A fantastic kick-off to #EFLWeekOfAction with our Premier League Primary Stars session

What a way to mark the start of our participation in EFL Week of Action. Today special highlight was welcoming two very special guests, George Maris and Frazer Blake‑Tracy from Mansfield Town FC who rolled up their sleeves, joined in the fun and inspired the children with both skill and story.

The Primary Stars programme uses the appeal of professional football to support children aged 5-11 in the classroom, on the playground and on the sports field. Delivered locally via Mansfield Town Community Trust, we work with schools through teacher-support, subject interventions (reading, writing, maths) and physical activity sessions. By linking fun, active football-based sessions with life skills, teamwork and curriculum themes, it gives pupils fresh motivation and a memorable context for learning. Today’s session formed part of our wider work across many schools in the Mansfield area, and as we begin #EFLWeekOfAction we’re proud to spotlight this programme and the impact it has in our local community.

With George Maris and Frazer Blake-Tracy in attendance the energy was high from the start:

• Pupils were engaged straight away with dribbling skills – focusing on close control, change of pace and direction, all under the guidance of our coaches and the players themselves.

• We then moved into teamwork-based challenges: pupils worked in small groups, communicated with each other, made decisions, and supported one another to navigate obstacles or to complete passing-and-move drills.

• At the end of the physical session, we held a Q&A with George and Frazer. The children asked questions about their journey into professional football, how teamwork matters on and off the pitch, how they stay motivated, and what advice they would give young people. Both George and Frazer were open, encouraging and emphasised how the same values in sport, ambition, fairness, connection apply to school life too.

From today we hope pupils will:

• Feel more confident about being active and understand that practising skills (like dribbling, moving, decision-making) is part of improvement.

• Recognise that being connected and working as a team helps everyone do better — on the pitch and in the classroom.

• See role-models (George and Frazer) who show that working hard, being fair and being ambitious are qualities that matter, whether you’re scoring a goal or writing a piece of work.

• Enjoy being part of something bigger — this session is just one element of our Primary Stars programme and our wider work in local schools, and today we celebrated that.

A big thank you to the schools involved today, to our coaches and community team, and again to George Maris and Frazer Blake-Tracy for taking time to inspire our young participants. Here’s to many more sessions, many more smiles, and countless moments of learning through play, sport and teamwork!