Marcus Rashford was recently spotted at Read Manchester HQ (only kidding – but the invitation is there Marcus!). Thanks to our partners at the National Literacy Trust and Macmillan publishing, we’re thrilled to announce that 12,000 copies of Marcus’ book You Are A Champion: How to be the Best You Can Be written with Carl Anka are now in our Manchester storeroom (aka Gorton Library). Each copy will be stickered with a Take 10 Read Manchester sticker – encouraging everyone to find those 10 minutes a day to read to #ReadEnjoySucceed.

The book’s blurb says it all:
Before he was a Manchester United and England footballer, and long before he started his inspiring campaign to end child poverty, Marcus Rashford was just an ordinary kid from Wythenshawe, South Manchester. Now, Marcus wants to show YOU how to achieve YOUR dreams, in this positive and inspiring guide for life.

cardboard cut out of Marcus Rashford in front of shrink wrapped bundles of his book.

Teachers from Manchester primary schools are invited to apply for copies of the book for either their Year 5 or Year 6 children. The books can be used in the classroom and then children will be able to take their copy home to keep. Some teachers have already been telling us how they plan to use them:

As a UNICEF Rights Respecting School, one of core values as a school is Article 29 – To be the best you can be. We would use this text as a teaching tool to inspire our children to reach their full potential and the book and Marcus Rashford’s achievements would act as a real-life example of this.

Acacias Community Primary School, Burnage

Our school values are ‘Leadership’ ‘Excellence’ ‘Ambition’ ‘Respect’ ‘Nurture’ ‘Effort’ ‘Resilience’ and ‘Spark’. The Marcus Rashford books will be used to give context when teaching these values.

Crab Lane Primary School, Higher Blackley

St John’s is a very diverse school in Longsight, inner city Manchester. Having read Marcus’s book I know our children will relate to his experiences growing up and take note of his messages of inspiration. By having a book each, we can use it regularly, reading it daily as our as our class novel, or even analysing the text in English lessons. There are endless opportunities for us to make links across the curriculum!

St John’s CE Primary School, Longsight

Thanks to a new partnership between Read Manchester and One Education, we are thrilled to be able to offer a comprehensive suite of teaching resources and support for families reading the book at home.  The resources include:

One Education have also supported our campaign with a ‘You are a Champion’ bookmark for every child and printed booklet for teachers. 

Teachers can find out more about how to apply on the School Hub or alternatively, contact Cheryl.pridgeon@manchester.gov.uk for more information.