West Ham legend Sir Trevor Brooking scored a hit with Jewish primary pupils at a community football tournament at the Premier League team’s Upton Park.
Ten lucky students from Clore Tikva in Redbridge, and 22 from Simon Marks in Hackney, competed in a five-a-side tournament which placed pupils in teams with children from different faiths and cultures. The pupils, aged nine and 10, met Sir Trevor after last week’s three-hour tournament and were given medals by the former England player and FA development director.
Susan Lecorne, reception teacher at Clore Tikva, led the year 5 students because she’s “an avid West Ham fan”. She added: “The children had a wonderful time.”
Rohan Plunkett, a PE teacher at Simon Marks, said the pupils “were talking about it all week”. One of its pupils, Ruby Rose, won a silver medal as her team finished runners-up.
Organisers of “One Ball, One Game, One Community”, which invited 260 children from east London, included the Metropolitan police, the FA and the Jewish Committee for the London Games.
Alex Goldberg, of the JCLG, said: “We were delighted to partner an event which brought Jewish children into close contact with other community groups.”
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