Football Academy

• The opportunity to study 3 A level courses, or BTEC courses worth the equivalent of 3 A levels.
• The opportunity to undertake an additional enrichment qualification worth UCAS points (see our sixth form course listing document for more details).
• 6-8 hours of coaching and football training each week, led by qualified sports coaches with UEFA A Licence and B Licence qualifications.
• The opportunity to play in the Association of Colleges (AOC) league for Ormiston NEW Academy football team.
• The opportunity to gain FA football coaching qualifications.

George Forsyth is the NEW6 Football Academy coach , who also plays for Hereford FC in the Vanarama National North League. Previously to this, he represented Wolves Academy for 8 years. George currently holds 7 years coaching experience, and is a qualified Level 2 FA coach. George has helped develop players from the Football Academy into senior football, at both professional and semi-professional level.

Those joining the football scholarship undertake a programme of study that is sufficient to qualify as a full-time student and allow for progression to university, degree apprenticeships or higher level apprenticeships. This programme can comprise of A level courses and/ or BTEC courses depending on the student’s interests, long-term career goals and academic ability.

Weekly football training is built around lessons. Students can typically expect to participate in full team training twice a week. Other training and fitness sessions can be joined depending on the student’s academic timetable and choice of courses.

Competitive matches against other school and college teams participating in the AOC league are held on Wednesday afternoons and take place either home or away. Transportation is always provided to and from away matches. The team for each match is announced on the previous Friday, depending on commitment and attendance to training. Students causing concern academically on their A level and /or BTEC courses are not permitted to participate in matches.

Our scholarship is not designed to steer all those who join it towards one specific direction. At heart, the fact that it combines competitive team sport with academic study and coaching qualifications should enable those to join it to pursue many different career options. In recent years our scholars have graduated and progressed to the following:

• University, to study either a foundation degree or an undergraduate first degree.
• A degree apprenticeship.
• Employment in a sports coach role or another form of employment.

Scholars opting to progress to either university or employment at the end of the scholarship are fully supported with their applications on a weekly basis. In recent years scholars opting to progress to higher education have joined sports-related courses including sports science, sports management, and sports coaching. Others have used the qualifications gained during the scholarship to progress to entirely different courses including IT, Business and Politics.

Many players have earnt trials at professional clubs such as Wolverhampton Wanderers and Walsall FC. In addition, a pathway into mens’ first team football is available with the multiple football club links we have within the local area. Former NEW6 student and current professional footballer, Levi Andoh, is a prime example of this. Levi completed his BTEC Diploma in Sport, alongside training full time at NEW6. His first club was Worcester City, and from this he was scouted for a trial at Ipswich Town, where he was offered a professional contract. Levi said “NEW6 was the best place for me after I left Aston Villa at 16, training full time alongside my education was key to making me a better player but also ensuring I had a backup if my football didn’t go so well. I will always be grateful to Richard and George for always believing in me and helping me make my way in the game”