Undercliffe Celtic Juniors have helped add football to the curriculum of Fagley Primary School pupils.

The club have established what they hope will be one of many links with local schools, with the aim of attracting more children to join them.

Undercliffe chairman Mark Holstead is delighted at the impact the move has already made.

“It’s a great thing that’s just stemmed from an idea really,” he said.

“We look to bring in new players regularly and I thought the best way to do that was to form links with local schools.

“I heard from someone at Fagley Primary School that there was a lot of interest there but that they didn’t really play any football.

“I attended an assembly at the school and it was obvious there was a lot of interest.

“The response we got was amazing – there were about 40-plus kids that came down to training.”

Undercliffe’s intake of new players could lead to the club doubling their range of teams from five to ten.

The additional sides are expected to play in either the Craven or Keybury League but Holstead says he now needs volunteers to help coach the new recruits.

“They’re all sorts of ages, and girls as well, and we can attract extra funding through that,” he said.

“They range from six years old to 11 and we’re hoping to build four or five more teams next season.

“At the moment we’re looking to narrow them down into age groups and the next step is to form the teams.

“Myself and three others give up our time on Saturday mornings to coach them.

“But it’s just getting people to step forward and volunteer their services and coach the teams.

“We hope parents will see what we’re trying to do and step forward.”