opportunity to play against different people of all different abilities and it’s a great introduction to football. Playing schools’ football is great for all pupils and is really great for your mental health“.

Schools’ Football Week provides a platform every year for 1000s of schools across England to celebrate the many benefits of schools’ football both on and off the pitch, providing opportunities and resources to take football inside the classroom but also for pupils to experience new opportunities and activities.

Kelly Dean, PE Coordinator at Veritas Primary Academy in Stafford said “At Veritas Primary Academy we fully embrace Schools’ Football week and all our children from Nursery to Year 6 took part. We had sessions from Stafford Rangers Academy students, Wolves Foundation and Berkswich. The pupils enjoyed special football puddings at lunch, class tournaments, wear a football kit to school day, mindfulness colouring and penalty shootouts. The children and staff had a lot of fun playing football throughout the week.”

The activities carried out by Veritas Primary Academy in Stafford is just a small example of the plethora of SFW celebrations that have taken place across thousands of schools in England this week. Schools’ Football week has seen activity for over a quarter of a million school pupils and over 108,000 girls in England from the 6th – 12th February 2023.

English Schools’ FA Chair, Stuart Botham said, “Schools’ Football Week has been and continues to be, a fantastic platform on which to truly celebrate the many and far reaching benefits of schools’ football. I have been delighted to see the huge increase in participation from schools across England for this 2023 campaign.”

Schools’ Football Week 2023 has been a record-breaking year for activity and promotion and impact will continue to be prevalent throughout the rest of the season.

Photo Credit: 353 Photography