Literacy Kicks

🌟 2025 highlights 🌟 This year Literacy Kicks has worked with leading sporting organisations and athletes, developed new and existing partnerships and taken the number of schools that have run our sports journalism workshops to over 120 Here are some of our 2025 highlights 🧵

It was brilliant to return for a fifth year to Christ the King High School in Southport this week, working with their entire Year 7 in classroom match reporting sessions ✍️ 📰

Over 1,000 primary school pupils have learnt the fascinating history of the BARA & the impact of one of its founders Dr Ikram Butt over the last two months 🙌 As part of the ‘Beyond the Try Line’ project, schools programme Literacy Kicks developed a bespoke writing workshop ✍️

Whitworth Whistle 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣ Easter 🗞️ 📰 🗞️ Congratulations to our students on another great edition of the paper. Thank you to @garethwalker @literacykicks for the support. 👏👏👏 #p=3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">online.fliphtml5.com/sqlxy/Easter-2…

"It makes you think you can do it, no matter whether you're a boy or a girl, or your ethnicity." @ikramofficial the first South Asian to play rugby (in either code) for England visited Parkinson Lane school in Halifax this week to inspire the children with @literacykicks @therfl

@literacykicks @garethwalker @endeavourlt Another fabulous session from @literacykicks! The same exceptional quality input that we’re accustomed to but to a wider audience and achieving the same level of motivation and quality from our writers across the trust. Thanks for working closely with us across @endeavourlt

"Not only did the Literacy Kicks sessions raise aspirations, they also supported pupils’ understanding of how literacy connects to real-world opportunities." Coverage of our Beyond the Try Line project with the British Asian Rugby Association ✍️ 🏉 thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/25925503.…

Today we have run the latest of our online workshops with @endeavourlt, with eight classes becoming sports journalists to report on the Lionesses’ historic Euro 2025 win. Literacy Kicks online sessions will be available in the summer term, with further details to follow ✍️ ⚽️

Our project with the history-making @ikramofficial has now reached over 700 primary school pupils in West Yorkshire, telling the story of his and others’ trailblazing careers as part of the British Asian Rugby Association’s Beyond the Try Line heritage programme ✍️ 📰 🏉

Our project to donate sports-based reading books to schools that we work regularly with has continued, with St Andrew’s in Rochdale and Woodlea Primary in Leyland the latest to add them to their libraries 📚 In association with the brilliant Ebb and Flow bookshop in Chorley

It was a real privilege to hear @ikramofficial talking to pupils at Headfield Junior School in Dewsbury about his career, before helping them to write their own newspaper articles that also included the inspiration story of another history maker in Manjinder Nagra

Literacy Kicks began a powerful new project this week as we were joined by the trailblazing @ikramofficial to deliver ‘Beyond the Try Line’ - the story of the British Asian Rugby Association. In coming weeks 900 primary school children will take part, funded by @HeritageFundNOR

This half-term 16 classes from Cottingley Village, St Andrew’s Littleborough, Hopwood Community Primary, Woodlea and Northbrook in Leyland and St Luke’s Heywood have completed six-week sports journalism writing programmes with outstanding results ✍️ 📰

Easter Edition of the paper coming along nicely. We have a new editor James P in year9️⃣ with lots of new ideas. @literacykicks @garethwalker

@WomenInRugbyLG @literacykicks Teachers rated the project 5/5 for changing pupils’ ideas about women’s rugby and engaging reluctant learners, with many noting how it helped break down stereotypes.

What happens when living sporting history is brought into the classroom? With a £2,000 Sporting Heritage Community Grant, @WomenInRugbyLG marked its 40th anniversary by revisiting the 1996 Great Britain tour of Australia.

Thanks to Gareth for continuing to inspire and motivate our Elephants to write and edit like a sports journalist! @literacykicks

We can’t wait to start our next special project in February, bringing to life the rich history of the British Asian Rugby Association and taking the amazing stories of @ikramofficial and Manjinder Nagra into classrooms around West Yorkshire 🏉 ✍️ 📰. Funded by @HeritageFundNOR

Great to see a sports journalist inspiring young minds this week with #literacykicks showcasing how sport and reading go hand in hand 📝⚽️🏈🏸🏀

🎓 The idea was formed in rugby league press boxes. 🔗 totalrl.com/how-career-as-…

📝 Jack Smith and James Vella recently teamed up with schools programme Literacy Kicks! 👏 The Match Officials swapped their whistles for words by helping primary school pupils write newspaper articles on the importance of referees in sport Full story 👉 bit.ly/45FpmuE