WHILE England's World Cup dream may be over, pupils and staff at St Augustine's RC High School, Billington, have had one good reason to cheer on Beckham and the boys.
For the school's PE teacher, Mr Don Lennon is winger Aaron Lennon's uncle!
And now the school is waiting anxiously to see if Mr Lennon (38), can request his 19-year-old speedy nephew to show off his fancy footwork during a visit to St Augustine's in
the near future.
Mr Lennon teaches PE two days a week at St Augustine's and spends the rest of the week visiting schools across East Lancashire to teach sport to primary children as part of a Government, Sport England and Big Lottery fund scheme.
He is delighted that Aaron, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur, has put in three excellent substitute performances in the World Cup – especially during the quarter final game against Portugal on Saturday, where he made an immediate impact after replacing an injured David Beckham.
Although Aaron's immediate family had been in Germany during the tournament, Mr Lennon, who lives in Accrington, watched the games with other family members on television.
Headteacher at the school, Mr Anthony McNamara said: "Aaron has played fantastically well at the World Cup matches and everyone at the school has been supporting him.
"The pupils have been very excited and want to know more about him. Everyone would love him to visit the school in the future."
Mr Lennon, whose brother is Aaron's father, was brought up in Birmingham, but moved to East Lancashire to teach.
And it seems Aaron is not the only talented person in the family as both Mr Lennon and his daughter, Leigh, compete in athletics. Leigh holds the world record for 400 metres in the 13 and 14 age groups.
