Charlton Athletic are proud to announce that the club will donate £10,328 in ticket revenue back to primary schools across Greenwich and Bexley following the 2025/26 season, as part of the club’s expanding Schools Partnership Scheme.
The initiative provides local schoolchildren with access to discounted match tickets, with 100% of revenue from selected fixtures returned directly to each participating school at the end of the campaign. During the 2025/26 season, the scheme generated 3,369 tickets sold for designated Schools Partnership matches, underlining its continued growth and strong community engagement.
The long‑term impact of the programme is equally significant. Nearly 500 additional tickets were purchased by returning supporters who first attended The Valley through the scheme, demonstrating its role in building lasting connections between young fans, their families and the club. This contribution helped support an average attendance of 20,066 at The Valley across the 2025/26 campaign, the club’s highest in 17 years.
Katie Cowling, who heads up the Schools Partnership at Charlton Athletic, highlighted the importance of the initiative: “Being able to return more than £10,000 to local schools is a fantastic milestone for the scheme. The Schools Partnership doesn’t just introduce children to live football, it strengthens our relationship with the community and helps create the fans of the future. Seeing pupils come back to The Valley after their first visit shows just how meaningful this programme has become.”
The Schools Partnership scheme was re-launched in December 2024, initially across the Royal Borough of Greenwich, to encourage local school children to become Addicks of the future.
Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Post-16 Futures, Cllr Sandra Bauer said: "Greenwich is such a great place to grow up. The Schools Partnership Scheme with Charlton Athletic is the perfect example of how exciting it is to be a young person here. This partnership gives our schools extra resources, encourages local children to enjoy the buzz of discounted match tickets and inspires more children and young people to experience the many benefits that sport offers. We’re delighted to be part of this scheme, which supports our commitment to ensuring every child has the opportunities to thrive.”
After successful engagement across Greenwich, the Schools Partnership scheme expanded across into the London Borough of Bexley at the start of 2026.
Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate Services and Education, Cllr Caroline Newton said: “This partnership provides a welcome boost to Bexley’s schools and helps encourage the young people across our schools to take part in and get the most out of sport. We are so pleased to be partnered with Charlton Athletic on this programme and look forward to seeing this initiative continue to promote the best outcomes for our borough’s children and young people.”
Founded in December 2024, the scheme also offers schools access to appearances from Charlton’s men’s and women’s first‑team players, greater awareness of education and coaching programmes delivered by Charlton Athletic Community Trust and the opportunity to take part in an annual Schools Partnership tournament, supported by CACT, at The Valley. More than 90 schools across the region have now signed up to the free programme.
For more information on how your school can join the Schools Partnership Scheme, please contact schoolspartnership@cafc.co.uk.
