14 February 2006
A
FOOTBALLER swapped a ball for a book to give children help with their reading.
Pupils at Bryn Coch Primary School, Mold, were given a big surprise in their
lessons.
Wrexham's giant 6ft 7ins defender Dennis Lawrence made a special appearance at
the school, to the delight of pupils and staff.
Dennis, whose goal helped take Trinidad and Tobago to their first ever World Cup
this summer, took a break from football to become a teacher for the day.
He was invited by the school in an effort to encourage children to read more.
Pupils in year five were thrilled when they were given a chance to meet the
Wrexham star, as he spoke to them about the importance of reading books.
Dennis, who will face England in the World Cup in Germany this summer, took time
to read with the excited children, answered their questions and even signed
autographs and had his photos taken with them.
Andrew Williams, year five teacher at Bryn Coch, was delighted the visit had
proved to be a success.
He said: "The children were all very pleased to see him.
"He had a great entrance and there was a lot of applause.
"The visit was to promote reading with year five.
"He was invited along and he said he was very happy to come. He said anytime we
wanted him to come back, he would.
"He spoke very well; he signed some autographs and had some photos taken too.
"I knew he was tall, but I had no idea just how tall."