Guest Stephen927 Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/nov2008/5/0/DDCDE8D7-C086-57E0-194A519B7F08293B.jpg OOH LA LA! Look who dropped in for some French lessons. Toon players Sebastien Bassong and Habib Beye spoke in their native tongue as they helped 40 schoolchildren with their homework. The children, all 12 and 13 from Gilesgate Comprehensive School in Durham, were treated to a question and answer session with the Magpies stars on all things French. But the youngsters were understandably just as interested in hearing about football as learning new French verbs. Everything from Newcastle’s ambitions for the future to life as a Frenchman in the Toon was covered in the tailor-made session at St James’s Park. French-born right-back Beye said: “I thoroughly enjoyed coming into St James’s Park to meet children who were keen to learn French. “The questions they asked us were very interesting and I hope they went away with a better understanding of our language and culture.” French-Cameroonian defender Bassong added: “It was great to be able to help the local schoolchildren with their French. I was very impressed with their knowledge of my language. “Habib and I had a very enjoyable afternoon.” Split into two groups, the pupils alternated between chatting to the players and taking an exclusive tour of the ground. And the young French scholars said it was their favourite afternoon of the whole term. Their teacher Gemma Robson said: “It was a real thrill for the children to meet two top Premier League footballers and at the same time have a look around St James’s Park. “The journey back to Durham on the bus was incredible as they didn’t stop talking about the fabulous afternoon they had had. “We are very grateful to Habib and Sebastien for giving up their time, and to Newcastle United for pulling the whole thing together. “It was a great way for the children to improve their language skills and they certainly all benefited enormously.” A spokesman for Newcastle United said: “We were contacted by a teacher from the school, who asked if any of the French players could help out with their French class at school. “We simply invited the school to come into St James’s Park. “They wanted to know everything, all about life in France, what the players thought of living in Newcastle and how the Premier League compares to football on the continent.” The longest page-breaking hyperlink ever. Always good to see things like this happening with the club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 Quality. I'd love to have done stuff like this when I was a nipper. The best we got was fucking David O'Leary coming around to say hello. And that was before he even had fuck all to do with Leeds. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stephen927 Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 I remember when I was in first school Newcastle United organised for some of their coaches to come and do training sessions with us, then at the end of it we had a tournament and my team won. We also had a tour of St James and sat in the dressing room to get our prizes, was a book on football tactics and skills. Little things like that in the community can go a long way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Heneage Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 We had Steve Howey sign autographs. He thought I was a girl cos I had long hair and put "Love Steve Howey". Dalgleish gave me my Schools championship trophy which was fun. How do the school sin this get picked? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stephen927 Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 We had Steve Howey sign autographs. He thought I was a girl cos I had long hair and put "Love Steve Howey". Dalgleish gave me my Schools championship trophy which was fun. How do the school sin this get picked? Says in the article the teacher asked for some players to help out with French lessons, so they said to them come to the stadium and do it here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlito Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 Did Bassong take their lessons like? Sounds better than what we got at school anyway. My mate's grandma got into an argument with Lee Clark out on the school field because he was just handing out autographs when we were about 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jawesome Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 We used to always get this mackem coach in. Wrote me a letter telling me to go to some trial day. I remember at the time laughing at it and enjoying ripping the letter to shreds. Oh what could have been.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakie Doke Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 Steven Taylor might benefit from staying there for a few more years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now