Football brings Portsmouth schools together with focus on building friendships

Children from three Portsmouth schools have come together for a tournament focused on encouraging new friendships ahead of secondary school.

Penbridge Junior School and Meon Junior School competed in the friendly competition at New Horizons Primary School, who also had a team playing in the five-a-side matches.

Many of the students from the three Thinking Schools Academy Trust primaries are attending The Portsmouth Academy in September, so the organisers of the event believed the game was a positive opportunity to bring everyone together to form friendships ahead of the summer and before they start at a new school.

Ashley Arnell, who leads sports at Penbridge School, says the event has been a huge success. He said: “It has been encouraging to see both boys and girls’ teams from all three schools coming together for this friendly five-a-side tournament.

“While it’s great for these Year 6 pupils to embrace their competitive edge and represent their schools in a positive event before they leave later in the summer, we also used these games as a way to encourage the formation of friendships before secondary school in September.”

Teachers from across the Portsmouth Hub were also brought together to represent their schools which became a positive reminder that each school is part of a family of schools full of opportunities for all.