Year 7s at Harris Academy Clapham played football and netball with Beth Durant and Harry Cain. What was said, and the £442 kit cost behind the day.
Year 7 pupils at Harris Academy Clapham played a football and netball tournament at the school on Tuesday 15 September, coached by football creator Harry Cain and former England netball international Beth Durant. The morning was run with the online retailer MandM, which says it has already given more than 6,000 personalised football kits, worth £250,000 by its own valuation, to children across London.
We previewed the tournament on 10 September from the invitation sent by MandM’s agency, Brandnation. The agency sent its press release and photographs from the day on 17 September, and this story now reports what happened. Clapham News was not at the school and has not been paid to publish this; the account of the day, the quotes and the figures below all come from that release.
What happened on the day
According to the release, the pupils played football and netball fixtures, then took part in skills demonstrations, question and answer sessions and talks with Harry Cain and Beth Durant about their own careers in sport. The school’s pupils had only just started Year 7.
What the guests said
Harry Cain, football creator and UEFA B coach, said:
Through sport you learn key skills such as teamwork and leadership that shape the person you become. It was great to see pupils right at the start of Year 7 throwing themselves into everything and supporting their teammates. Giving more young people the chance to have experiences like that by providing them with the correct kit and equipment is hugely important, because the lessons they learn stay with them for life.
Beth Durant, former England netballer and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, said playing sport changed her life, “but girls can’t experience those benefits if we’re losing them before they’ve had the chance to start.” She added:
I want young girls to see women in sport and think, ‘there’s a place here for me too’. The talent is there so we need to make sure the opportunity is too. It was fantastic to see the energy from the pupils and how willing they were to get involved. The more we can do to give girls those positive experiences, the better chance we have of keeping them active.
Jenny Rose, Head of Academy at Harris Academy Clapham, said:
Sport provides a platform for young people to excel, thrive and develop critical life skills. For many young people, it allows a sense of escapism - an opportunity to reset their physical, emotional and mental well-being. The opportunity provided to Harris Academy Clapham has left a milestone in the secondary school journey for our year 7 students. As Head of Academy, I am extremely grateful for the support provided by Brandnation and MandM Direct. It really was an amazing day!
Mike Tomkins, chairman of MandM, said:
At MandM, we believe cost shouldn’t be a barrier to playing sport. Our whole proposition is built around making great brands and the right kit more affordable, and our partnership with the Harris Federation is an extension of that. By working with schools and providing children the kit and opportunities they need to take part, we can help more young people experience the confidence, enjoyment and life lessons that sport can bring.
He also used the day to announce what he called the company’s “biggest football offer ever”, and the release ends on the retailer’s new football range. That is the commercial side of the morning, and worth keeping in view when reading the rest.
The cost of kit behind it
The tournament is part of MandM’s partnership with the Harris Federation, which the release describes as a group of 55 schools across London. Both sides present it as a campaign about the rising cost of school uniform and PE kit, and about how little many young people exercise.
The release cites these figures:
- £442.25: the average cost of required uniform and PE kit for a secondary school pupil, from what it calls new Department for Education research, rising to £454.31 for girls
- About £170 of that is PE kit alone, and costs are 55% higher when every item has to be bought from the school or a designated supplier
- 594,600 young Londoners, or 53%, are not meeting recommended activity levels, according to an estimate by London Sport
We have not checked these figures against the original research, so they are given here as the release gives them.
What is still not clear
Before the tournament we listed what the invitation left out. The release answers one of those questions: the players were Year 7 pupils. The rest are still open:
- How the £250,000 value of the kits was worked out, and whether it is retail price or cost
- How many kits went to Harris Academy Clapham itself. The invitation said the 6,000 kits went to Harris academies; the release now says they went to children across London
- Whether the donation continues into this school year
If you are a parent at the academy, or your child was on the court on Tuesday, tell us how the day went and whether the kit has made a difference at home: hello@claphamnews.co.uk.
For other things happening locally, see our guide to things to do in Clapham.
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