Bridgnorth junior football team kicks off charity trip
It has been a busy start to the year for one junior football team as club members met local actors, put on a sterling team of the week performance and prepared a charity trip to The Gambia.
Players of AFC Bridgnorth Spartans have joined parents, children, and friends of Castlefields Primary School to get provisions together for the headteacher's annual trip to West Africa.
For a number of years Jackie Hampson has travelled to Mandinari Basic school in the capital city Banjul to continue the Bridgnorth school's links, taking gifts of pens, pencils and sports equipment.
Every year both schools take part in a combined project and this year the children of Castlefields have put together a newspaper which Jackie will take with her to present.
While there, she will join the children in creating a newspaper to bring back and share with the children in Bridgnorth. Previous years have seen students create gardening projects and cooking books.
Another part of the trip is to support the Abooku charity, which is a scheme that supplies reading books to children to take home.
Castlefields will be having a non-uniform day and a cake sale to support the reading trust next week. Funds raised will also be put towards taking the children for an educational day to the beach to study the shoreline.
Affiliates of AFC Bridgnorth Spartans have also donated playing kits and footballs for the trip.
Off the pitch, the club was welcomed at the Theatre on the Steps to embark on its annual trip to the pantomime, which this year was a performance of Snow White.
A sell-out crowd of players and parents were in high spirits as the cast performed the classic story.
Spartans Chairman Rob Woodcock said: "It was great to see so many smiling Spartans enjoying themselves in this wonderful venue. The show was brilliant.
"Spartans supports as many local community groups as possible and we see the Theatre on the Steps as a massive part of the town. The Spartans family love our annual trip to the pantomime, 'oh yes we do!' and we cannot wait to return again next year.”
Meanwhile, the club's team of the week was named as the U10 Blacks.
Manager Tom Rose said: "A game of two halves saw us have a great game against Ercal Colts.
"The first half was dominated by Ercal but in the second half Spartans came out to bring a spirited performance which was great for the watching families in a very entertaining game. Well done everyone."
