Text only  Print this page | E-mail this page| Add to favourites|Suggest similar pages
British Council LearnEnglish Kids British Council Kids
Image - Donna and her friend, and the new sports teacher
more stories
short stories
Are these stories too long? Read and listen to some fun short stories!
stories for little kids
Help your little brother or sister learn English with some stories
more about football
Find more activities about football
football crazy, football mad
By Sue Clarke
It's Friday afternoon, school has finished for the week, and Donna is training with the school football team as usual. She loves football, but her life is about to change.
If you don't understand a word in this story, double-click on it and you'll see what it means in a new window.
LISTEN TO THIS PAGE OF THE STORY
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Just then, a tall, heavy man in sports kit strode across the field. He came over to the football pitch and called to everyone.
'Mr Jones is sick,' he said. 'I'm Mr Stanley. From now on, I'm in charge of the team.'

Everybody looked unhappy. They knew Mr Jones was a good teacher and he was always fair. They had never seen Mr Stanley before.
'Right,' said Mr Stanley. 'Line up and we'll see what you can do!'

The team made a line ready to practise their shots on goal. Donna stood behind Stevie Hamilton and waited for her turn. Then she heard Mr Stanley shouting and waving his arms. His face was bright red and he sounded really angry.
'Oi, you!' he shouted at Donna.
'Clear off! We don't want any girls hanging around here getting in the way!'

Donna stared at Mr Stanley.
Stevie Hamilton said, 'But, Sir… Donna is on the team. She's brilliant!'
'NO GIRLS ON MY TEAM!!' shouted Mr Stanley even louder.
'But that's not fair!'
'NO BUTS!' His face seemed about to explode.

Donna stood at the side of the field and watched her team during training. Barry Woodhead smirked and smiled. Of course he was pleased that she was thrown off the team! It started to rain and everyone got cold. By half past six it was raining so hard that they had to stop.
'Bye, see you tomorrow at the match!' they shouted as they left.

Donna walked slowly home in the rain. She felt sad and miserable. It just wasn't fair. She always played for the team. Mr Jones didn't mind. She had played in all the matches so far…how could she survive without football? It was her life.

Read next page

The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland)
Our privacy and copyright statements.
Our Freedom of Information Publications Scheme. Double-click for pop-up dictionary.
 Positive About Disabled People Download Browsealoud