Local World Cup teaching initiative kicks off at LJLA

A set of teaching and learning materials for Key Stage 3 students based on the theme of the 2010 World Cup has been launched at Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA).

This football themed initiative is the brainchild of former Merseyside Teacher Phil Freeman who believes the excitement that surrounds this year’s World Cup will create ideal learning opportunities for pupils.
Six books and interactive CDs have recently been published by Yorkshire based Cable Educational, each covering different areas of the curriculum including, English, Maths, Science, Food Technology, Geography and Performing Arts. The hope is that schools will use the materials as part of an end-of-term cross-curricular project during the tournament in June and July.

To celebrate the launch, students from nearby St Benedict’s College in Garston who have been piloting the initiative, attended the Airport to display some of their work, and give a short performance of music and dance from the specially written one-act musical, ‘Own Goal’ which tells the story of a young South African footballer, which is included in the Performing Arts pack.

Attendees to the launch were also able to sample African recipes taken from the Food Technology book, supplied by Jabula, a South African restaurant in Ellesmere Port – including crocodile.

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility commitment, Liverpool John Lennon Airport works with local schools in a number of ways and was delighted to assist by hosting this event, particularly with links to South Africa now available from the Airport with KLM via Amsterdam.

Phil Freeman commented, “The World Cup is always of interest to a diverse cross section of pupils and offers a unique opportunity to link so many aspects of education with a global sporting event. As a former teacher I know how it can be difficult to motivate students towards the end of the Summer term, but these packs will give teachers and pupils something different to work on.”

Robin Tudor, Head of PR for Peel Airports added, “South Africa and this year’s World Cup is of course a destination now served from the Airport so we liked the opportunity to help by hosting this launch here. This is a great initiative that looks like a fun way to learn and is bound to be a hit in such a football mad City.”