New Molineux-based facility opens

Hundreds Of Kids Set To Benefit From New Study Centre

Five hundred youngsters from forty local Wolverhampton schools will soon experience a new state-of-the-art facility.

Wolverhampton Wanderers FC has been working alongside Wolverhampton City Council's 'Playing for Success' programme for many years to give young people the opportunity for additional learning activities in a vibrant, exciting and stimulating study centre.

The centre originally started life in the Stan Cullis Stand and has now been relocated to a room, twice the size of the old one, at the rear of the Jack Harris Stand at Molineux. Wolves' Chairman Steve Morgan and the Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Christine Mills officially opened the new facility on Thursday.

Wolves in the Community Development Manager, Andy Morgan, commented: "Moving to the bigger venue means additional learning systems can be accommodated, such as a second projector and screen within the dedicated chill out zone. Wii consoles and other game consoles can be linked to this screen which gives PfS the opportunity to offer students the chance to participate in fun activities like the Wii "fit" game."

Playing for Success (PfS) is a partnership between the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), local authorities and a broad range of sports groups. The PfS programme makes a significant contribution to out-of-hours study support provision for children and young people.

Cllr Gill Fellows, Lead Member for Schools at the City Council, is clear that, within the framework of 'Every Child Matters', PfS can contribute significantly to raising the achievement of young people, especially those who may be at risk of not reaching their full potential through underdeveloped literacy or numeracy skills and low self esteem. Cllr Fellows explained: "These skills are the foundation stones of their education, and everything they learn can be reapplied in their lessons at school. "Wolves and PfS hope that the new centre at Molineux will encourage even more schools to participate in the programme and, therefore, engage more young people, giving them a greater chance to succeed in school and feel more confident and positive towards learning.

Andy Morgan continued: "A football ground can provide an ideal environment for inquisitive and imaginative minds. Many of the children from inner city urban areas have never experienced the atmosphere at a football match, so it can be really fascinating for them."

While at Molineux, students can learn what it means to be the chairman of the club and find out how much it costs to run a club like Wolves. Students also have the opportunity to calculate gate receipts, average attendances at home games and measure the size of the playing area of a football pitch. They may also use their numeracy skills to calculate players' diets/calorie intakes and even salaries!!!

The inspirational environment at Molineux also naturally encourages literacy and descriptive writing. Liam Gould, PfS Manager, explains: "At the football club, students can create news articles for new signings and write match reports for the games. Pupils can also create a comic for the 'Day in the Life' of the club mascot, Wolfie."

These activities are always popular with students and school staff, especially since the work is completed on Apple Macbooks, which most schools do not have access to and are new to PfS in Wolverhampton. We are delighted to be back at the Molineux; it is a very exciting time both for the team and the children, young people and school staff we work with.

"Evidence from four national evaluations shows that PfS has contributed to significant improvements in pupils' literacy and numeracy skills, and also, greatly improved their self confidence and motivation."

Outside of supporting the Pfs programme, Wolves in the Community, who are officially sponsored by Birmingham Midshires, will be working alongside PfS, City of Wolverhampton College and University of Wolverhampton staff to devise and deliver a range of education programmes during the daytime slots available at the new centre.