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Dirar, a Year 4 pupil who goes to St Bartholomew’s CE Primary School in Brighton, was named as a Primary Stars ‘Superstar’ and given some very special prizes in recognition of his amazing enthusiasm and hard work.

Albion in the Community is celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Premier League Primary Stars programme, which uses football to engage children and support them in the classroom, the playground, and on the sports field.

As part of the celebrations we nominated a ‘Superstar’ – a young person who has inspired others through their dedication to the programme, enthusiasm, and own personal development.

We named Dirar as our Superstar after our tutors were impressed by his incredible growth in confidence.

Dirar has Cerebral Palsy and attends a mainstream school, but that has not let any barriers stop him from excelling across classroom based and practical sessions.

Dirar’s teachers say that difference seen in him has been immeasurable since he started the Primary Stars programme.

Katie Blood, head teacher at St Bartholomew’s, was full of admiration for young Dirar.

“Dirar has been a superstar since the day he came into our school,” Katie told us, “He’s had quite a lot to go through in his little life but he’s always tackled it with great courage and great joy.

“He has always been able to participate fully in the activities Albion in the Community put on for us, they’ve made everything accessible for him and encouraged him to get involved in sport.”

Albion mascot Gully travelled to St Bartholomew’s to congratulate Dirar on his nomination, and hand him some special prizes. Dirar was given an official Nike Premier League football, a framed certificate, and a limited-edition print celebrating 5 years of Primary Stars.

Dirar has been a superstar since the day he came into our school.

Dirar and his classmates were also given Premier League medals and a celebration cake to mark the occasion.

Albion in the Community began its Premier League Primary Stars delivery in 2016 and since then has supported over 9000 young people through 4674 lessons across 49 local schools.

“Primary Stars encourages our children so much – the fact that there are people interested in their education other than their teachers is brilliant and it makes them want to achieve more,” Katie Blood told us.

“We have children who are really interested in football and it’s a massive part of their life, and to have the idea that football can encourage them with their learning in a way that perhaps we as teachers can’t makes a huge difference.

“The programme encourages a lot of our girls to get involved in football too, which can only be a good thing for women in sport,” she said.

Currently 105 professional football clubs from across the leagues run in-classroom Premier League Primary Stars sessions in local schools. More than 58,000 teachers have signed up to access free online national curriculum-linked resources.

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said: “We launched Premier League Primary Stars five years ago to support teachers and use the power and popularity of football to inspire children in the classroom and on the sports field.

“Clubs do fantastic work to support children’s learning and we are very proud that this national education programme now engages more than 18,500 primary schools in England and Wales.

“Congratulations to all those who have been recognized as a Premier League Primary Stars Superstar, as part of the five-year anniversary celebrations, and thank you to all those involved in the programme over the years.”

The Premier League funds Premier League Primary Stars and other community programmes through its £100m investment per season in community facilities and community and education programmes. This is the biggest voluntary contribution to communities and other good causes of any football league in the world.

To find out more about our work in schools visit here: https://bhafcfoundation.org.uk/education-and-employability/supporting-schools/