Pupils at a school in Denbighshire are on the ball when it comes to developing their literacy skills – including a six year old boy who’s battling leukaemia.
The youngsters at Ysgol Bro Dyfrdwy in Cynwyd, near Corwen, have been tackling new challenges with the help of the Racecourse Community Foundation at Wrexham AFC.
The school is just down the road from the factory of Ifor Williams Trailers, the club’s main shirt sponsors.
Thanks to the tie up with the iconic trailer firm, two of the school’s pupils, Cai Wyn Jones, nine, and Harvey Jones, six, have had the opportunity to be match-day mascots at the famous Racecourse ground.
Wrexham and Liverpool fan Harvey, who lives in the village has been treated for leukaemia for the two years since the condition was diagnosed.
His grandfather, Llion Jones, a shift leader at Ifor Williams Trailers, popped into the school to see Harvey and his school mates in action.
Llion said: “I am delighted that Ifor Williams Trailers are sponsoring Wrexham this year because I’ve been a Wrexham supporter since I was the same age as Harvey.
“I try to go as much as I can now with Harvey, who has joined the Junior Dragons and he was a mascot for the Braintree game.
“Harvey really enjoyed it – it was one of the best days he’s had in a long time.
“At the moment he’s getting treated for leukaemia and he’s getting better every day. “He does have his ups and downs but he takes every day in his stride and he never complains.
“Like today he hasn’t been well over the weekend but he wanted to come down to get his photo taken with his side which is a good thing.
“Football is really important to him. As well as being a Wrexham fan, he’s also an avid Liverpool supporter as his dad, Alun, is.
“This idea of the club coming to the school is brilliant. It gets the kids involved and I hope it rubs off a bit and gets more juniors going to Wrexham Football Club to see them.”
Robin Jones, a materials coordinator at Ifor Williams Trailers, was also there to see his grandson, Cai, being put through his paces.
He said: “I think these sessions are a brilliant idea and Cai loves it. He lives and breathes football so this is brilliant for him.”
Teacher Sion Williams is also a big fan of the sessions.
He said: “The boys and the girls are really enjoying it. As we know, boys can be less motivated when it comes to literacy work so it’s been a good way of kindling their interest.”
The half-day courses are being run for one day a week over five weeks by Steven Dale who works as a football development officer for the Racecourse Community Foundation.
He explained: “We do an hour inside the classroom and it can involve anything from looking at a newspaper report and finding key information such as players’ names, who got man of the match, the referee’s name.
“We also do a practical lesson outside. As well as the footballing skills, we also do agility, balance, different things to keep everyone interested and having fun.
“Wrexham is very much a community club and we try as much as we can to promote our community.
“I think it’s very important to tie in connections within the community because Wrexham is obviously a fan-owned club so everyone has to pull together and this is a great way of doing it by getting the schools involved.
“It’s also great to have Ifor Williams Trailers on board as a sponsor because they also have a very strong community ethos.”
