Young midfielder Marcus Tavernier visited Frederick Nattrass Primary School in Norton this week, to promote the Premier League Primary Stars programme with both Years 5 and 6 students.
The 18-year-old winger, who burst on to the first-team scene earlier this season, surprised the pupils at the Stockton-based school on Monday, as he went class to class to meet some of the clubs young supporters.
The children were in the middle of designing brand new house badges for their class, with Marcus lending a helping hand by going table to table offering creative tips and ideas.
A popular figure in the classrooms, Marcus was also at the school to promote the Premier League Reading Stars programme ahead of World Book Day on Thursday.
The children shared their favourite books with the talented starlet, with many lucky enough to get their books personally autographed by the player.
A group of lucky pupils also had the chance to put their questions to him in a round of Q & A, with the wide-man left very impressed by their knowledge of the Boro.
“It was a really enjoyable day at school,” said Marcus.
“It’s great to see the work the Foundation do within the local community. You can see the little boost it gives them for one of the players to come in to their class, it’s lovely. They had some tough questions prepared for me to be fair which was quite a surprise.”
And with the some important SAT tests coming up, thanks to Marcus the teachers have a special incentive for the children to pass them.
“The kids have got some big tests coming up with their SAT’s, so hopefully they can pass them. I managed to persuade the teachers to take them all to McDonalds for their breakfast as a treat, so hopefully they can do what they need to do.”
Marshall Thorogood, a project worker with MFC Foundation who teaches in the school added: “Marcus was absolutely fantastic with the children.
“He engaged with them, asked them questions and made sure every child had the opportunity to spend a little bit of time with him.
“One girl even shed tears of joy having met him, so the impact he had was phenomenal.”