AFC Wimbledon Seb Brown teaches Merton pupils a few tricks

Wimbledon AFC goalie Seb Brown and one of the team's top coaches took part in a two hour football session with kids from Merton, as part of a police community initiative.

Apart from benefiting from the coaching by Paul Foley, the students also went away with autographs to show their friends.

The Wimbledon AFC duo spent one session with children from St Mark's Academy, but in total the children had six two-hour sessions.

The football coaching, called the Raising Stars Schools Programme, was organised by SPCSO John Joseph and PC Guy Howford. The aim was to engage young students to develop in their ability to communicate, make decisions, take responsibility and be part of a team.

The programme which started in April, involved 20 students from Y7 and Y8.

The initiative finished this week with a team challenge where the students competed against their coaches in a series of activities designed to get them to demonstrate what they had learned.

A police spokesperson said the sessions had helped young people in the borough to grow in confidence and recognise their potential.