READING PART 3.1

Which statements are true?

The school is about 7 km from Old Trafford, the famous

sports stadium that is home to Manchester United

Football Club. The club takes talented teenagers from all

over the world. These young players come to the club

to train. Even though teenage players are following their

dreams of being sports stars, football clubs recognise

that education should still be an important part of their

lives. After all, only a small number of young players

will go on to have successful professional careers in the

sport, because only the best ones go on to join the main

team. And although footballers can play professionally

from the age of 16, most don’t join professional teams

until they are older.

• Ashton-on-Mersey School is very close to Manchester United’s football ground.

• Young players join Manchester United from many different countries.

• Some young players start playing for the main team when they are 16 years old.

• Most young players go on to become professional footballers.

Which statement is true?

All football clubs have to make sure players under 18

are getting an education, but many choose to do this by

organising classes at the club. At Manchester United,

however, young players go to a normal school where

they can enjoy at least some parts of typical teenage

life.

• Some football clubs allow their young players to stop studying.

• At Manchester United, young players have some experience of normal teenage life.

Which statement(s) is (are) false?

The Manchester United students have classes two days

a week and study a range of different subjects. The rest

of the week, they are busy training and preparing for

games. But they still follow the rules like all the other

students in the school. They are encouraged to feel part

of the school, and they are also expected to set a good

example to younger students.

• Manchester United’s young players have classes at school every day.

• The Manchester United students don’t have to follow all the school rules.

Which statement is false?

There are many benefts to the school from their

arrangement with Manchester United. The football club has

given money to the school, which has helped it to provide

a better education for all its students. Perhaps more

importantly, seeing successful young players in the school

can encourage younger students to try hard to do well

and achieve their own dreams. There are also unexpected

benefts sometimes, too. Successful players often return to

visit the school to give talks to students. When one Frenchspeaking player came back to visit, he was invited to join

a French class for the day, and students were all keen to

ask him questions! Chatting to an international football star

really helped the students improve their language skills!

• The main advantage for the school is that it receives money from the football club.

• One player helped some students to speak French better.