Manager Alan Irvine took time out of his busy schedule to pay a visit to Fulwood High School on Tuesday afternoon.

The purpose of his trip was to present students with certificates of achievement as part of the specially arranged Attendance Rewards Assembly.

The North End Boss was on-hand to commemorate form 7Q on their feat of reaching a resounding 96.97 per cent attendance - the finest record throughout the school.

Irvine also paid tribute to members of the school production and students who had a significant involvement in the 'Baby Beat' fund-raising initiative before listening to a fantastic rendition from the school choir.

The Gaffer also addressed the 170-strong assembly, in which he said: "Attendance is vitally important. If players didn't turn up for training then their performances would obviously suffer. Punctuality is a vital ingredient for success so I would like to say a big 'well done' to all the children for their achievements."

Deputy Headteacher Steve Marston-Yim was extremely grateful for the Manager's appearance. He enthused: "It's a great honour to have the Manager of Preston North End come down. There are a lot of students and staff at the school who appreciate it because they are all very strong fans of the club.

"The rewards assembly was on the subject of attendance so it was great that Alan could relate punctuality to the world of work and football in particular. Hopefully that will have a positive impact on the children.

"Fulwood High School has over a thousand children and we have had some fantastic achievements, in particular the school production and choir. We are very proud of those successes so that's why we try and arrange afternoons like this to recognise what the children do."

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