Worthing school visited by Premier League trophy
Pupils at Oak Grove College in Worthing were treated to a very special visit last week (Wednesday 22 November).
Albion mascot Gully came to meet the youngsters, who were also given an incredible opportunity to see the Premier League trophy in-person.
Oak Grove, a special educational needs and disabilities school for children aged 11-19, were chosen for this exciting visit as a reward for their enthusiasm in our recent Rainbow Laces t-shirt design competition.
We asked local kids to send in their best t-shirt designs to help us promote Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign – of the 300 entries we received in total, around 70 of them came from Oak Grove alone.
To say thank you, we sent Gully and some Foundation staff down to Oak Grove to hold a special assembly all about equality and diversity, while the Premier League sent two helpers to answer all the pupils’ questions about the famous trophy.
Ross McKay, the lead PE teacher at Oak Grove, said the pupils were all very excited for the visit.
“The pupils loved it, it gave them the chance to showcase their art ability; to work out which colours they want, which colours are part of the rainbow. It was great for us to be able to promote that message of inclusivity with them all.
“The pupils know Brighton & Hove Albion, they see them on TV, they talk about the players at lunchtime, so it’s about us transferring what they see in TV into our school setting.
“The fact that we’ve got the Premier League trophy here today is incredible. Today is such a great occasion, and hopefully it will be an occasion they’ll remember forever.”
Sarah Byrne, who heads up equality, diversity, and inclusion at the Foundation, was heartened to see the reaction of the pupils.
“After their amazing effort in the Rainbow Laces competition we wanted to give them something back,” she said, “it was just fantastic to see the huge smiles on their faces when they met Gully and saw the Premier League trophy up-close.
“They’ve all completely understood the message of Rainbow Laces and that’s what we wanted from this competition. Well done once again to all the pupils who entered!”
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