A CHELSEA and England player returned to his former primary school last week as part of a soccer schools challenge.
Under sunny skies, pupils at Broughton Primary School spent last Monday afternoon (June) 19 honing their skills in aid of UNICEF.
The charity was chosen by pupils for the school's summer fundraising and brilliantly run by children from Y5/6 in Dowse house.
The afternoon was made very memorable by a visit from Charlie Webster, an ex-pupil who made his first-team debut for Chelsea earlier this season.
Midfielder Webster, 18, was part of the squad which headed out to Abu Dhabi as Chelsea prepared for their return to competitive action after the World Cup.
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He also played for England Under-18s in the UEFA U19 European Championship Elite Qualifying match in March.
Charlie reminisced about his time at Broughton and talked about "working hard, being resilient and determined", and spoke to the children about following their own dreams.
The whole school then took part in a ‘football themed round-robin course’ encouraged by Charlie who then answered the children’s questions about his soccer career so far.
Charlie inspired the children at the school now by telling them that he was once in their places sitting in the hall and that they should believe in themselves and follow their ambitions.
Charlie said: "Being invited back to support such a good cause was a real honour. I remember my time at BPS so fondly and will always be grateful for the school’s support during my early years with Chelsea.’
He added: "Returning to share time with the pupils, staff and parents was a real pleasure!’ The school would like to thank him for making the event so special, parental support and all the children who took part at school to make the fabulous total of £110 which has been sent to UNICEF."
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Headteacher, Lucy Macey said, “It was lovely to welcome Charlie back to Broughton Primary School.
"The whole school community is proud of his continuing success. Charlie recalls his years at BPS with happy and positive memories which include sports day, school plays and residential trips.
"He still has many friends that he made whilst at Broughton and he values the great time that he had at school.
"Broughton pupils are aware of the adversity that some children face in other parts of the world, having been a rights-respecting school for some time, and wanted to help more children to realise their rights through taking part in the UNICEF Soccer Aid Schools Challenge and donating to UNICEF."
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