School children attending the Study Support Centre at Hillsborough Stadium have been given the opportunity to take on two Sheffield Wednesday stars in a virtual challenge.

Owls players Richard O'Donnell and Luke Boden took time out of training to go head to head with a group of youngsters at a virtual athletics tournament on the Playstation.

Pupils from St Ann's Catholic Primary School in Stocksbridge, challenged the competitive players to a 100m sprint and 110m hurdles, before taking them on at long jump and javelin.

Ten-year-old Adam from St Ann's School, said: "I love coming here after school because not many children get to have lessons in a football stadium and meet players."

He added: "The athletics challenge was a lot of fun and I beat Richard O'Donnell at the javelin competition."

Goalkeeper O'Donnell said: "I can't believe how difficult some of the challenges were, I was worn out after the first race. I am a bit gutted that some of the kids beat me, but at least I outdid my team mate Luke."

The children were asked to keep a record of everyone's times throughout the competition and to work out the winner of each event. They then used the information to produce tables displaying the results to improve both numeracy and IT skills.

Midfielder Luke Boden, said: "I think this is a great scheme, every time I have visited the centre the kids seem to be really enjoying it and anything that gets them interested in learning is a good thing."

The virtual athletics session was part of the national Playing for Success (PfS) initiative at the centre, which aims to raise children's literacy and numeracy levels using state-of-the-art ICT equipment and the inspirational surroundings of a professional sports club.

Centre coordinator, Mike Taylor, said: "Learning in this environment gives the children an extra enthusiasm and really brings the curriculum to life.

"The virtual athletics session is great because not only does it get the children active but it also helps them build on their numeracy skills. It is one of the most popular parts of the entire course with both the pupils and the visiting football players seem to really enjoy it too."

Children taking part the scheme attend the study centre for seven week programme which includes a number of fun and educational activities, run by a qualified teacher and experienced support staff.

For more information on the Sheffield Wednesday Study Support Centre please visit: http://swfcstudy.pfssheffield.org.uk/