Five-a-side Friday is a hit with sixth formers

Every Friday, our Sixth Form students meet to play football at the Dave Clark Arena. It’s a fantastic way to finish the week and allows the students to get together in a fun and informal setting, forge friendships and also be active. Typically, more than 40 students are playing each week.

The weekly event is the brainchild of Uchenna Anyadiegwu, Headboy, who said: “I was really keen to start “Five a side Friday” because social sport is an excellent way for players of different skill levels to mix. It is also really good for students who are new to college to help them settle in and meet people. Of course, it has taken longer to get going due to lockdown, but we are really pleased about how successful it has been. It also adds to the fun to play on the new 3G pitch!”

Les Richardson, Head of Sixth Form, added: “The Friday five-a-side football is an excellent initiative as it brings together students from across the whole Sixth Form. As Uchenna predicted, students who didn’t know each other before playing football together in a fun and relatively non-competitive way, have now made new friends.

“It has been lovely to see students laughing and enjoying themselves on the football field in a safe setting. This is particularly important this year and so beneficial after lockdown. We are sure that the Friday session will become a regular feature in Sixth Form going forward.”