On Thursday 29 February 2024, 11 Year 8 and Year 9 Deer Park girls, along with girls from other local schools, attended an FA Student Leadership training day at the University of Gloucestershire Sports Arena in Gloucester. The workshop was created to support the Barclays Girls’ Football School Partnerships, which focus on ensuring girls in England have equal access to football in schools by 2024.
The morning included a classroom session delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, who deliver workshops in Secondary Schools, using football as a tool to develop and teach key life skills to young girls.
The girls then participated in a practical session based on the ‘Whistlers’ programme designed for girls aged 11-14, which introduces officiating, improving young girls’ skills and confidence and developing more role models across roles within football. The girls were provided with opportunities to improve their basic knowledge of the laws of the game and communication skills to support the delivery of festivals and competitions in schools.
In the afternoon, Stacey Miles, FA Coach Developer, led 'Stepping Over the Sidelines' training, which is an introductory workshop designed to encourage female helpers, assistants, young leaders and players to take their first steps into coaching football. The girls had to come up with a way to generate more interest in girls’ football in their school and plan a football event they could run for girls in their community.
Willow (Year 9) said “The day was inspirational because we learnt new things about football and skills that we can use to promote girls’ football in schools and which will help others to enjoy football too.”
Girls in Year 7 and Year 8 at Cirencester Deer Park School have done football in lessons over the last two terms and our extra-curricular teams have been busy with fixtures. Our U14 and U16 teams are in the Gloucestershire Schools FA League, with over 60 other schools in the area. Both teams have more fixtures coming up against Stroud High and Thomas Keble before Easter.
U14 Girls Football Team 2023-2024
U16 Girls Football Team 2023-2024
We are publishing this story on International Women's Day, 8 March - a day to celebrate women's achievement, to raise awareness about discrimination and to take action to drive gender parity. This week the FA confirmed that England are looking to host the FIFA Women's World Cup in the 2030s, perhaps 2031, potentially just 7 years from now! We look forward to the continued growth of girls' football locally, nationally and internationally.
