A NEW partnership has been struck between a football club’s charity and Loretto School.

The three-year partnership between the Musselburgh school and Hibernian Football Club was revealed last week.

Hibernian Community Foundation (HCF) – the charitable arm of the Easter Road side – aims to use the power of sport to improve people’s lives.

This summer, the group has already been working in the community surrounding the school, with further community outreach and football provision being planned.

Loretto School will position itself as a base for the projects, providing space for foundation-led activities and creating opportunities to bring the local community together.

Dr Graham Hawley, headmaster of Loretto School, was delighted to be working with the capital club, whose training ground is based at East Mains, just outside Ormiston.

He said: “We are delighted to be supporting the charity by providing some of our facilities to the Hibernian Community Foundation.

“They will be running their holiday camps on Newfield playing fields and using the sports hall over the summer.

“Equitable access to sport is so important for young people, especially in the community surrounding us, so I am delighted we are opening our doors to HCF.”

Mags McPherson, chair of the foundation, described the partnership as “incredibly exciting”.

She said: “After forming a strong relationship with Loretto in recent months, we jointly explored how we could develop our relationship further to the benefit of the community which we both serve.

“Using the power and passion of football to change lives in our community is our aim and this partnership with Loretto is helping us achieve just that.

“This is a really positive step, and we are all looking forward to what the future may hold.”