Year two students at Ribbleton Avenue Infants’ School were joined by none other than Jayden Stockley for a dance lesson last month.
As one of Preston North End Community and Education Trust’s partner primary schools, our staff deliver four PE lessons for Ribbleton Avenue pupils each week, under the Premier League Primary Stars programme.
Primary Stars aims to use the power and appeal of football among young people to inspire them in their school lessons, combining physical activity with subjects such as maths and literacy, forming cross-curricular lessons.
And one of the more recent sessions from last month saw Jayden join in as pupils learned a dance routine to the tune of Shakira’s ‘Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)’ – the official anthem of the 2010 World Cup.
“It was brilliant,” said Jayden. “I hope I didn’t scar the kids too much with my moves! But it was fantastic actually.
“The kids were really nice and I got to dance to Shakira, which has been an ambition of mine for a long time!
“They [the children] picked it up really quickly and they only got taught it while I was there, so it was great to see them pick it up straight away.”
Jayden’s involvement in the lesson even inspired the watching teachers to try their hand at some moves, with each of the four groups of the children joined by one adult.
The children later had the chance to pose some questions to Jayden, as he told them about the team’s intense training schedule at Springfields.
He also revealed that he had always wanted to become a footballer from a young age – just like many of the other children in the room!
For more information about the Premier League Primary Stars programme and to learn how your school can become involved, please contact the community department via jack.mountain@pne.com or 01772 693309.