Premier League marks one year of Primary Stars with limited edition poetry book composed by school children

As part of the one-year celebrations of Premier League Primary Stars, the Premier League has published ‘Try Try Again’, a book of poems penned by winners of the Writing Stars poetry competition.

Premier League Primary Stars is a curriculum-linked education programme which uses the appeal of football to inspire children to learn, be active and develop important life skills through free teaching resources and support from 101 Premier League and professional football clubs. The programme aimed to engage 10,000 primary schools by 2019 but has already exceeded that target by reaching 15,000 schools within its first year.

The Writing Stars campaign, which was backed by the National Literacy Trust and delivered as part of the Primary Stars literacy resources, inspired 25,000 primary school children to write a poem about resilience.

‘Try Try Again’, which is illustrated by renowned children’s illustrator David Mackintosh, also includes poems by famous faces from the worlds of football, television and literature including Premier League top goalscorer Alan Shearer and television presenters Ben Shephard and Rachel Riley.

The Writing Stars winners were selected by a star-studded judging panel including Children’s Laureate Lauren Child, Young People’s Laureate for London Caleb Femi, former professional footballer and children’s author Frank Lampard OBE and Premier League footballer and lyricist Yannick Bolasie. All judging was overseen by National Literacy Trust Director Jonathan Douglas.

The Premier League is now extending its Primary Stars programme to include football-themed educational activities to use at home as well as an interactive online game featuring players from every Premier League club. This will complement the existing teaching resources which use football to inspire primary school children in maths, English, PSHE and PE.

Richard Scudamore, Executive Chairman at the Premier League, said: “Premier League Primary Stars uses the power and popularity of football to connect with children and inspire them to learn. Our clubs have a tremendous impact working with schools in their communities, and to have engaged 15,000 schools in such a short time is why the programme is a key part of our community work.

“The response to the Writing Stars competition is just one example of the effect the programme has to capture the imagination of thousands of children, we were overwhelmed by the volume and standard of entries and I would like to congratulate all those who participated.”

Commenting on the Writing Stars campaign, National Literacy Trust Director Jonathan Douglas said: “This has been the National Literacy Trust’s most successful primary school aged writing competition and shows the power that football can play in inspiring young people to achieve in the classroom. The quality of entries exceeded all expectations and the judges had a really difficult time making their decisions. This competition is a brilliant demonstration of the impact that Premier League Primary Stars has had in its first year.”

Writing Stars judge Frank Lampard added: “It was very tough to pick winners out of more than 25,000 entries. It’s been a great experience for me to read poems of such a high standard. It’s been a fantastic competition and we have seen a lot of quality. Congratulations to all the winners, and to everybody who took part.”

Visit www.plprimarystars.com to find out how your school can be involved with Premier League Primary Stars and for the latest exciting curriculum-linked resources across maths, literacy and PSHE.

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