Football Club Links with Haringey Borough FC

Football Club Links with Haringey Borough FC

Gabor Papp | 09/03/2009

Good practice in the area of school/club links take many forms but the partnership forged between Woodside High School and Haringey Borough Football Club is particularly successful. Read on to get a flavour of primary and secondary school football and the partnership between the school and club.

Football in primary schools has steadily increased over the last four to five years. The School Sports Partnerships run family festivals involving clusters of up to six schools which lead into Partnership festivals across the borough. A Competition Manager has also introduced a primary schools football league at three locations around Haringey.

At the Woodside family football festival 240 pupils in Years 5&6 come together to play at Perth Road and Haringey Borough Youth FC have representatives present to help officiate and coach the teams at the same time signposting youngsters to the Club and the opportunities to train at White Hart Lane Community Sports Centre on Friday evenings and play in the Walthamstow Youth League on Sundays.

Secondary school football is played in all schools in Haringey during the first half of the autumn term and last half of the spring term. At Woodside High links have been built with Haringey Borough Football Club so that the Woodside U15 and U16 teams have also been playing as the Haringey Borough FC representatives in the Cheshunt League on Sunday mornings with considerable success.
The partnership work because four members of teaching staff at Woodside High volunteer their time to train the teams on Wednesday evenings and take the teams on Sunday mornings using the Woodside School Minibus for away matches. Woodside High also funds the pitch hire for home games at White Hart Lane Community Sports Centre.
Students from St Thomas More and Northumberland Park Schools have also become part of these teams breaking down barriers between schools and giving the players ready forged links to the football club enabling them to be able to continue their playing at club level when they leave school.