Manchester City footballer Raheem Sterling has been praised for his generosity after buying 550 tickets to this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final and donating them to students at his former school.

The 24-year-old winger has also offered to pay for the students’ transport to and from the match, which will see City up against Brighton for a spot in the final.

Situated a stone’s throw from Wembley Stadium – where Saturday’s match will be held – Ark Elvin Academy is the former secondary school of Sterling, and the namesake of Sir Arthur Elvin, the businessman often credited with saving the stadium from ruin.

It was called Copland Community School when Sterling attended, but changed to an academy in 2014, and is known for its high percentage of students from minority backgrounds.

In a tweet posted on Thursday afternoon, the academy said its PE teacher along with 10 students would travel to Manchester to personally thank their “most famous ‘old boy’ for his generous donation”.

Sky News spoke to Ark Elvin Academy principal Rebecca Curtis, who said she was “over the moon” after hearing about the donation, and highlighted the excitement felt among her pupils.

Despite the school’s close proximity to Wembley Stadium, “the vast majority of our pupils have never been inside, let alone to see such a big game with one of our ‘old boys’ playing,” she said.

Sterling, who was born in Jamaica but moved to the UK at the age of five, is no stranger to charitable endeavours.

In 2016, he was named an ambassador for a police charity in Manchester, and in 2018 he helped with plans to launch an academy for underprivileged children.

Sterling also donated a “substantial” undisclosed sum to the people affected by the deadly fire at Grenfell Tower.

“Raheem is such a role model for our children,” Ms Curtis added. “And to know that, despite how his life has changed, he still thinks about the community he came from is really powerful for us.”

When asked if she had a message she wanted to send to Sterling, she said: “Thank you for being such a positive role model for our community; for your kindness and generosity and for having such integrity and courage.

“Our school motto is ‘Dare for greatness’ and you have shown us what, with hard work and commitment, is possible.

“Next time you are passing by Wembley, please pop in and see us!”

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