THE Countess of Wessex yesterday gave her stamp of approval to a £1.6m education facility which uses football to engage and motivate young people.

The Centre of Light, in Sunderland's Stadium of Light, has been developed by the club's charity, the Sunderland AFC Foundation, and is set to attract all sections of the community into learning opportunities.

The facility replaces the club's two oversubscribed classrooms with five fully- equipped learning areas. It is hoped to encourage learning by providing an inspirational area away from the classroom.

During her visit, the Countess, who is a patron of the charity, met young people taking part in some of the centre's educational schemes, including Playing for Success, Inspired to Write, Family Learning Through Football and Kickstart.

Five qualified teachers and a team of health, youth and family learning workers deliver practical and educational opportunities based around football, six days a week.

The centre has been built over two floors with additional football coaching activity space at pitch level.

Youngsters enter the facility through a mini-tunnel, to the music of Prokoviev's Dance of the Knights, replicating the stadium tunnel that Sunderland players run out of on match days.

Study support manager Joe Puech said: "It has been shown that children who come here for a ten-week programme progress the equivalent of what they would in 18 to 20 months at school - so we are very proud of the outcomes."

Funding for the project has included £600,000 from the Football Foundation, more than £400,000 from the regional development agency OneNorthEast and almost £200,000 from Coalfields Regeneration Trust.

On her one-day visit to the region, the Countess also saw Dance City, the National Dance Agency for the Northern Region and the employment charity Tomorrow's People, in Newcastle.