Pupils from Sitwell Junior School have become part of the match-day organising staff as part of a multi-facetted relationship between the school and Rotherham United Community Sports Trust.
The Trust has been delivering a number of initiatives in the school of a number of years, including Premier League Primary Stars, Supporter to Reporter Literacy programmes, After-school clubs and Joy of Moving programmes. To celebrate this partnership, the club invited pupils from the school to take on match-day roles as part of the community takeover game on Saturday 29th March. Pupils undertook roles such as 1st team kit manager, referee assistant, club shop support and media support. Participants had an outstanding experience getting an in depth working knowledge of the different activities which make up a professional football event. 50 tickets were given out to the school as a reward to celebrate the partnership providing a great platform for participation.
In addition, RUFC players Matt Olosunde, Matt Crooks, Trevor Clarke, Ben Wiles, Adam Thompson and Jamie Lindsay visited the school, met the pupils and presented the teachers with a Community Partner Plaque.
Shaun Cassell (PE Lead at Sitwell Junior School) stated “ We are proud of the partnership we have with Rotherham United. Over a number of years, it has had a great impact on our pupils and the Community Takeover event last week was the pinnacle of this, creating lasting memories for the pupils involved.”
Jamie Noble, Head of Community stated “We are really proud of the relationship with have with our partner schools, and Sitwell Junior School is a classic example of this. We have delivered many programmes in the school and impacted the lives of hundreds of children over the course of the partnership. However, we do like to give back to schools, and the Community Takeover match was a great opportunity to give pupils an amazing experience and an understanding of the different part of a Rotherham United home game. The school can use this as an example of personal development which can be used in their next Ofsted inspection. However, the most important thing, was the outstanding experience of the participants.
If you would like to find out more information about the work we do, please contact community@rotherhamunited.net or 01709 827767.