This group was not watching football, and in spite of their favourite team’s defeat at the hands of the Light Blues two days before in the semi-final of the CIS trophy, there was, to coin a phrase, a real buzz about the place.

The place was the Woodburn suite at Ibrox which has been converted to accommodate a study support centre set up by Rangers and Glasgow City Council.

The P6 and P7 pupils from St Patrick’s primary in Anderston, most resplendent in dark green sweatshirts with light green badge and shamrock, were hard at work on tasks set by Michelle Sweeney, Rangers’ education officer.

The centre was set up last year and each first team player donated a personal computer. All the St Patrick’s pupils had to do to find out who sponsored their machine was to look at the photograph on the side. As well as 21 PCs with broadband Internet access there is a library, a project area, a reading zone and a celebrity interview area.

St Patrick’s is one of four city primaries whose pupils attend the centre one afternoon a week for 10 weeks. By the end of the school session, 12 schools and more than 900 children will have used the facilities. Other schools bring classes for one-day workshops on specific topics such as maths, science and personal and social development.

The target figure when the centre is fully up and running is 2,500 children per session. It is planned to extend its use to secondary schools, probably as an after-school supported study resource.

Before being seconded to Ibrox as education officer, Michelle Sweeney was a primary teacher in Glasgow and then a numeracy staff tutor. She wrote the Rangers’ Ready to Learn pack used by many Glasgow primaries.

“Schools set their own criteria,” she said. “They may select children who lack motivation or more able children as part of a reward system. Of the four we have just now, two asked for general numeracy and literacy, one for PSD and another for PSD and spelling.”

William Jow, aged 11, was searching the Internet on his Stefan Klos-sponsored computer watched by his mother Emma who was one of a group of parents attending the centre for the first time. “He’s quite timid and working here has helped his confidence. The football connection has made a difference by making learning more interesting for him,” she says. “Coming here as a Celtic supporter didn’t bother him a bit.”

At the Craig Moore PC, Megan Byrne, aged nine, does not bother much about football, unlike dad William. She was clear about the highlight of her 10 weeks at the centre: “Interviewing Mark Hateley, the former Rangers player.”

Celtic fan William was delighted that his daughter was getting so much time to work on a one-to-one basis with a computer.

Ms Sweeney says parents are right behind the centre. “They tell me that the children always look forward to coming here and they are very positive about what we are doing. They also say that the children are using computers more.”

Elizabeth Robertson, headteacher at St Patrick’s, said: “The children are bursting with enthusiasm when they come back to school. We have been delighted to be part of this project and hope to continue our involvement as it develops.”

The St Patrick’s pupils will be taking part in a “graduation ceremony” at Ibrox on March 4 along with the other primaries involved. The amount of effort and motivation they have shown so far suggests it is unlikely that anybody will be “sick as a parrot” on the big day.