Oxford United in the Community paid 7-year-old Elliot Briscoe and his school a surprise visit – after he won a colouring in competition.
Coaches from United’s charity and club mascot Olly the Ox attended Appleton CE Primary School and treated pupils to an assembly and coaching sessions for each year group.
The special day came after Elliott won a colouring in competition with Aster Group, a local housing association and Oxford United in the Community partner.
A total of 181 pupils from the Abingdon based school benefited from the day of football training where they got to learn lots of new skills, including; shooting goals, shooting techniques, team building and passing drills.
Elliot said: “Winning the competition and having Olly The Ox come into our school was so much fun! I got my own Oxford United football kit and we all got coaching, which was my favourite part, I love football.”
Chris Lowes, Head of Operations at Oxford United in the Community said: “It was a pleasure for us to coach the children at Appleton CE Primary School and inspire more youngsters to play sport and be the best they can be. The Aster Group share the same community values as Oxford United in the Community and by partnering on this special project we have been able to reach more youngsters in Oxfordshire.”
Head Teacher, Amy Carnell said: “It was such a surprise to learn that our pupils were going to get to enjoy such a lovely treat before the term finished. The children had such a wonderful day meeting coaches and mascot. Days like this really stay with you as a child and it’s great for them to see local role models making such a success of their passion.”
Amy Nettleton, assistant development director – sales and marketing at Aster Group said, “Well done to Elliot for winning the competition and making this great experience possible for his classmates. The recent FIFA Women’s World Cup has inspired many youngsters to get out and play, so we hope the day of training and meeting the local League One football heroes has motivated these Abingdon pupils to enjoy this kind of exercise.”
Aster Group currently has affordable homes for sale across Oxfordshire. For more information, visit https://www.aster.co.uk/sales/developments/oxfordshire.