On Tuesday 4th March 2025, the Rotherham School Games Team in collaboration with the Wath Academy Football Scholarship staff delivered their annual #LetGirlsPlay day, which involved a morning and an afternoon session for girls in Year 3. The event has been designed as ‘inspire & engage’ with an emphasis on participation and engagement, aiming to give the participants a positive experience to hopefully inspire them to continue exploring football in the future.
19 primary schools from across the borough attended, including 3 of our Trust schools, Aston Hall Junior & Infant School, Rawmarsh Ashwood Primary and Brinsworth Whitehill Primary. Throughout the sessions, over 260 girls participated in a carousel of football themed activities focusing on dribbling, passing, shooting, teamwork and above all else, having fun. For the first time since the inception of the #LetGirlsPlay festivals, Rotherham United Community Trust supported the event by bringing their kick dart and penalty shoot-out inflatables for the girls to test their skills.
Stephen Johnson (Rotherham United), Schools & Sports Participation Manager said “It was fantastic to be able to support the #LetGirlsPlay event for the first time. As a trust we are committed to providing equal opportunities for Girls to access football, regardless of ability. It was great to see so many girls being active and enjoying taking part in football. We look forward to continuing to support the work of the Barclays Girls Football Partnerships and School Games Programme”
Rotherham United also provided all schools with a resource pack including free season tickets to go and watch the Rotherham United Women’s Team. It was great to have a number of the women’s first team players supporting the event and interacting with the Y3 girls, some of who were ex-Wath scholars who had previously supported the event in a coaching capacity.
A highlight for many of the girls attending was the presence of the Rotherham United mascot, Miller Bear, who provided entertainment throughout the day and joined in with the girls during the activities. Thank you to Miller Bear for their enthusiasm and energy which really did help engage some of the girls who were nervous about participating.
As always, the activities were delivered by the post 16 female scholars from Wath Academy this time from their football, netball and rugby pathways. The girls delivered 9 of the 11 stations in small groups and showed fantastic leadership qualities and enthusiasm throughout the day, with primary staff complimenting them on their manner and rapport with the Y3 girls. They really embodied the #LetGirlsPlay message and were amazing role models to the younger primary age children showing that girls belong in playing and coaching football.
Elliott Flowers (Wath Academy), Strategic Lead for one of the FA Girls Football Schools Partnership within the borough said “‘We’ve had yet another fantastic #LetGirlsPlay event in Rotherham. The event now feels like a landmark date in the calendar for inspiring girls to participate and hopefully stay in the game. A huge thanks this year must go to Rotherham United Community Sports Trust for their support with this event. Every year we have a fantastic group of leaders from Wath Academy and this year was no different. A special event where young girl role models inspire the next generation. This is really impactful. We can’t wait to run the event again next year, hopefully building on the work that has been done across the borough”.
The Ellen White signed ‘girls of Rotherham, keep playing playing football #LetGirlsPlay’ shirt was ever present, with all schools having the opportunity to take their photo with the framed piece.
David Walker (School Games), Strategic Lead for the other FA Girls Football Schools Partnership said “The event grows from strength to strength each year, which is only made possible due to the fantastic collaboration between the FAGFSP’s – this year engaging with Rotherham United Community Trust also added more prestige to the event. As always, the female leaders were outstanding and did a great job creating a positive experience for the girls in attendance, especially those who have never attended a sporting event before. The fact the girls all get to keep their #LetGirlsPlay t-shirt provides a memento from the day and we hope staff put the equipment we give them to good use to support with developing football back within their school setting”.
The event took place the week of the Girls Football School Partnerships Biggest Ever Football Session (empowering girls in football and promoting equality in school) on Friday 7th March and International Women’s day on Saturday 8th March. If your school is interested in taking part in the Biggest Ever Football Session, sign up below:
