Wirral schools enjoy a taste of sport – the Spanish way

Apr 18 2007 by Nick Moreton, Birkenhead News

THREE Wirral schools have benefited from a pioneering project to develop young leaders as part of their sports college programmes.

Sports leaders at Park High, Bebington and Pensby High Sports Colleges worked with delegates from schools in Madrid to deliver the Dreams and Teams project to more than 100 pupils.

A group of Spanish staff and students spent a day at each college to help devise the festival of sport.

They were greeted at Park High with a special Spanish menu in the canteen before taking part in a PE and Spanish lesson, as well as a team building session on the climbing wall.

They also joined in English lessons with Year 8 and 10 pupils and discussed future exchange visits with staff.

During their stay, the Spanish delegation were treated to a tour of Liverpool’s stadium and museum tour, as well as outings to the Albert Dock and Cheshire Oaks Outlet Village in Ellesmere Port.

And the planning was put into practice on the penultimate day of their visit, as primary pupils took part in a festival of sports including football, basketball, hockey, Tri Golf and Dance.

Students from both Spain and Wirral opened the festival and used their linguistic skills to provide an ongoing commentary.

The final evening was then celebrated during a disco for all who took part, with a special DVD giving the visitors a reminder of their stay in Wirral proving to be one of the highlights of the night.

A spokesperson said: “Each of the primary school children received certificates and the feedback from all the teachers was fantastic, with the children thoroughly enjoying the festival.

“An enormous amount of effort from all of the pupils and staff from each of the sports colleges made the event the success it was and we look forward to a continuing partnership with the schools in Madrid that will bring new experiences and benefits to many more pupils. We are also extremely grateful to Sports Direct who worked in partnership with Park High School to provide goodie bags for the Spanish pupils to take back with them to Madrid.”