Montrose FC secure Community Programme of the Year

Montrose FC secure Community Programme of the Year

Montrose FC & the Links Park Community Trust are the first recipients of the SPFL Trust’s Community Programme of the Year.

The Gable Endies secured the award at SPFL Trust All Club Conference, following a vote of delegates – comprised of club staff and key stakeholders – after a presentation by the four shortlisted candidates.

Although this year’s first ever award goes to Links Park Community Trust, there were three other strong nominations from Hearts, Greenock Morton and Rangers.

The Links Park Community Trust – the official charity of Montrose FC – secured the award for their Links Park Trails programme.

Designed by teachers in the Angus, the trails are thematic learning experiences, designed around the Curriculum for Excellence. They engage thousands of children across the area, each year.

There are four trails:

Health Trail – For primary one pupils, this is based on the story of the Very Hungry Footballer, and uses the inspiration of the famous book about a Caterpillar. It teaches children about healthy eating.

Numeracy Trail – Measuring the pitch, the squad number challenge and activities in the club shop are all part of a numeracy focus for children in primary three

Literacy Trail – Primary five pupils look at the role of a reporter in a press conference, and take on a role as a commentator, as well as participating in a Question of Sport as part of a focus on literacy and communication skills

Science Trail – At primary seven level, pupils look at friction – such as dragging a boot around the stadium – and areas such as heart rate assessments as they engage in a science-focused trail

“We were delighted to even be considered for the award. We were shortlisted some fantastic projects. To win it is quite overwhelming and the fact that it was chosen by our peers, our fellow clubs, make it all the bit sweeter,” explains Links Park Community Trust chief executive Peter Davidson.

SPFL Trust general manager Nicky Reid adds: “We’re delighted for Montrose in securing our first SPFL Trust Community Programme of the Year Award. The standard of both submissions and the final shortlist was exceptionally high. Once again this demonstrates why our clubs change people’s lives every day. As we’ve said during our Trusted Trophy Tour, our clubs are trusted to support their communities, and this winning programme is a wonderful example of a community’s teachers and the football club coming together to create something meaningful, and highly impactful.”

This year’s Community Programme of the Year Award was sponsored by RJM Sports.