Ben Davies made sure it was a day to remember for a group of Year 4 pupils from West Green Primary School, making a surprise visit to a special Premier League Primary Stars Magazine Team workshop at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs defender Davies joined BBC Match of the Day magazine journalist Jake Wilson and Tottenham Hotspur Foundation staff at the event, which taught the children how to research for a magazine article and offered useful interviewing tips - which they then put into practice with Davies!
Davies used the opportunity to share his passion for reading with the youngsters.
“I enjoy reading because it’s a great hobby to have away from football," he said. "The more I read, the more I learn, so I think it’s the perfect way to pick up new knowledge.
"Reading is also a welcome distraction from the instant gratification of looking at your phone. I find it very relaxing and read as much as I can."
The value of developing those literacy skills from a young age struck a chord with Davies, who benefited from a positive influence around reading during his own childhood.
“When I was younger I really enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series," he said. "I was obsessed with football from a young age so I loved Match magazine. I went to the Post Office every week to buy it.
"I’ve recently become a dad and my four-month-old has lots of books which we are already starting to read to her.”
What is Premier League Magazine Team?
The Magazine Team programme is a fully-resourced 10-week intervention which supports pupils from Key Stage 2 to create their very own magazine.
Created by the National Literacy Trust working alongside a range of experts, the intervention, which is part of the Premier League Primary Stars programme, aims to inspire a love of writing and reading and help to improve literacy skills through the subject of football.
"The workshop with Ben was a fantastic example of this, allowing the pupils to think creatively, speak up and see how literacy feeds into the world of journalism and sport," added Jim Sells, Sport & Literacy Programme Manager at the National Literacy Trust.
At the end of the workshop, the pupils were given the latest edition of the MOTD magazine and accompanying "Baller" bag, plus a copy of "I am Lenny Brown" by Dan Freedman, and a Spurs notebook to encourage them to continue on their journey with reading and writing.
