Schools Fantasy League

overview

This is a web based activity in which pupils (and staff) pick their fantasy football team and score points through the football season depending on how well their players perform in real matches. The package is aimed at boys and girls at Key Stages 2, 3 and 4. Many areas of the curriculum are catered for on the website and ideas for teachers are provided specifically in maths and ICT, but also in science, design technology, citizenship, English and history.

The Schools Fantasy League run the activity and provide everything for schools and participants through their website, including personalised weekly league tables, local, regional and national competitions, monthly awards certificates and end of season medals and trophies (supplied free by SFL). The school registers with the organisation SFL and they then set up all the online features. Weekly email and online scores are available to check progress. Everybody has a £60 million budget and 11 players have to be selected. Each month a manager of the month award is given to the best performing manager in the school and this could be a pupil or member of staff!

Many ideas for extension work with pupils are given through materials downloadable from the site. These consist of ideas for teachers to link SFL and football to different areas of the curriculum. For example, in the citizenship section issues like racism in football and the effect of players such as Beckham as role models are discussed. In the science section there are suggestions to look at the need for warm up before a match and the importance of diet in physical activity.

I could see this being a very good way to motivate students who have become disenchanted, to discuss issues of citizenship.