Year 9 pupil Lila made a powerful speech about women’s football at an event organised by Chelsea Football Club together with The Paul Canoville Foundation, which works with schools to help pupils build resilience and strengthen community links. Held in honour of International Women’s Day, the event brought together pupils from across multiple school nationally.  

The event was the culmination of The Paul Canoville Foundation’s annual competition. Overall, ten of Heath Lane Academy’s pupils had the amazing opportunity to travel to Stamford Bridge Football Stadium, home ground of Chelsea Football Club, to take part in the competition final. Throughout the day, they also took part in interactive workshops, heard presentations from inspirational speakers and enjoyed a pitch-side tour.   

The Heath Lane Academy finalists won three out of the four awards available, including Lila who not only won the prize for Best Speech/Presentation but also impressed the judging panel so much that she took the top prize for the day.  

Fellow Heath Lane Academy pupil Mia also secured the Best Art Piece prize for her creation, which was inspired by the Suffragettes.   

Sophie Faulks, teacher at Heath Lane Academy, said:  

“It was a brilliant day at Stamford Bridge for our pupils, many of whom are keen young footballers, and who thrived on the challenges of the competition and the chance to meet so many inspirational individuals.  

“As a school we work hard to offer an education with character, so we are very grateful to partners such as The Paul Canoville Foundation, which helps us give our pupils opportunities they may not otherwise have access to.  

“Our pupils were fantastic ambassadors for Heath Lane and we are proud of each of them for the confidence and courage they demonstrated. In particular, it was of course a pleasure to see two of our pupils – Mia and Lila – take home prizes for their creative responses and enthusiasm for women’s sport and football.” 

"I had a really good day and I was so proud that my speech made an impact on others. This was something I wrote at school, I am really passionate about women's equality but I never thought I would be able to get my message across. Thank you to Paul and the foundation for an amazing day"- Lila 

 "The day was amazing. I never expected to win, it was nice to put my work out there for people to see. My work was inspired by the Suffragettes who I learnt about in History, their pain and suffering for our rights today inspired me, it was a wonderful character building experience"- Mia