Game of our Own!

Posted at 11:52 am on 20th May, 2021

Here at Flixton Schools Girls (FGS) we are always looking for innovative ways improve our student’s outcomes by eradicating inequalities. As part of this ethos we are very pleased to join the Football Association (FA) Girls’ Football School Partnership - supported by Barclays and Youth Sport Trust.

Game of Our Own is a national programme that supports girls to be empowered to lead football-related activity for others. This nationwide scheme aims to create mainstream football in schools for all girls; by creating a network of 300 school partnerships by 2024. This programme aims to develop innovative ways to deliver football for girls, improving participation from their very first experience; creating an active and confident generation of inspired female footballers, coaches, officials, leaders, activists and marketers.

With investment from Barclays girls will have the best chance to experience football in the PE curriculum, as well as the opportunity to participate, lead and compete – giving them the equal access to our much-loved national game as most boys currently enjoy.

Our twelve year 9 students who are participating in Game of Our Own also take part in the Girls’ Football Youth Sport Award, a reward and celebration scheme which helps to evidence their life skills learning and achievements through football. The Award also helps them understand the skills they’ve learnt and how they can transfer them to wider life.

All twelve girls will have the opportunity to learn delivery and/or marketing skills and apply these to FGS National School Sport week football event to the whole of our year 7 cohort. This provides both the team and other students opportunities for peer to peer learning, led, delivered and supported by girls.

The virtual national launch event was a huge success with #Flixtonteam joining sporting mentors including inline skater Jenna Downing for a series of programme introductions, activities and inspirational speakers who included Lucy Martin Ambassador for Barclay's Youth Council, Faye White MBE, a former English footballer who captained Arsenal Ladies and Rachel Yankey OBE, a former English footballer for the England national team. It was lovely to see Jenna again as she has already inspired our student’s way back in 2017, as a guest speaker for our annual Sports Awards event.

  

 

  The team were able to live chat and the school had their twitter     post shown during the live coaching session. Our girls were so    impressed to get a shout out during the event.

 

 

 

  

Our team of delivery coaches and marketers now begin their additional after school coaching sessions with Miss Cashin, Sports Project Manager who will assist the teams with their tasks to coordinate and deliver a whole school year 7 event in late June.

Miss Cashin, Sports Project Manager commented, ‘The GOOO (Game of Our Own) Activators were so excited to attend the National Live Launch.  Throughout the session, they demonstrated creativity, teamwork and effective communication.  All being valuable life skills they will use in the future.  We cannot wait to continue with this programme and put all the great resources, clothing and equipment into good use.’

Great start everyone, keep up the momentum and we look forward to seeing your activities later this term.