Here at OACT we are no longer just a football organisation, there are a multitude of sessions and sports that we can deliver which include Football, Futsal, Handball and StreetCheer.
We aim to deliver each session in a fun, yet educational environment to fully stimulate the children's learning. We deliver to any age group from reception, up to year six and pride ourselves on being able to tailor the package to the school and children's unique needs. Per week, over 1000 primary school children are regularly participating on our sports sessions. This means they are not only interacting with our coaches but also forming a bond and relationship with the club itself.
As well as the sport, we also pride ourselves on offering additional extra's to aid the children's education. This year we have supported numerous reading initiatives to help raise the awareness of the importance of reading. Oldham Athletic players have visited schools to speak about their favourite books and how they love to read.
Visits from the Oldham Athletic players are a key part to our schools programme. Over the past season, we have had more player visits to our projects than ever before. The visits help the children to form a relationship with the football club whilst also being a fantastic reward for the children's hard work and participation, whether it be as part of our sports sessions or whether it's to support a schools initiative. In addition, as part of the schools programme throughout the year, we aim to give those participating on our session's opportunities to come to Boundary Park and watch Oldham Athletic play. Our schools programme this year is bigger than ever. It's fantastic to see the children who enjoy our school sessions then at Boundary Park enjoying the match and watching the footballers they may have previously met.
This year we have introduced brand new girls only football sessions. This project is being delivered as part of the Football League Trusts Female Football Development Programme. The project aims to help drive participation growth and retention in the women's game. This year we are currently working with four secondary schools to deliver free after-school football to their students – currently 90 girls per week are enjoying our football sessions.
Our schools partners for this year are:
St Johns Primary School
Canon Burrows Primary School
Rushcroft Primary School
South Failsworth Primary School
Hodgeclough Infants
East Crompton St George
Delph Primary School
Greenacres Primary School
St Patricks Primary School
Mills Hill Primary School
Lyndhurst Primary School
OASIS Limeside
St Annes Lydgate
Bare Trees Primary School
Broadfield Primary School
OASIS Academy
Oldham Academy North
Blue Coat
Hathershaw College