England manager Gareth Southgate surprises schoolkids in Leeds

Gareth Southgate delights schoolkids in Leeds with surprise visit as the England boss is grilled in mock press conference as part of Channel 4 initiative… and he even offers advice on how to handle GCSE pressure!

  • Southgate spoke to Year 10 and 11 students at Lawnswood School last week
  • He answered questions in a mock press conference as part of 4Schools event
  • England take on Malta and North Macedonia in their next Euro 2024 qualifiers 

England manager Gareth Southgate was grilled by a group of lucky students after paying a surprise visit to a school in Leeds.

Southgate took time out from preparations for England’s next set of Euro 2024 qualifiers to speak to 30 Year 10 and 11 students at Lawnswood School as part of a Channel 4 initiative to inspire the next generation of broadcasters.

The teenagers’ faces were a mixture of astonishment and delight as the Three Lions boss strode into the hall and answered all their questions in a mock press conference.

Southgate even offered the students advice on handling the pressure of sitting GCSE exams and what working life is like, before posing for pictures and signing autographs.

He also outlined his determination to win next year’s European Championship in Germany after England’s close calls at the last three tournaments.

England boss Gareth Southgate surprised students on a visit to Lawnswood School in Leeds 

Southgate answered questioned from students during a mock press conference 

As well as talking about England’s upcoming games, Southgate offered the teenagers advice on handling the pressure of GCSE exams

‘Right now, I have one goal – to become European champions,’ he told the Lawnswood students.

The 4Schools programme aims to get youngsters excited about a potential career in broadcasting, with Channel 4’s head of sport Pete Andrews explaining what happens behind the scenes when a big sporting event goes out live.

Southgate was asked by the students about his career highlights and the 52-year-old admitted afterwards: ‘Whenever you’re asked questions in a press conference, you’re always thinking about the message that you want to give.

‘So it’s quite hard when people are asking you, ‘what’s the best of this’ or the ‘best place you’ve played’ because I’m getting old now and you’ve got a lot of experiences to try and remember and work through.

‘But of course I remember being their age and it was nice to have a chat with them at the end to see what they want to do when they’ve finished their GCSEs as well.

‘We’ve got the opportunity to inspire and we’ve got the opportunity to change people’s lives at certain times.

‘I think that’s something as a team we’ve recognised and we take that very seriously.’ 

Asked for his advice as the students prepare for GCSEs, he said: ‘I’ve been through it so I know how you feel and I would say all you can do is to prepare as well as you can, the more preparation you do the better chance you have to succeed.’ 

All the students are interested in potentially entering broadcasting as a career

Southgate sat alongside Channel 4 Head of Sport Pete Andrews in the mock press conference

Lawnswood School Headteacher Jo Bell said: ‘This has been just fantastic and so generous of Gareth to give up his time. It’s been an amazing opportunity for our students, they will have learned so much from this and the day will have provided some brilliant inspiration for their futures.’

Student Matthew, 16, whose dream is to become a sports commentator, said: ‘When Gareth Southgate walked in I couldn’t believe it, I would never have expected him to even be at our school. He is so down to earth, such a nice person.’

Fellow student Emil, 14, said: ‘Normally I’d have been in French or English but instead I was with Gareth Southgate! I thought it was crazy when he walked through the door, I thought it might be a player from a lower division, or maybe even a Leeds player, not the England manager! 

‘He was really interesting and a lot of what he talked about applied to what we do in school. It was so cool.’

The Three Lions manager signed autographs and posed for pictures with the students

England take on Malta and North Macedonia in their next set of Euro 2024 qualifiers in June

England are in action again next month when they travel to Malta and host North Macedonia at Old Trafford in their next pair of Euro qualifiers.

Southgate said: ‘These games are a really interesting challenge for us because Malta will have a world ranking which is really low and England have beaten Malta every time we’ve played them. 

‘The most important thing is our mentality for the game because if both teams play at their normal level, England should win but complacency can really hurt you as a team.

‘Remarkably England have never beaten North Macedonia at home. North Macedonia also knocked Italy out of the last World Cup so there is no room for complacency, we have to make sure our mentality is right and we play at our highest level.’ 

Gareth Southgate was with Channel 4 in partnership with 4Schools at Lawnswood School in Leeds to inspire students interested in sports journalism 

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