Lawn Manor Academy were surprised to hear from a team in Saudi Arabia wanting to set up a friendly game of football for a visiting group of pupils. Upon further investigation, it appeared that there was a deeper link to the Lawn Community than first thought. Sandra Muir, Headteacher at Lawn Manor Academy said ‘at first we thought that this was a purely co-incidental approach from a youth team from abroad who were looking for a friendly game of football for their boys but when we started communicating with the school, it became clear that their Headteacher (Superintendent of the Advanced Learning Schools) was the link. Neil Hugo attended Churchfields School from 1975-1979 and he was keen for the Saudi Arabian boys to see where he grew up and went to school’.
Neil Hugo was hoping to attend the trip with pupils and had planned a surprise for the boys when they arrived. Inside an envelope he had left an explanation why Lawn Manor was chosen and an original blazer badge worn during his time at the school. The Teachers accompanying the pupils did not know the surprise either and was really amazed when they found out.
Mr Hugo left Churchfields in 1979 to go on to Swindon College and then onto Reading University to study for a teaching degree. Having worked overseas in Kuwait he has since worked in China, Malawi, Kazakhstan, Qatar and the UAE. Mr Hugo still has a home in the Lawns but spend most of his time in Australia when not working after he married an Australian.
Teacher Farouq Hamdan accompanied 13 pupils from the school and they had an enjoyable time at Lawn Manor. The pupils played a game of football and then had refreshments and saw the school where their Superintendent attended school and played football on the same grounds. Farouq said ‘It has been a great opportunity and we hope to continue to develop a link between the two schools and do another event in the future’.
Lawn Manor pupil Fran Cerda said “we were very pleased to play a team from Saudi Arabia and were delighted to be experiencing football against another team from a different country. The squad have been looking forward to this “international game” and the camaraderie was really good. I hope they enjoyed visiting Lawn Manor and even though they got beat I think they enjoyed playing against us. They said the conditions were very different to their country, they were not used to the cold weather and they play on a professional pitch”.
Head of Sport & Leisure Mark Oliver said “it was a great honour to accept an invitation to host a Saudi Arabian schools football team. Unbeknown to me at the time the head of their school is an ex-pupil of Churchfields which makes this game even more poignant. I think our students will benefit greatly from this experience and we have spoken of holding an annual event”.
Headteacher Sandra Muir presented a blazer and tie to be sent back to Mr Hugo and was presented with a plaque and Mr Hugo’s original blazer badge.
