Improving pupils watch Town beat Ebbsfleet
Over 350 children from 16 local schools watched the Town beat Ebbsfleet at Kenilworth Road for free thanks to an initiative with social enterprise Unleashing Potential.
The children, their teachers and parents watched the 2-0 win over the Fleet as part of a reward scheme aimed at the most improved learners in local primary schools.
Teachers were encouraged to put forward those children that had shown the biggest improvements in attainment in literacy and numeracy.
Unleashing Potential is a social enterprise run by local professionals that runs free projects aimed at improving the lives of people within the town, placing emphasis on skills-sharing and sustainability.
It also runs Project Malawi, an initiative which focuses on improving the lives of people in Africa. As a part of this, they run an annual book drive with Luton Borough Council, as well as penpal partnerships between local schools, and ones in Malawi.
Gavin Phillips attended the game with him his 10-year-old son Callum, a pupil at Southfield Primary School.
“I think that this scheme is a brilliant idea as for many of the children here, it will have been their first experiences of Luton Town Football Club, and hopefully this has left a positive impact upon them,” said Gavin.
Callum added: “I was really looking forward to coming here, and it was good to see Luton win.”
Hatters director David Blakeman said: “This is a marvellous initiative. We, at the football club, are very keen to assist Luton’s teachers in improving the performance of their pupils.
“We see this idea as being capable of repetition, to very good effect.”
Unleashing Potential trustee Amar Azam said: “The teachers, parents and school children who I spoke to at the match were all overwhelmingly positive about the initiative.
“The schools were really pleased that this partnership between Luton Town and Unleashing Potential placed so much emphasis on rewarding those children that had shown the biggest development in literacy.
"In terms of reaching out to all corners of the town, it was a huge success. There were many children there that were attending their first match. I am hoping that these youngsters form part of the next generation of the club's supporters.
"I hope we can repeat this initiative when the new season begins."
The project is set to return in the Autumn.
For more information on Unleashing Potential visit www.unleashing.me.