How you can study sport in the UK

There are many different ways to study sport in the UK and a wide variety of sports available. We have listed some of the options below with example courses but please contact us to discuss your requirements.

Although football features heavily we do have partners offering some of the less well-known sports so just ask us if your sporting preference is available.

Boarding Schools

Boarding schools for teenage children offer many different sporting options. These can vary to just taking part for enjoyment through to serious competing in events and competitions.

Bournemouth Collegiate School, Bournemouth

Located in beautiful coastal Bournemouth, close to town centre and to the beach and dating back to 1890. Top 5% for Value Added Education in the UK. In 2020, 40% of students gained a place at Russel Group university. Outstanding sports school with elite Sports Academies in - Football, Basketball, Swimming, Tennis, Rugby, Badminton, and Rowing. The Sports Academies ranked 21st in the UK for Sport from all Independent Schools and were shortlisted for a National Award in 2019.

Ellesmere College, Ellesmere, Shropshire

At Ellesmere, we take great pride in the success of our student community, and often the skills and abilities of those pupils propels the College to new levels of performance and recognition. In the last few years, Ellesmere has won two distinctive and highly valued International awards in relation to the sporting provision provided to our student body.
The school has seven high achieving sports academies: Cricket, Golf, Football, Tennis, Swimming, Shooting and Rugby as well as numerous other sports including Badminton, Basketball, Hockey, and Netball.

World Academy of Sport (WAoS) – Athlete Friendly Education Centre (AFEC)
The award is an aspirational accreditation mark for schools, universities and others that support athletes to achieve their education and athletic goals.
As an affiliated school, Ellesmere students can expect:
• A flexible curriculum giving student-athletes the opportunity to continue to train and compete whilst completing their education
• A dedicated pastoral care system providing the integral link between sport and educational requirements of the student-athletes
• A number of top performing student-athletes across a range of sporting areas who are in a similar situation providing an environment of positive peer support.

At Ellesmere, we recognise that student-athletes are required to make significant sacrifices on their journey to national and international competition. The World Academy of Sport in conjunction with Ellesmere College is committed to assisting athletes on this journey through working with those involved in their education provision to understand the unique needs that must be balanced by athletes in such circumstances.

School Games Gold
The School Games Mark is a Government led award scheme launched in 2012 to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community. Participating in this process allowed us to evaluate our wide ranging PE provision and further progress it by developing an action plan for future progress.
The award is in recognition of our commitment and delivery to:
• Participation – how many young people at your school are being engaged in sporting activity?
• Competition – how many different sports are being played and how many competitions are being entered?
• Leadership – how many pupils are involved in leadership activities alongside taking part in competitions?
• Clubs – how many local links does your school have with clubs or establishments from the area?

At Ellesmere, we recognise that sport and the provision of sport is a vital part of every child’s personal and social development. We value the breadth of opportunity and the wide range of specialism that we can cater for. Students see the Ellesmere approach as an essential part of their all-round education and the skills and qualities developed build a platform for living adult life successfully.

Sporting Academies

For those who are good at their chosen sport and want to get some professional coaching in the UK, or gain coaching qualifications we offer some partners who truly specialise in this field. Some combine sport with academic and English studies which can lead to a place at university. Not all of these academies are in the UK so please note that for other countries the visa requirements may be different.

IHM Football Academy, Manchester

IHM Football Academy was established in 2006. The academy is FA affiliated and offers:
Football + GCSEs (age 14+), Football + A Levels (age 16+), Football + English (age 16+), Football + International Foundation (age 16+)
Abbey College, Manchester

Abbey offer academic studies with sport in preparation for university entrance.
In addition to partnering with IHM Football Academy, Abbey also offer a top basketball route with links to Manchester Giants.

West Ham United International Academy of Football

Participants have the chance to improve their soccer skills by taking part in one of our leading soccer programmes at West Ham United Foundation International Soccer Academy.
Suitable for boys and girls aged 10-17 (12-17 for goalkeeping)

OPTION: ELITE PRO-EXPERIENCE

Enjoy the soccer experience of a lifetime with this world-leading Elite Pro-Experience Soccer Programme!…. Train at West Ham United Foundation International Academy and experience the professional training methods that have made elite players worldwide.

HIGH PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME

  • Reach your highest potential: focus on technical, tactical, team preparation and performance analysis, mental development and injury prevention.
  • Enhance your technical and match-play skills under the guidance of West Ham United Foundation’s coaching team and participate in rewarding training sessions.
  • Showcase your skills: demonstrate your passion and commitment for the game.
  • Soccer training in an academy system widely-recognised as the best in the UK.
  • Immerse yourself in the professional environment of a premiership club.

Learn what it takes to become a professional player and experience the best, intensive training of your life!

OPTION: PRO CLUB SOCCER EXPERIENCE

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Immerse yourself in a professional soccer environment with like-minded soccer enthusiasts and enhance your technical and match-play skills under the guidance of the Pro Coaching team. At the same time as participating in rewarding training sessions, it is an opportunity to showcase your skills through the game. Coaching sessions are aimed to develop the players soccer skills like agility, positioning, ball control, passing and moving, formations and tactics, but also the ability to attack and defend.

You will receive soccer training in an academy system widely recognised as the best in the UK. You will have the opportunity to experience soccer training delivered by a leading Premiership club and experience what it takes to train in a professional soccer environment.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

  • Designed for players who are at a standard level and/or are aiming to break-into hi-performance level.
  • By immersing players in a pro-club environment, it aims to help players develop and improve techniques in all areas including technical, physical, and psychological aspects of the game.
  • In addition to the use of the latest video-analysis technology and training techniques, participants will have the opportunity to participate in our Pro-Experience seminars, delivered by West Ham experts and covering areas including Scouting/ Player identification, Nutrition and Physical Conditioning and also specialist areas.

For those participants aged 12 – 17 who want to focus on goalkeeping training, we offer complementary training according to their level.

English + Sport (short term)

Many of our partners offer short term sport opportunities combined with English study. This is available for different age groups with older groups perhaps requiring a more leisurely sport activity such as golf..

Summer Camps

Some of our partners offer summer camps during July and August which may centre around sport. If you have a group of children wishing to do this or just an individual child, we can usually offer something covering the main sports. Please contact us for details.

City Football Academy

The British Study Centres Young Learners City Football Academy is available for both boys and girls aged 9-13 and including English language plus football training in conjunction with Manchester City FC. Programmes include City Football Language, City Football Development, and City Football Performance. Players will experience the Etihad campus being based at the City Football Academy with accommodation nearby at Salford university Residence.
Celtic FC Football Academy + English

From St Andrews College Language Schools - Train like the professionals and learn the techniques and tactics of football alongside camp mates of all nationalities. The football camp is held at the City of Glasgow College campus and the Football & English programme consists of 15 hours of training per week, combined with 15 hours of English per week. The students will also benefit from weekly presentations about health, nutrition, fitness, being a footballer in a foreign country and the importance of English by qualified football professionals. Included is also a visit to the famous Celtic Park stadium and a chance to train at Celtic FC's first-team training ground.

University - undergraduate and postgraduate

There are a wide variety of universities that offer specialised courses. One of the most popular is Sport Management where people are trained in finance, business, marketing, law, management, sports sciences and public relations which then allows them to compete for a wide array of roles such as event coordinators, corporate partnership management and public relations. Studying a course in Sports Management therefore opens many different career paths for graduates.