February 14, 2024

Empowering Girls in Football: Martin High participate in important FA campaign

At the beginning of February, the Football Association (FA) – the official governing body of amateur and professional football in the United Kingdom – visited Martin High School to drum up publicity for a significant event.

The FA chose to use Martin High as an example of how the ‘Biggest Ever Football Session’ initiative has positively impacted female participation in football, and to encourage other schools to take part this year.

The ‘Biggest Ever Football Session’ forms part of #LetGirlsPlay, a national campaign that aims to give all girls equal access to play football in school. Students at Martin High had a great time taking part last year and are very much looking forward to participating in the forthcoming event which takes place on Friday 8^th March.

For the visit, Alice Williams, Marketing Manager for the FA, was joined by a film crew and a director. They interviewed some of Martin High’s budding Year 9/10 footballers – girls and boys – who spoke about their experience of taking part in last year’s event and the positive impact it had. PE Teachers Mrs Coates and Mr Charlesworth were also interviewed and highlighted the benefits schools can enjoy from participating in comparable events in the future.

The school’s Girls Football Ambassadors and CNAT Sports Studies students then ran a mini football session in the Sports Hall. They hosted a variety of drills for boys and girls, testing them on all aspects of the game and demonstrated the inclusive power of football.

The students absolutely loved taking part; they conducted themselves with tremendous pride and maturity and were superb role models for the school.

“We were delighted to welcome The FA to Martin High School PE Department to help showcase the inclusive curriculum that we have been offering all our students for the past two years and encourage other schools across the country to sign up for the ‘Biggest Ever Football Session’ as part of the #LetGirlsPlay campaign,” explained Mrs Coates, PE Lead at Martin High.

“The students who took part in the football session and interviews were articulate and inspirational.

“We couldn't have been more proud of them and hope that their message is heard by more schools to give girls the same access to football as they have,” she continued.

A special thank-you to the South Charnwood SPAN (Sports and Physical Activity) who recommended the school for this fantastic opportunity.