Today, Year 6 enjoyed a special drama project day called ‘Black and Blue’ led by Peter Daniel from the City of Westminster Archives Office. We learnt all about the life of Paul Canoville, the first black player at Chelsea Football Club who has overcome racism, poverty, homelessness, injury and drug addiction.
We started by revisiting our History and English learning from the Autumn term about England needing to be rebuilt after World War II and the contributions of the Windrush Generation. We learnt about Paul Canoville’s early life growing up in poverty in London with his mother who travelled to England by herself from Anguilla in the Caribbean at the age of only 17.
Inspired by Pele, who led the Brazilian team to victory in the World Cup in 1970, Paul Canoville was determined to become a professional footballer. He first played for Chelsea We then learnt about Paul Canoville’s experiences as a black football player at Chelsea in the 1980’s where he experienced terrible racist abuse from many people around him, including from other players and Chelsea fans. His career as a professional footballer ended in 1986 when his knee was injured in a career ending tackle and he then, unfortunately, became addicted to cocaine. We learnt more about the negative effects of drugs and drug addiction on our lives, our health, our relationships and on society.
Eventually, Paul Canoville was able to overcome his addiction and now dedicates his life enriching the lives of children and young adults by improving equality and diversity outcomes for organisations across England through his charity ‘The Paul Canoville Foundation.’
Paul Canoville’s inspiring story is one of resilience and overcoming adversity. Despite everything that he experienced at the club, he has remained a fervent Chelsea fan and there is now a special area at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s football ground, which is dedicated to him. Next week, Year 6 will have the amazing opportunity to visit the Paul Canoville Suite at Stamford Bridge and meet this inspirational man.
What would you like to ask Paul Canoville when you meet him, Year 6?
it was really fun I liked the dinosaur part
I would like to ask how painful it was not able to play football and how did you handle it.
It was very inspiring and amazing to see how far determination alone can get you!You should always speak out though if you are experiencing any sort of bullying and or racism.
I hope you had fun!
I would like to ask Paul if when he was a crack addict he ever got to the point where he felt so low that he couldn’t get out of his bed.
I would also like to ask him if he had felt something when he got cancer.
If he could still play football now and how much he misses it.
This was so fun ! I really enjoyed where the stone man came ! A question I would like to ask Paul is how did u ignore all the racism through your football career.
I really enjoyed this workshop, especially the caveman part. My question to Paul is : How do you feel now vs what you felt when you were a crack addict ?
I would want to ask him how he felt during drug rehab and how hard it was.
I really enjoyed this and I loved the acting part. I want to ask him how did he feel while he was still taking drugs.
This black and blue project was very funny in some parts but I also learnt quite a lot from this. I learnt a lot about drugs and how they effect you.
When I see Paul I what to ask him why he started drugs.
It was so fun. I want to ask him how he felt after he stop taking drugs.
I would like to ask Paul Canoville how he felt when he learnt he would never be able to play football again.
The black and blue project was fun and funny.😂🤣😎🎶👏👏👏👏👏👏😜👌🤣😂😊.
I loved the black and blue project! I can’t wait to meet Paul Canoville on Friday. I would like to ask him how his family and friends reacted when they found out he took drugs.
The black and blue project was great and very informative. The actors were great and it was very interactive with everyone as we could speak and act out some parts. Thank you to everyone who organized it and the people who made it great for us.
This looks so fun !
It was so fun and interesting, and I got o wear a GREAT hat.
I would ask him if he ever met the guy who injured him after, and what he said to him if he did.
I would love to ask Paul if he gets upset when people ask him about his drug addiction and about his past because I know it must be hard talking about mistakes that could possibly ruin your life .
I really enjoyed the project as it helped me understand the danger of drugs and how addictive they are.
This experience was amazing!
I would like to ask Paul on how he was able to over come drugs?
I would love to ask Paul if he still has the memory of that cocaine and still has that urge to have some crack cocaine.
I really enjoyed learning about Paul’s life and how dangerous crack cocaine is.
I loved it and it was really fun. I want to ask him how did he overcome his addiction and how did he feel when he stopped.
I would ask Paul about how he overcame drug addiction.