Reduc@te celebrates its official birthday in July 2004. Since opening, thousands of children have now enjoyed the opportunity to learn in the exciting and inspirational environment of Liverpool Football Club.

Staffed by a Centre Manager and students from the three Universities in Liverpool, Reduc@te aims to help children improve their skills in the key areas of literacy, numeracy and ICT. Resources are made available in Reduc@te on a daily basis and use football, sport and contemporary issues to help motivate young people to learn. Great emphasis is placed on rewarding achievement and building up the self-esteem of the children to give them more confidence when learning. Staff use the unique environment of Liverpool Football Club to make the educational experience as special as possible and groups are offered learning opportunities in the Club shop, the excellent LFC Museum, the Academy and around the Anfield Stadium.

All of the curriculum materials are designed to be fun and enjoyable and study support groups attend after normal school hours on weekdays Monday to Thursday. Fridays are set aside for Special Needs schools or schools who wish to make a full one day visit to the Centre. Reduc@te is well equipped with ICT hardware and is always willing to embark on new and exciting projects. Recently many primary schools have visited Reduc@te for French or Spanish lessons during the normal school day and a number of secondary schools attend Reduc@te for ‘business days’ where they focus on the off the field activities of the Club for their GCSE and A level courses. Secondary school pupils from Learning Support Units have also enjoyed day-time visits and Reduc@te, with the help of the British Council, launched a dedicated website called ‘Hola’ which links Liverpool Primary Schools with schools in Barcelona to help improve their Spanish skills.

Reduc@te recently received recognition of its achievements to date when it was awarded Quality in Study Support status at Emerged Level. The Centre will continue to work enthusiastically with the young people of Liverpool throughout next season and once again thanks are due to Nestle who continue to provide refreshments for the pupils at Reduc@te.