Students studying BTEC Sport at Magna Academy recently had the fantastic opportunity to take part in a virtual question and answer session with Level 3 Football Match Official, Jonathon Wilks.
The session was organised to support students as they prepare for their current BTEC Sport assessment, which requires them to develop their understanding of the roles, responsibilities and decision-making processes of sports officials. Having the opportunity to hear directly from an experienced match official provided students with valuable real-world insight that will help bring their coursework to life.
Throughout the session, students demonstrated excellent preparation and engagement, asking a wide range of thoughtful questions about Jonathon’s officiating career, ambitions, memorable experiences, challenges faced by officials and the responsibilities involved in officiating football at a high level. Students were particularly interested in understanding how officials apply the laws of the game, communicate with other members of the officiating team and make important decisions under pressure.
Jonathon shared his experiences of progressing through the refereeing pathway and provided honest and informative answers that helped students develop a deeper understanding of the profession. His willingness to discuss both the rewards and challenges of officiating gave students a genuine appreciation of the commitment and professionalism required to succeed as a match official.
A huge thank you to Jonathan for giving up his time to speak with our students and for helping to inspire the next generation of sports professionals. We are extremely grateful for his support and hope the knowledge and experiences he shared will help our students improve their understanding and achieve the very best grades possible. If you want to follow Jonathon’s highly successful youtube channel, that can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/
Well done to all students involved for representing Magna Academy so positively and for asking such insightful questions throughout the session.