Story added: 4th March 2024
Last Wednesday, four teams of high school students from both Pakefield and Wymondham High School arrived at Carrow Road to take on the Premier League Inspires challenge.
This year’s event required the pupils to pitch a mental health/wellbeing themed incentive to a panel of judges, with the idea being that the most impressive proposition could be adopted into the football club’s very own mental health awareness campaigns in the future.
The judges were Asa Saunders; Head of Schools at the Foundation, as well as Dan Williams and Dan Wynne, who work for the football clubs Marketing department and Communications department respectively.
Similar to the famous TV show; Dragon’s Den, the four hopeful teams took their turns to stand in front of the judges, delivering their ideas on how they would structure a mental health campaign in a footballing/sport environment. There were some fantastic ideas on display, including but not limited to mental health awareness t-shirts, promotional videos, physical exercise schemes and easily accessible suicide hotlines.
It was a difficult decision for the ‘dragons’, but in the end it was one of the Pakefield High School teams who emerged victorious for their ‘Train Your Brain’ awareness scheme which brilliantly collaborated sports and mental wellbeing as a way of dealing with everyday stresses and worries. The group of young ‘entrepreneurs’ were quick to find the link between healthy living and a healthy mind and presented a clearly structured and well thought through pitch to the judges.
The winning team will now represent the football club and present their pitch at the Emirates Stadium in London later this year.
Premier League Inspires Officer, Aoife Linehan, was full of praise for all four groups and the hard work that had been put into their campaigns:
“The event was great! It was a fantastic opportunity for the students to showcase their ideas that they have been working on recently in our weekly workshops. It’s amazing to see their progression and how much their confidence has grown since the start of the programme.”
All four teams of students were rewarded with a personalised video from Norwich City first-teamer Gabriel Sara, who offered his congratulations to everyone involved. This was followed by a full stadium tour of Carrow Road, an experience that was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
8th April 2024
Last weekend saw local school Thorpe St Andrew visit Wembley Stadium to face Tranmere Rovers in the EFL Girls U13 Cup Final.
16th March 2024
On Thursday 14th March, teams from across Eastern England attended The Nest for the U11's Girls Premier League Primary Stars regional tournament.
15th March 2024
For International Women's Day 2024, we hosted a special event at The Nest for girls from local schools.
4th March 2024
On Wednesday 28th February, four teams of students visited Carrow Road to pitch their ideas on mental health campaigns that could be enrolled in the football club
When you donate a little each month, you will be helping to transform the lives of local people of all ages who need our support – giving them the opportunity to connect with others like them, feel happier and healthier in themselves, and raise their aspirations.
We have Soccer Schools running at venues across Norfolk & Suffolk, and whether participants are new to football, or are already a budding Canary superstar, the Soccer Schools programme has been put together to provide a fun, holiday activity at an affordable price.
As Norwich City Football Club's official charity partner, we help thousands of people every year achieve their goals through sport, supporting some of the most disadvantaged, disabled and talented people across Norfolk. Our vision is to support, inspire, and improve our community.
Keep up-to-date with the latest news from the Foundation
