Spirit of 71
Pilot 
Programme

We spent an enjoyable three days at Saint Joseph's and were impressed with the school and the staff but more importantly we were thrilled with the responses of the pupils of Saint Joseph's. Our main focus of sharing the Spirit of '71 and posing the question 'Why Not You?' to the pupils. ​​ The 50th Anniversary of Knowsley, the heritage of the people and the area and the individual and team successes of those of us who were born in Huyton and the Team of '71 were the foundations for the programme we delivered. We began with an overview of the locality and identified successful Huytonians, using the three presenters as examples shared our personal journeys which included everything from poetry writing & book authoring to scoring a goal in the Kop goal at Anfield and dedicating a lifetime to coaching football. ​ The historical references that linked our opening were further strengthened by highlighting the change in travel to school patterns in the 50 years since the formation of Knowsley. The team then guided the pupils through the process, and historical differences in making a healthy breakfast, this we repeated on each of the three days. We then used the creation of the book ‘Huyton’s Titans’ as an example of not only the depth of talent in just one field of endeavour (football) but also the career progression of one of our team, and we used positive examples of the heritage of the area in general and the school in particular. The pupils then took part in a draw of teams that would be participating in Euro 2024 to allow them to follow the progress of the competition after we left the school and hopefully win a prize if their team was successful. The afternoon session was an exercise session that allowed the pupils to learn and demonstrate new skills. At the end of the day everyone participated in a period of reflection, and we presented the Player of the Day award.