SWINDON Town Supporters’ Trust, TrustSTFC, have stepped up to the plate of raising attendances at the County Ground with a ticket offer that has nearly tripled their estimated take-up.

More than 30 Swindon primary schools have signed up to become ‘Trust School Partners’ and, as part of this Saturday’s ‘Trust Family Day,’ all of them were offered free tickets to adults and children attending the game, if the child attends a participating school.

The Trust initially thought they would need between 800 and 1,200 tickets – but the demand has been so large they have had to ask the club for 3,500 and will now fill the Stratton Bank and one of the side stands with families for this Saturday’s game against Fleetwood.

Trust chairman Steve Mytton was staggered by the take-up but is delighted at the success of the offer and that the club have been so accomodating.

“We put the offer out and agreed with the club that we might need somewhere between 800 and 1,200 tickets,” Mytton told the Advertiser.

“The response was amazing though, and almost 3,500 tickets were requested, all of them from young school families in the area. They represent the future crowd of Swindon Town.”

“The club have been fantastic, and are fully behind our schools campaign.

“We’ve had quite a few logistical discussions to figure out how to satisfy such a demand, but we think we’ve resolved those issues now and we’ll be filling the Stratton Bank for the day and also occupying some of the side stands.”

“We’re all aware that the Stratton Bank is not covered, and the facilities are not brilliant, but we’ll have improvements in place for the day and we’ll give everyone a free plastic poncho to keep them dry in case it rains.

“We’re also arranging for some giveaways for the children and there will be other entertainment lined up to ensure everyone has a great day out.”

”A free ticket offer of this size is totally unprecedented, and we’re very thankful to (Town chairman) Lee Power, Steve Anderson (general manager), Adam Wainwright (marketing executive) and the back office team that are supporting the local community in this way.”

The offer is only valid through the schools who will be distributing the tickets.

Mike Welsh, vice-chair of the Trust, worked in conjunction with Simon Cowley, who is a Trust board member and also chair of the Swindon Association of Primary Heads (SAPH) to communicate and promote the offer within the school circles.

He said: “I’ve never known a response like it, it’s reassuring to note that Swindon Town is still an attractive proposition for families and we’ll make sure we work hard to ensure that everyone has a great time on the day.’’