Colours worn with pride for Sir Stan
Children at Our Lady and St Benedict Catholic Primary school in Abbey Hulton enjoyed lessons dedicated to the Stoke City star yesterday.
They paid 50p to wear football strips instead of school clothes and £1 for Sir Stanley Matthews Foundation badges in aid of the charity founded in his name.
Sixty per cent of the money raised will go to the foundation, which encourages young people to take part in sport, and 40 per cent will go to the school, which it will use to buy play equipment.
Learning mentor Lorraine Adams said: "It is a great fund-raiser for the children to get involved with.
"The foundation helps children have access to sport and it is something we are very happy to be involved with.
"It is something different for the children and they have all really enjoyed learning about Sir Stanley Matthews."
The football star, known as the Wizard of the Dribble, is honoured across the city every year.
He was born in Hanley on February 1, 1915 and died in 2000 at the age of 85.
His career spanned 32 years, 17 of them at Stoke City, and he played top flight football until he was 50 years old. He went on to manage Port Vale and Hibernians in Malta.
Pupils in Years 4 and 5 combined their project about Stoke-on-Trent's 100th anniversary with learning about Sir Stan.
Chloe Goodwin, aged nine, from Abbey Hulton, who supports Stoke City, said: "We have been learning about Stoke-on-Trent and what it was like 100 years ago.
"We have looked at famous local people like Sir Stanley Matthews and Clarice Cliff."
Tyler Buxton, aged eight, from Abbey Hulton, supports Stoke City and first learned about the club's most famous player yesterday.
He said: "We have been learning about the history of Stoke. It used to be called Smoke-on-Trent, because of all the smoke from the bottle kilns.
"We have been learning about local legends and Sir Stanley Matthews. He played for Stoke and was very famous."
The Sir Stanley Matthews Foundation was established in 2000, initially to raise funds for a commemorative statue.
This was erected outside Britannia Stadium in 2001, but now the foundation raises money to support young people in sport.
STAN'S THE MAN: Left, Jamie-Leigh Lawton, aged eight, and Caitlin Cliffe, aged seven. Inset, Amelia Amison, aged four, who wore an England shirt with a Leeds United hat and scarf. Left, the great man himself, Sir Stanley Matthews. Below, from the left, Joshua Benbow, aged four, with his sister Jamie-Leigh Lawton and brother Ashley Benbow, aged three. Pictures: Clare Jennings
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