As part of the Tranmere Rovers in the Community weekly school visits, Harvey Gilmour and Manny Monthé went down to Stanley School in Pensby for a hands on question and answer session with the children.
Stanley School is a school for pupils with a range of learning difficulties - including those with Autistic Spectrum Conditions, Down Syndrome and Global Development Delay. When the TRIC team heard that there was a number of avid Tranmere fans throughout the school’s 120 pupils, it wasn’t long before two fan-favourites were on their way to visit.
Walking in to a classroom full of ecstatic faces on the children and their carers, Harvey and Manny sat down to be quizzed. The questions varied from the essentials: “How much money do you make?” and “What car do you drive?” to the more in-depth “Who is the best team you’ve ever played against?”.
Both players answered a number of enthusiastic questions on their footballing careers and personal lives, along with describing to the pupils how they got into football professionally and why they moved to play at Tranmere.
Tranmere Rovers in the Community also visit Stanley School with TRIC stars Dance teacher Frankie every Monday for Soccercise and Zumba classes with the children. Some of Frankie’s best dancers wasted no time in putting on a mini performance for the two players when they walked into the classroom – they even challenged Manny to show off his moves!
To finish the afternoon, the boys took time to have photographs taken with each separate class as well as with individuals. They also signed a large pile of autographs for friends, family and teachers at the school.
Teacher Ceri Walker, who co-ordinated the visit, said:
“It was lovely to have two special visitors to our school, they were very nice and answered our questions thoroughly. The children enjoyed getting know and meet them both. They were very friendly and willing. It was great to have our photos with them and get their autographs. Some of the children come from families who are lifelong Tranmere fans and follow the team home and away, so it was a great opportunity for them to meet a few of their favourite players at school. Thank you very much Tranmere!”
We would like to thank Stanley School for their ongoing relationship with Tranmere Rovers in the Community and look forward to visiting them again with more players in the future.
To see more pictures and videos from the day, make sure to follow our social media channels by searching for Tranmere Rovers in the Community on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For more information on all of our programmes and sessions, contact our community office on 0151 608 2354 or email community@tranmererovers.co.uk.