E.ON UK inspires students in Liverpool to consider exciting careers in sport

The ‘Kids in Sport’ event series has travelled across the country since 2023, with over 10 schools and hundreds of students taking part.

91 Year 5 and Year 6 students from the primary school were inspired by a football-themed curriculum, where they heard from several local industry experts who delivered workshops, supported by local businesses, to engage and inspire the students about potential career paths in sport.

The day began with a welcome from TV sports presenters, Sam Hurst and Amber Jones, who gave an introduction to the event and an overview of the different jobs available within the sports industry.

In groups, the students rotated around a number of stations including:

• Sports First Aid: Taught by Sports Event Doctor Claire Houlford, topics covered included CPR, wound dressing, as well as sprains and strains treatment.
• Football Kit Design: This creative workshop put the students’ graphic design skills into practice while considering team colours, branding, and sponsorship.
• Batak Reaction Game: Often used by high-performance athletes, this challenged reaction times by hitting a series of lights as quickly as possible.
• SPHERO Ball Coding: This ball-shaped device was coded using tablets by the group to compete in a series of football-themed minigames.
• Sports Media Presenting: Run by Presenters Sam and Amber, the students practised their writing and public speaking skills through a series of mock interviews and reporting exercises.
• Sustainably Powered Sports Stadium: This station required the groups to assemble their own small wind turbines to power paper sports stadiums, demonstrating the importance of renewable energy.
• Football Skills: This outdoor workshop allowed the students to practise their football skills outdoors in a series of drills and games led by the First Kick Foundation.

Mr Scarr, Year 6 Teacher at Mab Lane Primary School, said: "The E.ON Next Kids in Sport event was a celebration of fun and opportunity. It opened our young children's eyes to the joy and opportunities of sport today. They loved every second of the day!"

Miss Romano, Year 5 Teacher at Mab Lane Primary School, added: "What a wonderful day with all events being inclusive, interactive and showing our children that possibilities for their future are endless!"

Scott Somerville, Director of External Affairs at E.ON UK, said: “The ‘Kids in Sports’ events are a cornerstone of our offering to the communities in which we work, inspiring future talent to consider how their interests could provide them a long and rewarding career. By capturing attention through sport, alongside the impact of the energy sector on making stadiums and the supporting infrastructure tick, we are highlighting opportunities across the whole sector.

“We want students to understand the value of all that goes into sport. And to realise that a career in sport could be on the pitch, in front of a camera or in the medical room – equally, it could be the innovative engineer who keeps the lights sustainably shining on match day.”

E.ON Next, E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions and npower Business Solutions have also supported future careers in the Liverpool area through other initiatives including a ‘Green Skills Centre’ pop-up which was recently at the Liverpool ONE shopping complex.

E.ON UK is proud to be a strategic clean energy partner to Peel Ports Group in Liverpool, supporting its ambitious goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. This includes working with nearby Hugh Baird College to help inspire local students about the energy transition.