Pupils at St Swithun’s Junior School, Winchester were thrilled to meet two of England’s top lady professional football players last week.
England Ladies team member and Arsenal Ladies player Kelly Smith and Arsenal Ladies development officer and coach Ciara Allen joined the school for a morning assembly before putting players from Years 3 & 4 through their paces with a selection of different exercises on the school’s football pitches.
St Swithun’s Junior School sports director Roger Marshall, who organised the event, said “This year we have developed our physical education opportunities to ensure that our girls get the opportunity to play a variety of sports, including football, pop lacrosse, netball and tennis to develop those all-important agility, balance and coordination skills that are the foundation for future enjoyment. It was fantastic to get someone of Kelly’s stature in to inspire the girls.”
Football is becoming a popular sport at both St Swithun’s Junior School and St Swithun’s School. After only nine months of school coaching three of the senior players recently gained places in the South East England team.