Former Nottingham Forest star Jermaine Jenas has paid tribute to the hard work a city school is doing to make sure all its children can read.
The central midfielder and BBC pundit visited Sneinton Church Of England Primary School on Tuesday, February 10, to take part in a celebration.
The Windmill Lane school invited the Clifton-born player to help mark the achievements of 44 pupils who had previously struggled with reading before taking part in a Reading Recovery course.
The 31-year-old, who is currently a free agent after his Queens Park Rangers contract expired last season, said: "The work the teachers are doing here is so important because they are catching the children that are struggling before it is too late.
"I think it is so important that we work with schools and give children something to aim for.
"In my sport, practice makes perfect, and that is the same when it comes to reading.
"I have two little girls and we sit down and read every night because it is that important.
"I feel a huge attachment to the city and I wanted to give something back to the children here."
Mr Jenas attended the Blessed Robert Widmerpool Catholic Voluntary Academy and The Becket School before coming through the Forest Youth Academy.
He has been a keen supporter of the Reading Recovery programme which aims to get all children reading well by the age of 11.
Pupils at the Sneinton school were excited to meet the star and receive their reading certificates during a special assembly.
Scarlett Anderson, 9, from Year 5, said: "We were doing more reading so we get better at it.
"We have been doing it for a while but I am now more confident at it.
"I do sometimes struggle with words I don't know but I now really enjoy reading."
The 44 children read poems and extracts from famous books in front of an audience of friends, family and teachers during the afternoon assembly.
Year 4 pupil Jessica Hodgson-Mensah now reads several times a day.
The eight-year-old said: "My favourite types of stories are adventure ones.
"I used to really struggle with my reading but I don't anymore.
"I read about five times a day for roughly 10 to 15 minutes at a time."
The Reading Recovery programme includes one to one sessions with children everyday for roughly 100 hours.
Reading Recovery teacher Julie Doyle has been working at the school for the last six years.
She said: "I am really proud of our children and the progress that they have made.
"When it comes to reading children learn at different rates and problems can vary.
"If any problems are not picked up early there is a risk of that child falling through the gaps and leaving school not able to read properly."
Former Forest player Jermaine Jenas gave the Post his view on the latest changes at the club.
He said: "Stuart (Pearce) is a top guy but the team was in relegation form.
"I would have liked to have seen him stay at Forest in some capacity but I understand why he hasn't.
"Hopefully Dougie (Freedman) can last a few more games."
