In March 2004, Phil had Stephen Parry, then the Head Teacher at Tonypandy, make a call to Peter Jenkins, his counterpart at Ferndale Community School.
“Tonypandy had been with us for six months”, Phil said, “So I asked the Head to put in a good word for us with Peter. At the subsequent meeting, I invited Ferndale to be part of Sporting Marvels and told him that I thought we’d identified a South African girl, Danielle le Roux, who could help launch our work at Ferndale. Peter Jenkins nearly bit my hand off, so Steve Parry had obviously done a great sell job for us!”
“A month later, Danielle arrived and the partnership with Ferndale was up and running”, Phil added. “It’s amazing to think that was going on for eight years ago! And it’s even more amazing to think that one of Danielle’s great successes was taking a little girl called Jody Barnes under her wing. Jody was saved in early 2005 and after coming all the way through the ranks, she’s doing a fantastic job as our full-time female worker; the role that Danielle pioneered. From influenced to influencer!”
It’s all part of a rich Sporting Marvels history at Ferndale, a history that as well as Danielle, has seen the likes of Elroy, Rebecca, Steph, Ugo and Ricardo all serve the school with commitment and passion.
“Peter Jenkins was a big fan of Sporting Marvels and hugely supportive in every respect,” Phil said. “His moving on, in January 2010, was met with a degree of trepidation because when the Head changes, everything has to start afresh and history can quickly fly out the window. Peter’s deputy, John Williams, took over as Acting Head, so that was an easy one to negotiate. But then last Easter, I had a call to say that a new Head, Heather Nicholas, had been appointed. Given that she was new to the area and would therefore, have no knowledge of Sporting Marvels, Lawrie and I thought we’d wait a couple of months before initiating contact, knowing that she’d get to see Jody in action and couldn’t help but be impressed”.
The decision proved a shrewd one, as when Phil and Lawrie eventually sat down with Mrs Nicholas, she could barely contain her admiration for Jody!
“When I first arrived,” she told Spotlight, “I remember standing in the canteen observing all that was going on, and noticing an ever smiling, friendly young woman, surrounded by our girls, all actively engaged in chat and conversation. It was obvious she had a special something and later, I found out she was ‘Jody’, a former pupil of the school, now with Sporting Marvels. When she and I eventually met up, it was immediately obvious why our students felt so able to engage with her: she’s so open and friendly, so positive and upbeat!”
“As I’ve begun to understand more about the work of Sporting Marvels, I realise how lucky the school is to have their support and to have Jody permanently based at FCS. All children need positive role models in their lives and there’s no question that Jody is an excellent role model! Watching her use her skills and persona to encourage self-belief and aspiration in our pupils has been a real privilege for me. She is someone who will be warmly remembered by the young people she influences and works with, long after they’ve left school.”
“Ferndale is a fabulous place to work”, added the new Head. “There’s a real community feel to the school and I want our pupils to feel proud of their community, achieve huge success because of it and go on to live happy and prosperous lives within it. To find that Sporting Marvels shares these aims and ideals, indeed actively teaches them to our students has been a real positive during my first term”.
“Sporting Marvels long history of commitment to the school is massively appreciated and I look forward to further developing our partnership over the years to come”.
It’s no wonder Phil was smiling when he told us, “Having the Head on-side is a big deal, and Heather is very definitely on-side! Ferndale Community School is very important to us, strategically, emotionally and historically. We presently have Jody there full-time, supported by Chelsea one-day-a-week. The goal now is to put a high quality male alongside her so that the school’s male population don’t miss out”.
As I’ve begun to understand a little more about the work of Sporting Marvels, I realise how lucky the school is to have their support and to have Jody permanently based at FCS. All children need positive role models in their lives and there’s no question that Jody is an excellent role model! Watching her use her skills and persona to encourage self-belief and aspiration in our pupils has been a privilege.” Heather Nicholas, Headteacher, Ferndale Community School
