By Rachel Edge

A PRIMARY school teacher has scored highly with students by offering an innovative approach to learning.

Liam Botcherby has developed a teaching programme that incorporates football with studying.

The project, Link Up Play, was set up after Liam completed his studies at Southampton Solent University.

The sessions are a mix of classroom teaching and physical activity and aims to use the sport as a way to engage children with learning.

Liam, now a PE teacher at Crescent Primary School in Eastleigh, said: ‘As part of my course we found that SATs results for literacy were fairly low.

‘So then we devised a programme which used football as an engagement tool to teach.’

The programmes focus on developing children’s abilities in literacy and maths and is in line with the current curriculum and with the Key Stage SATs papers.

Students are provided with booklets that combine learning with football knowledge. The sessions finish with football drills and games.

Liam said that pupils felt ‘more confident’ and ‘wanted to do the work’ because of the football context.

He added: ‘With it not being in a classroom it makes it a bit of a reward in a way.’

Link Up Play now runs four different programmes which are offered as after-school sessions or as homework bundles.

Other programmes offered include looking at the rights and respects in football and understanding the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

Liam, from Stubbington, said: ‘We’re trying to use football icons to get people involved within sport, but to also teach them about what they are eating.’

The enterprise is currently being run in five schools across Hampshire.

More information can be found on the Link Up Play Facebook page - @linkupplay.