Competition winner enjoys an experience he'll never forget.
Usually, St Andrew’s CE primary school pupil Luke Parkinson wouldn’t have been as keen on writing and submitting a poem, but when his beloved Preston North End were involved, Luke quickly put pen to paper.
And it was his passion for PNE and football, coupled with his creative writing that secured him an experience to savour after winning PNE’s Premier League Primary Stars Poetry Competition.
Here, primary school children throughout Preston were encouraged to send in their own PNE themed inspired poem with the winning entry published in North End’s official matchday programme, ‘The One And Only’.
The competition saw hundreds of pupils describe Preston North End and football in their poems, but it was Luke’s entry that stood out from the rest with his knowledge of PNE, football and poetry prowess shining through.
As part of the prize, Luke was given a ground tour of Deepdale Stadium prior to the game before watching on from the stands alongside nine other runners up who were all given two free tickets for the game.
Luke and the runners up were each given a certificate, a matchday programme and presented on the pitch at half-time where their photo was taken alongside Jermaine Beckford, Stevie May, Tommy Spurr and Alan Browne.
Luke was also given his published poem framed and signed by the full Preston North End squad with a version also presented to his school by North End’s very own Paul Huntington, capping off a special experience, both for Luke, and for his parents who were equally overjoyed.
Commenting on Luke’s win, his mum Rachel Parkinson said: “Luke is a huge PNE fan and has been since he could walk and talk!”
“He was very determined to write a good poem to enter for the competition - Luke is not always too keen on writing but for this task he certainly worked his hardest.
“I think that it was a great idea to encourage children to write a poem about something that they love, and the prize on offer certainly motivated Luke. I know that his day behind the scenes at Deepdale is one that he will never forget and he has shown all of his friends and family his prize which now takes pride of place in his bedroom.”
Schools Provision Manager Harriet Creighton-Levis said: “Our PL Stars Poetry Competition was a perfect example of how the Primary Stars Programme helps engage and inspire children in their learning, using real life examples like their local football team that they can relate to.
“Luke brought to life his passion for Preston North End through the power of poetry; a common theme in the hundreds of entries that were sent in to us.
“A big thank you to all who entered, and to their schools who helped us engage primary school children by giving them the opportunity of entering our competition.”
Luke’s experience is all part of Preston North End’s Premier League Primary Stars Programme; a programme which may sound familiar to some with its most recent advert aired on television screens.
The advert, featuring Premier League stars Sadio Mane, Juan Mata, Kevin De Bruyne amongst others promotes the programme’s key messages to inspire primary school children in everything they do, including English and Maths.
The programme, delivered by Preston North End in line with the Primary Stars Programme is open to Primary Schools throughout Preston.
To find out more, contact the Preston North End Community and Education Trust on 01772 693309 or email community@pne.com.
Here's Luke's poem in full:
Here I am on row 32
The opposition don’t have a clue
The game is not going their way
I don’t know why they are paid to play
Sir Tom Finney stand next to my dad
Saturday afternoons make me feel glad
This team are out of this world
Free kicks, we all know they will be curled
Here comes Maxwell making a save
There goes the crowd with a Mexican wave
McGeady sprinting down the field
A shot, a goal this win is now sealed!
Tom Clarke doing his thing
Stopping the forwards on the wing
Sir Tom would be proud
The Invincibles Stand are blooming loud
It’s the one and only Preston North End!
And it was his passion for PNE and football, coupled with his creative writing that secured him an experience to savour after winning PNE’s Premier League Primary Stars Poetry Competition.
Here, primary school children throughout Preston were encouraged to send in their own PNE themed inspired poem with the winning entry published in North End’s official matchday programme, ‘The One And Only’.
The competition saw hundreds of pupils describe Preston North End and football in their poems, but it was Luke’s entry that stood out from the rest with his knowledge of PNE, football and poetry prowess shining through.
As part of the prize, Luke was given a ground tour of Deepdale Stadium prior to the game before watching on from the stands alongside nine other runners up who were all given two free tickets for the game.
Luke and the runners up were each given a certificate, a matchday programme and presented on the pitch at half-time where their photo was taken alongside Jermaine Beckford, Stevie May, Tommy Spurr and Alan Browne.
Luke was also given his published poem framed and signed by the full Preston North End squad with a version also presented to his school by North End’s very own Paul Huntington, capping off a special experience, both for Luke, and for his parents who were equally overjoyed.
Commenting on Luke’s win, his mum Rachel Parkinson said: “Luke is a huge PNE fan and has been since he could walk and talk!”
“He was very determined to write a good poem to enter for the competition - Luke is not always too keen on writing but for this task he certainly worked his hardest.
“I think that it was a great idea to encourage children to write a poem about something that they love, and the prize on offer certainly motivated Luke. I know that his day behind the scenes at Deepdale is one that he will never forget and he has shown all of his friends and family his prize which now takes pride of place in his bedroom.”
Schools Provision Manager Harriet Creighton-Levis said: “Our PL Stars Poetry Competition was a perfect example of how the Primary Stars Programme helps engage and inspire children in their learning, using real life examples like their local football team that they can relate to.
“Luke brought to life his passion for Preston North End through the power of poetry; a common theme in the hundreds of entries that were sent in to us.
“A big thank you to all who entered, and to their schools who helped us engage primary school children by giving them the opportunity of entering our competition.”
Luke’s experience is all part of Preston North End’s Premier League Primary Stars Programme; a programme which may sound familiar to some with its most recent advert aired on television screens.
The advert, featuring Premier League stars Sadio Mane, Juan Mata, Kevin De Bruyne amongst others promotes the programme’s key messages to inspire primary school children in everything they do, including English and Maths.
The programme, delivered by Preston North End in line with the Primary Stars Programme is open to Primary Schools throughout Preston.
To find out more, contact the Preston North End Community and Education Trust on 01772 693309 or email community@pne.com.
Here's Luke's poem in full:
Here I am on row 32
The opposition don’t have a clue
The game is not going their way
I don’t know why they are paid to play
Sir Tom Finney stand next to my dad
Saturday afternoons make me feel glad
This team are out of this world
Free kicks, we all know they will be curled
Here comes Maxwell making a save
There goes the crowd with a Mexican wave
McGeady sprinting down the field
A shot, a goal this win is now sealed!
Tom Clarke doing his thing
Stopping the forwards on the wing
Sir Tom would be proud
The Invincibles Stand are blooming loud
It’s the one and only Preston North End!