We are proud to be working with the National Literacy Trust to deliver Game Changers, a new programme that uses the power of football to improve the reading skills and motivation of students who have been excluded from mainstream education.

Funded by BT Supporters Club through Comic Relief, Game Changers combines footballthemed reading lessons, practical football activities and role models from Accrington Stanley Community Trust to boost excluded young people’s reading skills and life chances.

Young people who are excluded from mainstream education have some of the poorest outcomes in education, health and life. From January 2020, we will help to turn this around by using football to support the reading skills of 60 young people in 4 Pupil Referral Units and alternative provision settings in Hyndburn and Rossendale.

Lee Walsh, Head of Sport commented, ‘as an organisation we can offer so much more than sports provision, this project is another example of how football can be used as a positive tool to engage children and bring about positive outcomes’.

Tim Judge, Senior Programme Manager for Sport and Literacy at the National Literacy Trust, said: “Excluded students deserve to have the same opportunities as their peers in school. We know from 20 years of experience that football can provide a vital route into reading for students who are disengaged and disenfranchised with education. With the support of Accrington Stanley Community Trust, Game Changers will use the power of football to transform the life chances of young people who face some of the greatest barriers to success at school and in life.”

For more information, visit literacytrust.org.uk/gamechangers.