Pen y Fro Primary in Dunvant welcomed Perry Parker into class for a special Q&A session as part of their ongoing commitment Ospreys Schools Programme.
Pupils at Pen-Y-Fro are amongst thousands of students across Ospreylia who are taking part in this year's Ospreys School Programme. The successful initiative is in its second season, enabling schools across the region to use rugby as a tool for learning.
The unique programme was created by the Ospreys with the help of the educational authorities at Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend Councils to ensure it sits within the National Curriculum and is run in partnership with RWE npower renewables, Save Britain Money, Sony UK Technology Centre and Network Rail, with the assistance of the WRU.
One of the many benefits of being a part of the scheme is a special player visit, with Ospreys attending class. This week it was the turn of Pen Y Fro as they welcomed recent signing, Perry Parker.
The students, and staff, had the chance to quiz Perry on life as an Osprey, how he was settling in to living in Wales and how he had become a professional rugby player after taking up the sport at 4 years old.
WRU/Ospreys Participation Officer for the Swansea District, Tom Sloane, then added a new slant to his usual "Ospreys Passing Challenge" and this time challenged pupils Efa and Euan to pass the ball as many times as they could in just 30 seconds. With no dropped passes and great pace they managed to set the bar at an impressive 27!
The children also had an opportunity to pose for some photographs with the second row and get their Ospreys autograph collection started, something they hope to add to when they visit the Liberty for an interactive stadium tour in a few weeks.
Perry Parker said on his visit to Pen-Y-Fro:
"It's been great to come to the school today and meet all the pupils and staff. It's the first opportunity that I've had since I joined the region to come out into the community like this and it was great to start the off by visiting Pen-Y-Fro today as there are obviously some really big Ospreys fans here.
“The Ospreys Schools Programme is unique in the world of rugby and it's fantastic to get to be a part of it and hopefully help inspire the future generation of Ospreys supporters and even possible players to work hard to achieve their own dreams”.