School Leavers 16+ Study Programmes
Football

At the core of all our programmes is the desire to harness the next generation of semi‐ professional and professional athletes. We strongly believe in motivating you to reach your full potential and preparing you for life as a professional sportsperson.

It is a well‐known cliché that practice makes perfect but every dedicated athlete knows only too well, just how true it is.

Our training replicates the environment that you are likely to encounter after leaving the programme. Each week you train with highly qualified professional coaches, under the direction of a head coach from either a semi‐professional or professional club.

Training depends on the sport and pathway you have chosen, but typically includes technical development, tactical and competition set up, stretching, proprioception and training games.

Our programmes act as a foundation for you to further your career plans. Many of our former students go on to find professional work whilst others choose to apply for apprenticeships or higher education.

With this programme on your CV, nothing is impossible.

It may sound daunting or far from reality at the beginning but at the end of your qualification we will have readily prepared you for the world of work or further education.

Whether it's advice on your career path, applying for apprenticeships or starting your own business, we can help. If you didn’t already, by the time you are finished, you will have the desire to grab every opportunity available to you.

Our programmes embrace kinaesthetic learning ‐ the best way to improve and sharpen your skills is to participate and compete.

Theory is important but it can’t offer the learning curves match time can. That is why our programmes offer regular competitive experiences throughout the course. Our links with many recognised clubs mean our students are able to compete in great venues up and down the country.

There is the opportunity to represent your team against teams of other professional & semi‐professional outfits.

It is in this environment that scouts from a number of professional organisations come to view the talent on display. Many have been lucky enough to be noticed whilst competing in these fixtures and subsequently contracted to take the next step in their chosen sport.

Put in the hours and the rewards will come. Be it participation in practical work or theory, students who enter the programme must be prepared to work hard.

To achieve the pinnacle of any sport you have to work hard.

A typical student can expect to spend anything up to 20–25 hours a week studying, training, and developing his or her work experience. There are no half measures or shortcuts to success.

A typical timetable would be:

Monday Morning – Education Sessions. Afternoon – Education & Training Session

Tuesday Morning – Education Sessions. Afternoon – Education & Training Session

Wednesday Matchday

Thursday Morning –Training Sessions. Afternoon – Independent Study

Friday Morning –Training Sessions. Afternoon – Work Placement

The national governing body for football in further education (ECFA) aims to be an outstanding association that delivers college football across the country.

With this vision in mind they have teamed up with VLUK to provide the National Scholar Development League (NSDL), a league that concentrates on player development whilst maintaining a flexible and competitive focus.

The league helps minimise travel time by having regional groups, maximising both game time and the playing experience.

VLUK also handles all the administration responsibilities for the league’s making it very cost effective for participating clubs.

For a view of our most recent league handbook, click here.

The Sport Brain™ is our unique online learning platform, that is accessible to all students and teaching staff.

Students can access their work anywhere, any time; complete their theory units and submit work online. The brain allows teaching staff the capability to mark work online, therefore creating instantaneous feedback accessible to their students.

The platform reduces planning and preparation time for lessons significantly and allows more focus on teaching, learning and student progress.

Where applicable it also improves teacher to parent partnerships as the tool gives students the opportunity to share their performance with their parents.

Each student has immediate access to their performance data including, measurement of progress towards minimum target grade and the time taken to receive feedback.

All learners are able to access their grades, assignments and feedback from home.