Awkward questions for Leeds United’s Archie Gray and Joe Rodon as they light up local school

Whoever said 'never work with children or animals' has never experienced the joy of a footballer being put on the spot by a child's brutally honest and magnificently awkward curiosity.

Outside in the yard the rain is falling steadily but inside Our Lady of Good Counsel Primary the whole place has lit up at the arrival of Leeds United pair Archie Gray and Joe Rodon. A visit of famous sportspeople is surely right up there with a dog getting into the playground or being sent home early due to snowfall, and it shows not only on the faces of the kids. From headteacher Stephanie Flaherty who greets the duo at the door, to her teachers and a teaching assistant who tells Gray she previously had no idea who he was before vowing to follow his career, the staff are delighted to have Leeds players in their midst.

What's nice about these visits, healthy almost in the bubble that life can become for footballers, is how real it all is because there can be no stage management of under 10s. "What position do you play?" asks a Year 5 student of Gray, who replies: "Central midfield." A second young voice pipes up: "Then why are they playing you at right-back?" Gray is laughing, almost as hard as Rodon, whose moment then comes when he's asked to state his preference between playing for loan club Leeds and parent club Spurs. There are Championship forwards who have given the centre-back less of a hard time this season.

Although the Q and A session, the photographs and autographs and an obligatory blast of Marching on Together are undeniable highlights for the Seacroft youngsters and their teachers, the real purpose for the visit is to add star power to the work being done by the Leeds United Foundation. Katie Proud is the Primary Stars team leader and is part-way through an anti-bullying session when the players arrive.

"With anti-bullying week coming up next week we're running our flash PSHE [personal, social, health and economic] sessions - with Primary Stars we do PE and PSHE along with interventions in Maths and English," she tells the YEP, while Rodon and Gray pop their heads into a Year 6 class to say hello.

"We're speaking about anti-bullying, cyber bullying, allyship, being there for others and the importance of children's mental health and wellbeing, how it all links in. It's just about getting the word out there and making it really, really fun."

This is where Gray and Rodon come in. Although at 26 the latter's school days are far behind him, Gray is still only 17 and is closer in age to some of the pupils than he is to his team-mate. His precocious involvement in Daniel Farke's Leeds first team this season and his local boy status, not to mention his family history at Elland Road, makes him big news and a big attraction for the youngsters. The identities of the special visitors were kept secret prior to the visit but most had been guessing, in hope, that Gray would be one of them. His and Rodon's presence plays a part in the work Proud is trying to do.

She says: "The impact on the kids is massive because it's like I said to the teacher - they are never going to forget this session and every time we talk to them about their first anti-bullying session they'll remember the Leeds United players coming in. They'll remember it for the rest of their lives. This shows that the players are not just really good at playing football, they're giving something back to primary schools and local communities. And when you have someone as special as a Leeds player coming in and talking about their experiences, the children really do relate to what they're saying so it's amazing to have them here."

What jars a little about the session is what also speaks to its importance, as children as young as nine display a working knowledge of group chats and the specific perils of online life. It’s all very much a reality for children, even at that age, navigating technology for their day-to-day education and entertainment. The issues Proud is making them aware of are every bit as real and potentially harmful as the social media abuse Rodon points to when asked by a pupil about bullying.

The session aims to inform on the difference between bullying and its online form, and the ways in which phones, tablets and computers can bring into home life the problems once restricted to the playground. Rodon and Gray move around the classroom, joining in table discussions on various cyber-bullying scenarios and how they could deal with them or support friends going through it, before answering questions both on and brilliantly off-topic.

"I've done a few of these before, when I was at Swansea and it's just great to get involved with the community, to give back and to interact with all the pupils," adds Rodon. "It was really enjoyable today."