For the pupils in one class of Oakwood Special School in Eccles, Manchester, Thursday afternoon was one they'll never forget.

Manchester United and England defender Wes Brown and England Partially Sighted player Jonathan Gribbin, from nearby Middleton, joined teacher Simon Mullineux for an afternoon of football as part of The FA's 'Get into Football' campaign.

Disability football was the theme of the day and not only did the children with a mix of learning difficulties and physical disabilities get to play with the two England stars, they also put them on the spot with a question and answer session.

Wes revealed to the children that his childhood heroes were Danny Wallace, Paul Ince and Ryan Giggs, that he nearly chose basketball over football (after winning the National English Championships when he was 14), that Thierry Henry has been his toughest opponent and that his career as a footballer is due to the selfless fetching and carrying of his parents who drove him to training and games as a talented youngster.

Wes told TheFA.com: "It's great to be involved at an event like this and the kids are all really enjoying their football.

"It was great having a kick-about with them, and as hopefully a role model, being here today will help motivate them to try and achieve their dreams and become the best they can be on the pitch."

Oakwood Special School was the first in Manchester to achieve FA Charter Standard School status and that is due to the link between Manchester FA Disability Football Officer Gilly Cunningham, and Simon, the school's Sports Development Officer.

"I've been working at the school for five years," said Simon. "And we now have a multi-sports disability club which sees us taking kids canoeing, skiing and trampolining too.

"We have children with Cerebral Palsy and Downs Syndrome as well as learning difficulties and with football, we concentrate on fun and enjoyment, and then develop skills."

Some of the children at the school get to pull on the famous Manchester United shirt when they represent Salford in the Manchester Ability Counts League, with over 450 children due to attend next Friday's presentation evening at Old Trafford.

"For some people, being classified as disabled can really make you feel low," Jonathan told TheFA.com.

"Four years ago I was diagnosed with an eye condition which affects one in a million people and I could have let that ruin my life.

"Instead, I found out details of a local visually impaired football club after logging onto The FA's website and after having trials with the England Partially Sighted and Blind squads, I'm hoping to get my first cap at the end of May."

"My family still don't believe that I've been training as an England footballer.

"Now there are performance pathways for players of so many disabilities, people like me have a chance to rub shoulders with someone like Wes at an event like today, which is amazing."

Did you know?

  • The FA launched it's first strategy for disability football in January 2003.
    The aims were to: increase playing opportunities, improve quality of coaching, establish a regional competitive structure and create performance pathways.
    Since then, over £1million has been invested by The FA into disability football from the grassroots, to elite England teams.
  • There are now over 50 FA Ability Counts clubs around England which provide pan-disability football sessions.
  • The FA fund England Blind, Partial Sighted, Amputee, Cerebral Palsy, Deaf and Women's Deaf Futsal teams which compete in European and World competitions.
  • In 2005, 6.9million people in UK of working age were registered disabled.
  • Of those 6.9million, only 17 per cent were born with their disability.