Pupils use Forest dugout seats to boost reading
BBCA primary school has picked up a stellar free transfer after being donated two dugout seats from Nottingham Forest's City Ground.
St Ann's Well Academy jumped at the chance to obtain them after the club's community programme said they were replacing them.
Deputy head teacher Patrick Betts pitched an idea to the club to reuse them as reading chairs in order to boost literacy levels.
Betts told the BBC: "I thought to myself, if I put myself in the kids' shoes, would I love having a Forest dugout chair in my classroom to sit and read? Absolutely I would."
Betts said the children were "blown away" by the donation and added that they are a "school favourite".
The school's site manager also made bases for the seats in the classroom.
Forest fan Betts said the seats also helped with "behaviour and respect" of the pupils.
'Face was a picture'
He added: "The Nottingham Forest Community Trust emailed out to see if any schools would be interested in picking up some dugout chairs - so I straight away spoke to [head teacher] Emily and the rest of the team to say we need them in school.
"We then had the idea of 'Read like a Premier League star' - because we had a vision to promote reading in school and really enthuse the kids even more to pick up a book.
"When they got their heads around the fact international stars had sat in them, their face was a picture."
Pupil Anielka, nine, said: "We were so excited when we heard about them because most of the children love Forest so these are really special to us.
Afayah, nine, added: "I was really shocked because my entire family loves Forest, and when I saw them in the classroom, I wanted to sit in them straight away."
Head teacher Emily Smithurst, said the seats had already had a positive impact on boosting reading levels.
"The children are reading more at home, showing us doing so, and having that reward of being able to sit in our own Nottingham Forest dugout chairs has been fantastic."
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