Fairlight Primary and Nursery School
FAIRLIGHT FRIDAY FOOTBALL CLUB
Welcome to the page all about the legendary Fairlight Friday Football Club.
You may have seen us on Match of the Day, in the local media on Youtube or just on a Friday at the Level showing off our skills.
Mr (COACH) JORDAN IS ON THE WARPATH AGAIN
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/24978316.level-become-circus-brighton-fringe-2025/
The cries of "someone has put a funfair on our football pitch" can now change to "someone has put a circus and fun fair on our football pitch".
This might now become the title of Mr (Coach) Jordan's biography about running an very succesful inner city primary school school (https://www.fairlight.brighton-hove.sch.uk/aboutus/ofsted) and trying to ensure that young people get opportunities to play football and use outside spaces safely.
It would appear that being an international award winning school for promoting and developing play that is featured on GMTV (https://www.fairlight.brighton-hove.sch.uk/in-the-classroom/teaching-and-learning-at-fairlight/opal-play-at-fairlight) and awarded in parliament as well as being nationally recognised on Match of the Day (https://www.fairlight.brighton-hove.sch.uk/beondtheclassroom/sports/fantastic-fairlight-friday-football-club) as being a key community supporter is not enough to ensure that for several months a year our pitch is taken over and to put it simply ruined.
Once again it would appear the Council without any consultation or any consideration for the local community or the users of the Level appear to be placing profit and "vanity projects" over community use and young peoples health and well being.
Our football space will now be out of action from the end of April when they set up through May and June and for several weeks after as the space recovers. The last time the Level was "destroyed" it was 3 weeks after before it could be used safely again.
We can look for other spaces but they are not flat or not close enough to make it worthwhile.
Anyone who has tried to play football on hill will tell you it is tricky and you don't learn more than it is a game of two halves!!
Transport to other venues is and would be expensive. And would eat into our football time- which is precious enough already.
You will note that the community doesn't appear to get anything from this. No one is using the profits from these events back into the community spaces. Proposing 4G football and basketball spaces at the Level (which are much needed). Renovating the Community Spaces at the Level that have been closed or derelict for years. Offering to hire a double decker bus to get us to a safe space and back again on a Friday morning.
You will also note this is not ruining and destroying Hove Lawns or in Queens Park or Preston Park. I am sure the residents there would not be happy if it was and possibly that is why they are not being proposed for these venues?
No one has consulted the users of the Level to ask them about the possible disruption.
And that is before we even get to what value this provides.
Expensive venues and events are not for local residents. These are predominantly for visitors and tourists. Not locals.
Brighton already has amazing venues. Amazing attractions. Amazing local events. Does it really need more? Do these add to this or take visitors away from these?
But where does the £ go from these.
Many parents tell us that they cannot afford to attend these expensive events- even at reduced rates.
This isn't a new problem.
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/23532885.brighton-park-churned-funfair---ruining-school-football/
We have been raising this problem for years.
A meeting and assurances that this wasn't going to be a problem moving forward were given.
Clearly however profit and "vanity projects" are more important that the local community.
Mr (Coach) Jordan is now having to work out how to run a succesful football club every week for over 60 young people with no pitch once again!!!
Contact has been made with the Council. Councillors. The Circus. The local press. The FA. And anyone else who might listen.
We will see what happens.
FIRST UPDATE- Friday 7th March
The Circus have been in contact to see what they can do to help.
Local Councillors have been contacted to ensure they are aware.
https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2025/03/06/school-footballers-told-to-make-way-for-circus-pitch/
SECOND UPDATE- Monday 10th March
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/24989266.circus-level-will-stop-brighton-schools-football-practice/
Good to see Roy Keane supporting the school.
And who knew that you shouldn't play football in a local park.
Guess that's what being entitled does to you.
THIRD UPDATE- Friday 14th March
Mr Jordan is meeting representatives from the Council on Monday at the Level.
At the time of typing however we have no Plan B. And no one has been able to offer any solutions that work.
THANK YOU SALTDEAN UNITED
Thank you to our friends at Saltdean United Football Club (Up the Tigers) for this amazing donation of pre loved football boots.
Coach Jordan is sure he will have a small ordially queue at his door at lunchtime of eager footballers wanting to "trade in" their old boots for new ones.
For many these will however be their first ever pair of real football boots and may be the first step on their football journey.
You keep sending us boots Saltdean Tigers and we will keep sending you ballers!!!!
SPRING TERM FOOTBALL TRAINING DATES
Friday Football Club can be challenging due to the weather and pitch conditions.
Every effort is made to ensure it runs every week and thank you to those staff and parents who help this to happen.
- Friday 28th February- NO FOOTBALL
- Friday 7th March- Football
- Friday 14th March- Football
- Friday 21st March- Football
- Friday 28th March- Football
- Friday 4th April- NO FOOTBALL
- HALF TERM
- After this who knows!!!!!
Please check PING should the weather change again. The heavens open or the thrid ice age hits the Level!!!!
FRIDAY FOOTBALL 2025
If your child is in Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 and interested in attending Friday Football then clickn on the link below and fill out the form.
FRIDAY FOOTBALL SEASON REVIEW 2024-2025 SO FAR!!!
Over 65 future Lewis Dunks and Solly March's (and if Mr Jordan had his way Bobby Zamora's, Glenn Murray's and Super Danny Welbecks) have signed up to attend Friday Football Training at the Level.
From 6 years old to 11 years old all attend from 7.45am on a Friday morning.
A Team, B Team, Year 3 and 4 (future Stars), and Girls Teams have all represented the school this year.
Albion in the Community, Play PE and Brighton and Hove Schools events have been attended.
As I write this we are still in 4 different cup competitions- including the Quarter Finals of two.
Not bad for a school with no football pitch. And very few children that play for teams at the weekend!!!
FRIDAY FOOTBALL SEASON REVIEW 2023-2024
Last season was one of the most hectic on record.
For those who know about Fairlight Friday Football know we don't have our own pitch for matches or for training so we use the level to train on but most games are held either away from home or Brighton College and the fantastic Tim Herbert from Brighton College and Brighton Schools Football Association organise for us to play at Manor Gym.
The weather had been the worst on record for us.
Rain and poor ground conditions meant that even in July we are having to postpone training as its too wet.
And there was I thinking global warming would mean playing on dust pitches in the future.
Added to that the usual several weeks of disruption we see when "someone puts a fun fair on Mr Jordan's football pitch" several times a year but lets not go back there as the Council seem to continue on with this and don't seem to listen to the local community.
Mr Jordan did get his point across in other ways around this.
However with the least amount of football on record for Fairlight we have had a succesful season once again.
FUTURE RONALDO, SOLLY MARCH AND LEWIS DUNK (they are one of our own).
We still get over 40 children most days for Friday football.
More Brighton shirts than ever (Mr Jordan does a good line in giving away Brighton shirts) however still with a huge number of Ronaldo shirts from the various teams he has played for.
Some proudly worn parent home teams from Nottingham Forest to Chile and even a Coventry.
Anyone from Year 2 upwards who wants to join us for next season needs to complete the enclosed form.
Places may have to be capped if we get too many so get filling in the form now.
We however would love to see you all.
Friday Football is an inclusive club and players with all sorts of football backgrounds, skills and talents are welcome.
EVERYONE has made progress this year in their football skills and knowledge.
Even if that knowledge is knowing that Brighton and Hove Albion are amazing and that Mr Jordan is better than Pep (as a manager) and Messi (as a player)!!!
COACHING AND HELPERS
Thank you as ever to those parents who stay and help walk back or who turn up at the end and help us walk back.
We need more next seaon- you can note on the form if you can help.
This season Mr Jordan has been joined by Mr K and his range of Everton shirts.
And some South American flare has been added by Luis.
PLAYING SEASON REVIEW
Sadly with no pitch and poor weather our league season was a non starter.
We decided however to focus on tournaments and cup games.
We took part in boys and girls Brighton schools tournaments and did well in both.
This is always however in the first few weeks of term and we are still learning our best formations.
Our First Team made it to the Semi Final in one cup and the Quarter Final in another and were only beaten at the death in the Semi Final.
The Play PE tournament saw us progress to the knock out phase before losing to eventual winners.
All in all a very succesful season.
PLAYER REVIEW
A large number of players have represented the school from our older years.
4 players (the most ever) attended trials for the Brighton Schools Representative Teams.
They all showed off some Fairlight skills and represented the school well.
The key factor for all of those who were nominated was that they play football out of school for a local team.
This added experience gives the players a better understanding of football- particulalrly around positioning as well as how "competitive" it can be.
My advice is always if you are serious and want to play football that you need to be doing it out of school also.
PTA, KIT AND EQUIPMENT
We are lucky to have got 2 new kits for the upcoming season.
A new Premier League kit has arrived and has already been used.
A new PTA kit sponsored by Q Estate Agents has also seen some use in tournaments.
Some new balls and cones for next season have come from the PE budget.
We still continue to do our boot swap.
If you have old boots that you have grown out of or no longer use they go into the crates in Mr Jordan's office and players get to come and exchange or take boots or astros to fit them.
We also have a small kit store or shorts, socks and shirts as well as shinpads and occasionally goalie gloves that can also be swapped and exchanged.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
We are always on the look out for more help.
This could be either £ or time or just your support.
If this is something you can do then contact Mr Jordan headteacher@fairlight.brighton-hove.sch.uk
SCHOOLS FOOTBALL WEEK 2025
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION FOUNDATION
We have close links with Brighton and Hove Albion Foundation and Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club.
Albion Coaches are in school every week working with children in a range of areas of the curriculum as well as running after school coaching sessions for our younger children.
Many of our children also access Soccer Kicks each week.
FRIDAY FOOTBALL CLUB ON MATCH OF THE DAY
If you haven't seen the amazing Fairlight Football Club on Match of the Day then click here to watch it https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/footba
A group of year 5 and 6 members of football club spent a Friday at the Amex.
They were invited to take part in filming for Sphero and Brighton and Hove Albion for a promotional video that will be used to promote and sell the product to football teams and clubs all round the world.
Here is the film that Sphero made https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4JrcxgJLa4
This was then topped on the Monday when BBC Match of the Day spent the morning filming in school with Brighton and Hove Albion Legend Glenn Murray.
The children got to spend the morning showing Glenn the robots in action.
Teaching Glenn how to use the robots.
Challenging Glenn to some competitions.
Asking Glenn some questions.
And getting a signed photo of Glenn.
FANTASTIC FAIRLIGHT FRIDAY FOOTBALL CLUB
The club starts every Friday morning at 7.45am sharp with a pitch inspection. That's because the grassroots in question belong to The Level, one of Brighton's most famous/infamous public parks – and you never know quite what the assorted revellers, skaters and dog-walkers will have left behind on the grass that, for an hour each week, is transformed into a training pitch for the budding young footballers of Fairlight Primary and Nursery School.
Periodically, the club even has to compete with The Level's travelling funfair - but that doesn't stop our ever-growing band of future football stars turning out before school. Girls and boys from many parts of Europe, Africa, South America and even Hove bring a wonderfully multicultural, multi-lingual spirit to training – with everyone soon grasping the meaning of Mr Jordan's favourite tactical instruction: "Just boot it!"
Enthusiasm levels are never less than 110% - as anyone who has walked across The Level one Friday morning and heard a session in full swing will testify. These devoted (and noisy) youngsters appear through the murk and mist out the back of work vans or off the back of bikes, on foot or the local bus. Before their day of learning at Fairlight School has even begun, they will have tackled hard, scored a "worldy", or saved a certain goal from going in (well, that’s the story they tell when they get back to school, anyway). What we do know from their teachers is that attention levels in class are always much improved after these training sessions.
Ages and skill levels vary, but everybody who attends regularly will get the chance to represent one of Fairlight's football teams in their travels around Brighton, Hove and beyond to play matches against other schools (we have no home pitch, so all games are away games). This season, the top scorer in our senior team is a very talented girl who also plays for Brighton & Hove Albion's Academy side.
The coach, kit man and team medic Mr Jordan – who also moonlights as Fairlight Primary's headmaster – hardly ever mentions how injury cut short his own promising football career. The club also relies on dedicated parents and grandparents to provide lifts to training and matches – and the half-time oranges – as well as clearing The Level of foreign objects and helping with the long walk back to school after each session. Sadly, there are as yet no team chefs to cook healthy pre-match meals – indeed, some of the children will be lucky to have eaten any breakfast before they arrive each Friday.
Further generous support has come from Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (Baca), who kindly let Fairlight play on their spectacular 3G pitch in the shadow of the Amex Stadium – and also refereed the game, and collected both teams by minibus! Brighton College followed suit with the use of their amazing facilities at Manor Gym and Brighton College, while cut-price tickets to a (victorious) Brighton & Hove Albion evening match definitely added to the togetherness and community spirit of this wonderful club.
If you feel you can help in any way – from offering lifts, football kit or any other equipment at all, to sponsoring our teams or even granting us the use of a spare minibus (well, if you don’t ask, you don’t get) – then please contact Mr Jordan at headteacher@fairlight.brighton-hove.sch.uk. Alternatively, just come and say hello when you are walking across The Level one Friday morning, between 7.45 and 8.30am. You'll be sure of a warm – and noisy – welcome.