Clifton Girls Wildcats Football club lead the way!

Clifton Primary have finished their first term of FA SSE Wildcats Girls football, enabling girls who have never played organised football before, the chance to take part in regular sessions with other girls from their community.

As part of our commitment to increase physical activity opportunities for all pupils and to spotlight ‘girls PE and School Sport. Many of the pupils involved in the Wildcats club on Thursday evenings, had never attended a school or community based sports club before.

Inspired by Janika Patel, a female football coach from Sporting Elite and Mr Rose coach and Learning Mentor, pupils took part in a range of activities to develop their footballing skills and social skills.

Girls from a neighbouring school – Nelson Mandela Primary- also joined the Clifton girls, to give the sessions a real community feel, meaning that 25-30 girls regularly attended the club from May to October.

Sporting Elite director declared;

‘Sporting Elite are delighted to be working on the Clifton Wildcats sessions, engaging girls in the community to play the game they love and keep active.’

Clifton Primary have always championed the important role physical activity and club membership play in enabling children to develop their physical and emotional well-being. Wildcat co-ordinator, Owen Lamprey emphasised the role this new club plays in this:

‘Clifton have always provided opportunities for pupils to develop their physical literacy and play a range of sports, inside and out of the curriculum. This year we decided to focus on improving these opportunities for Girls and pupils with SEND. Wildcats is a key driver in this and allows girls who have never played football before to play in a safe and welcoming environment. It is also vital moving forward as part of the school’s response to the Government’s School Sport and Activity Action Plan and the Obesity
Strategy.’

The school has plans to widen the scope though, by training parents and volunteers to become part of the coaching team, enabling even more girls to take part in regular football. We have just won our first match 5-1! Other Birmingham-based Wildcat clubs have been contacted to set up more
competitive matches and Clifton have already started talking to Crusaders FC and Armada FC to enable girls who want to further their skills, to join an FA affiliated club. This is part of a long term approach to make the sessions and the love of football more sustainable.

Clifton Wildcats is now up and running again and we are welcoming new members, on Thursdays at Clifton Primary School.