Nineteen young people who take part in Reading FC's Kickz project have been presented with Bronze Arts Award certificates by Royals Chairman Sir John Madejski and Captain Graeme Murty.
The youngsters were on the pitch at half time of the Ipswich game, and the presentation followed the successful completion of an innovative programme which saw football and the arts come together to engage young people - many on the fringes of education and society - and help them gain a qualification.
Over February half-term, young people worked with Real Time Film & Video to produce a documentary film about the work they are doing within the local community. They also worked with Chants Enterprise, professional musicians and DJs to create music to be used as the soundtrack for the film. The film was screened on our big screen in front of the 20,000-strong crowd.
One of the young graduates, Iain, said of his experience: "Football is my main love but this project gave me the chance to do poetry and music. I wrote the lyrics for the music track about the negative influences in football. It was a good combination of my interests."
Paul Hughes, RFC Social Inclusion Manager and Arts Award adviser, said: "When we started out in October, we would never have believed that we'd be awarding 19 certificates today, as a lot of these kids are 'NEET' (not in education, employment or training.) Therefore their attitude to learning at times is inconsistent. This has been a great project and we are keen to explore other areas of delivering this qualification in the near future."
Head of Arts Award Development, Diana Walton, said: "It's so rewarding to see and hear how much the participants of the Football Arts Academy have benefited from the programme. The Arts Award delivers valuable experiences which develop young people in every aspect of their lives from improving confidence to learning new skills. Engaging young people through their interests is a powerful educational tool.''
Football Arts Academy is an Arts Award initiative, funded by the Football Foundation, the UK's largest sports charity that was set up in 2000 by the Premier League, The FA and Government. It is also supported by NACRO, Real Time Film & Video and South West Trains and delivered through the Kickz initiative which works with 16-19 year olds.
