As part of the Players’ Project festive activities, Angelo Ogbonna, Maxwel Cornet, Junior Robinson and Michael Forbes visited Aveley Primary School in Thurrock for a West Ham United Foundation (WHUF) Premier League Primary Stars (PLPS) event involving a maths quiz hosted by University Challenge star and WHUF ambassador Bobby Seagull.
“It was great meeting all the kids and participating in the quiz alongside some of them,” said Academy player Robinson, following his first appearance in the community. “You could tell that they saw us as role models which is a big responsibility and while you’re there you want to show them the best possible way to behave as they’ll most likely mirror it.”
Using the power of the Premier League and West Ham United, PLPS seeks to boost children’s engagement in the school curriculum. For the Foundation’s latest PLPS activities, the focus was on numeracy and the power of numbers.
“Through visits like this, I want to persuade young people that maths can be enjoyable,” said West Ham fan and school tutor Seagull. “I know that maths can be challenging, but the more I visit schools and engage them in interesting activities, the more I can be a positive influence to make them think ‘Actually, yeah, maths can be alright’.”
As the school geared up for the winter break, the children’s excitement built throughout a special day of fun activities, all incorporating numeracy, in a bid to raise awareness about how much we all use numeracy in everyday life and encourage learning. East Ham local Seagull led the workshops in which he described how his love for football and West Ham United translated into a successful career in maths.
“As a young boy, what really inspired me to chase maths wasn’t necessarily the classroom, it was actually my passion for football through statistics,” he said. “I used to love flicking through sticker books, looking at the data, the goals scored, points per game... All these data and ratios; that’s what got me into maths!”
Following the morning workshops, over 400 students gathered in the assembly hall for a maths-themed gameshow. Having shot to fame on BBC Two’s University Challenge as captain of the Emmanuel College Cambridge team, Seagull swapped his buzzer for a microphone as he hosted his very own quiz show.
For three rounds, the players teamed up with students and went head-to-head, with Ogbonna and Robinson’s team only just getting the better of Cornet and Forbes’ on the deciding tiebreaker question.
“I think maths is just one of those subjects that it is useful for everyone to have a knowledge of,” said Robinson after pipping Cornet and Forbes’ team in the final question to win the challenge. “Obviously, there are some things you are taught, and you maybe never use them again, but I feel like everyone uses maths in some form of way every single day.”
To learn more about the Foundation’s PLPS delivery or its wider work, please contact [email protected] or visit the Foundation section on the West Ham United website
