Guernsey Press

Students hit back of the net for fundraiser

PENALTY shoot-outs and obstacle courses saw La Houguette Primary School students raising money for Soccer Aid for Unicef.

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La Houguette pupil Jack Herve, 10, takes a penalty kick in the school's playground. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 24956819)

To take part in the Soccer Aid Playground Challenge 2019, students brought a small donation into school to wear their favourite football kit, take part in the obstacle course and go head-to-head in a penalty shoot-out with Island Games mascot Darcy the Donkey.

La Houguette is a Unicef rights respecting school and took part in the playground challenge to raise money for various Unicef projects.

Year 5 teacher and the school’s rights respecting champion, Emma Feak, said the school hoped to raise £375 through the day’s activities.

‘That amount of money will be enough to fund a playgound in Zimbabwe for 100 children,’ she said.

‘As a school we have been learning about children’s rights and respecting others so part of that has been linking rights to other parts of school life.

‘Today’s activities fall under learning about Article 31.’

Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child says that children and young people have the right to have fun in the way they want to, whether by playing sports, watching films, or something else entirely – they have the right to rest, too.

Year 5 student William Thomas, 10, helped build and marshal the obstacle course.

‘I really enjoyed running the course and learning about the rights that children all over the world have,’ he said.

Jack Herve, 9, added: ‘We’ve been learning that people in richer countries need to help children in poorer countries to know about and [exercise] their own rights.’

The money raised by La Houguette will support Unicef’s work to save and change children’s lives around the world, including the UK.

A donation of £20 could provide antibiotics to fully treat 50 children suffering from pneumonia, £172 could provide a nursery-in-a-box full of toys, games and books to help children learn through play and £375 could build a whole community playground in Zambia so that 100 children can play.

The UK government will match every £1 schools raise until 23 July.

  • To find out more about the Soccer Aid Playground Challenge, visit www.unicef.uk/playground.