The Leeds United Foundation have been working with eight-year-old Harley since September as part of the Premier League Primary Stars programme and invited him to be the club’s special guest at the Bristol City fixture on Saturday to help lead the team out at kick off.

Harley was born with a condition called tibial hemimelia, meaning he was born without a tibia in his right leg and so unfortunately at the age of just 14 months he had to have a through-knee amputation where the bottom part of his right leg had to be removed.

The brave youngster was also born with two radial clubbed hands resulting in Harley being put through multiple other operations on both hands – the most recent procedure taking place in December 2019, which unfortunately was not successful and means there is nothing more they can do for it.

Harley, through all of the operations and procedures has shown an enormous amount of positivity, determination and resilience. He has managed to overcome every obstacle that has been thrown his way but was left with low confidence levels at school, especially when taking part in Physical Education.

Coaches from the club's official charity started working with teachers at Beeston Primary School on a scheme of work where they could document progress through a plan provided by the Premier League Primary Stars programme. The key was to make PE lessons for Harley and his class more inclusive, allowing every child the chance to take part and feel comfortable in doing so.

Mathew Everett, Primary Education Lead at the Leeds United Foundation, said: “Initial observations showed that Harley was low in confidence and was quite reluctant to take part in PE. The ultimate aim of the initiative is to inspire and engage children to be more active and to see the progress that Harley has made not only in terms of skill level and ability but his confidence and willingness to do more has been unbelievable.

“We work closely with lots of teachers in local schools to formulate a plan to make PE an inclusive environment for everyone, the preparation takes into account every individual and allows each student to set their own targets to ensure that every child has the opportunity to achieve success.”

Mrs Allen, a one-to-one Teaching Assistant based at Beeston Primary, said: “Since Leeds United have come in I have seen Harley develop with confidence in football and it’s been such a pleasure to watch. It’s really boosted him in normal class lessons as well, he’s eager to put his hand up now and his energy levels continue to grow. The coaches have just helped him to believe in himself and I think to watch him develop will help to inspire other kids who may be facing similar difficulties. We want to thank Leeds United for coming in and showing him that he can do anything he sets his mind to.”

Mark  McDonald, Harley’s dad, added: “We can all get up on a morning and not feel great but you just take two minutes to look at Harley and you think if he can do it, I can do it. I know that at school his teachers have been working so hard along with the coaches at the Leeds United Foundation to support Harley and all of the other children.

“He’s always ecstatic when Leeds United are there, he doesn’t stop going on about it to be honest and he was so excited to be invited to the match with all his family and teachers. His favourite players are Patrick Bamford and Kalvin Phillips and for him to be given the chance to meet them and walk out at Elland Road is amazing, we really do appreciate it.”

If you would like more information on the work the Leeds United Foundation do with Primary Schools and young students in the local community, please contact Mathew.Everett@leedsunited.com. 

To take a look at Harley's Story, please click here.