Town are inviting schools across Suffolk to apply to become Friends of ITFC as part of a new Education Programme aimed at inspiring literacy.
Manager Mick McCarthy and midfielder Cole Skuse were at Coldfair Green Primary School in Saxmundham yesterday to launch the programme, which focuses on Key Stage 2 reading, writing, speaking and listening skills and aims to help children develop their abilities through real-life learning. It is sponsored by the Seckford Foundation.
"It’s an exciting initiative and one that that the players and myself will be involved with and supporting through the year,” McCarthy told the club site.
Managing director Ian Milne added: "This is an initiative that our public relations manager, Jade Cole, has been working on for a number of months.
"We enlisted the help of educational consultant Nadine Avenal to ensure we understood as a club, how we can effectively support local schools.
"We are delighted to be in a position to launch the project thanks to the support of the Seckford Foundation and are pleased to announce Coldfair Green Primary School as the first official school to take up the ITFC Education Programme and in doing so, become a Friend of Ipswich Town Football Club.”
Roger Finbow, chairman of the Seckford Foundation’s governors, said: "Through its established links with education, the Seckford Foundation firmly believes in the value of gaining good literacy skills at an early age.
"This exciting project brings a hugely popular sport into the classroom and we hope it will encourage many young pupils in Suffolk to become more interested in their reading and writing skills.
"By using both the football and the media connections we hope it will appeal to many schools and we look forward to watching the progress over the coming year.”
Skuse, who takes on the role of Town’s schools ambassador, commented: "If football can be used as a tool to encourage youngsters to learn, then I’m all for it.”
The schools who become Friends of ITFC will receive benefits including one adult and one junior season ticket for the school to use as a reward or incentive, signed merchandise for fundraising, as well as posters and a DVD featuring McCarthy and some of his players.
They will also be able to access the ITFC Creative Writing Project where pupils have the opportunity to become journalists for a day by interviewing Town players visiting their school. For more information, visit the club site.