Story added: 9th February 2015

David McNally was the guest of honour at Ormiston Venture Academy on Friday to help mark the launch of an exciting partnership between the school and Norwich City’s Community Sports Foundation (CSF).

The football club’s chief executive cut a ceremonial ribbon in front of students and staff to celebrate the Gorleston high school becoming the latest CSF ‘Community Hub’ site.

The multi-year partnership between the school and Norwich City’s official charity partner, will see a range of programmes and community schemes hosted and delivered at the Academy.

Some of these opportunities were showcased to McNally, also a trustee of the Foundation, as he joined CSF director Ian Thornton on a tour of the school led by Ormiston Venture principal Simon Gilbert-Barnham and Executive Principal Nicole McCartney.

These included the Aviva-supported Premier League Enterprise programme which develops student’s business skills using Norwich City as an engagement tool and the CSF Futsal Scholarship programme which provides sixteen to eighteen-year-olds than chance to combine an intensive Futsal training and fixture programme with a Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma in Sport.

McNally, speaking at the launch ceremony, highlighted the importance of the relationship between the club and community:

“The partnership between CSF and Ormiston Academy is a wonderful opportunity to help people, particularly young people, achieve their full potential.

“As a family club, links with the local community has, and always will be, hugely important to us at Norwich City.”

Principal Simon Gilbert-Barnham also emphasised the significance of the occasion:

“Any school would jump at the chance to work with Norwich City Football Club and CSF because of the opportunities they can bring to not just to our students but to our local community.

“We see the partnership as an opportunity to establish ourselves as a community centre and help us to transform and regenerate the local area.”

Alongside the Enterprise and Futsal programme, CSF offers Kicks and Premier League 4 Sport sessions, both funded by the Premier League, which provide weekly sports activities and education workshops for young people in the local community.

Students will also be offered the chance to sign up for the National Citizen Servicescheme and give something back to the local community by way of volunteering work.

Ormiston Venture becomes the eighth CSF Hub to be launched in Norfolk and the second in Gorleston, after Lynn Grove High School was launched by Norwich City midfielder Alex Tettey last year.