Wigan Athletic brothers go back to school on EFL Day of Action

The duo - who were educated at St Jude’s in Worsley Mesnes before moving on to secondary education at St John Fisher High School - took part in football and handball activities as Latics were celebrating their work in primary schools.

Wigan Athletic Community Trust – who were recently named EFL North West Community Club of the Year – have worked with over 6,000 primary school children across Wigan Borough over the past year and have upskilled a total of 250 teachers in PE as part of their schools provision.

More than 30 of the school’s pupils enjoyed a PE lesson with the Latics duo, which included Beni and Divin’s younger brother Joy and sister Jessica, who are in Year 6 and Year 2 respectively.

Beni said: “It felt a bit weird coming back to school if I’m being honest because it’s changed quite a lot since I was last here but it was good to see some of the teachers again and the children too.

He added: “It was strange because I’m no longer the little kid so I knew exactly how the children felt and they certainly had bundles of energy!

“It was really good to surprise Joy because he’s usually very loud but he didn’t know what to say when he saw me and Divin so that was really funny.”

The EFL Day of Action sees all 72 EFL teams come together to highlight the work undertaken to tackle some of society’s biggest issues, with club representatives attending special events.

Joy said: “One of my friends in Year 5 told me that my brothers were coming in to school and I didn’t believe him and thought he was lying, but when I saw them there in the hall it was a little bit crazy.

“It’s not every day your brothers come to school and play with you so I enjoyed it a lot.”

The Community Trust have worked with the school for the past two years delivering PE and extra-curricular sessions to pupils three times a week.

Dawn Stevens, Deputy Head Teacher at St Jude’s Primary School, said: “I was Divin’s teacher when he was at school and he was always such a happy pupil.

“He had a smile on his face at all times and was quite a character who would often be laughing and joking with everyone.

She added: “To have the pair of them back in school for the EFL Day of Action has been special and it’ll be a day we remember here for a very long time, so I’d like to thank Latics for making it possible.”

For more information about Wigan Athletic Community Trust’s schools provision, please call Gareth Nolan on 01942 318090 or email [email protected]