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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Need a good "football school" - advice please

69 replies

scattycow · 22/02/2013 13:56

Hi readers, we are looking to return to the UK after 8 years in Asia, so we are not currently in the UK independent schooling system; so my only resource has been the GSG.

DS would love a day school that is big on football; although is is very good at other sports too. So far we have identified these as suitable options for Y9 2014 ;
Whitgift, Hampton, Bradfield and Ardingly.

As long at the school is competent at results then we are happy. Aside form the sports stuff, I would really like a school that will bring out the best in him; he is a "good boy" who is more than capable and very consciencous but will try and get away with the minimum.

Given the above criteria, can anyone share any views on if we are headed in the right direction ? We are hoping to visit said schools shortly. I'm also conscious that some of these schools are boarding - as a non-border, would he be "left out " ??

Are we barking up the wrong trees ?

PS We are not restricted to location, as long as there is a route into London for work - then its fine.

OP posts:

RiversideMum · 24/02/2013 08:08

I agree with Bowlersarm - the OP hasn't said that her DS is academy standard, just that he wants a "football" school. I agree that other factors are much more important in choosing a school. If he is not going to board, then the best thing to do would be to find a good local team nearby to where you end up living. What tends to happen is that there are area leagues of various levels so he would be able to find a team that fits the standard of his play.

difficultpickle · 23/02/2013 20:12

He could have gone to ds's old school or dn's current school, both would have celebrated his achievements. Ds's current school probably does too but we haven't been there long enough to know.

Dn's prospectus mentions the various clubs the dcs play for. They have been very accommodating with dn missing lessons to attend training.

Talkinpeace · 23/02/2013 20:11

practicing penalty kicks

and DCs school covers the walls with kids who excel at sports - even ones that the school has nothing to do with like stock car racing :-)

Bowlersarm · 23/02/2013 20:10

Oh thank you talkin thought I was sounding unreal!

Bowlersarm · 23/02/2013 20:09

Clearly my DS should have gone to your DN's school! I have to say we were disappointed in their treatment of DS. He is a fab popular boy but because we didn't toe the line and put professional club over school club they were very unhappy with us. It makes me really cross actually as he himself tried hard all the time (exceptional at cricket too) but if you look at their prospectus he doesn't get a mention despite being the highest achiever at football . Bitter, me, no!

However I still maintain that if you are a notch or two below elite it would be a great place to go because they would try and improve you, and get you somewhere, then that would have been their achievement and the kudos would have been in finding someone for the club.

Where's the OP,by the way?

Talkinpeace · 23/02/2013 19:58

Bowlers
totally get what you are saying

company I worked for had a UK squad (ladies) footballer on the payroll and her schools had always been offish

my Uni friend wore his Olympic medal into lectures in the autumn term and STILL the tutors were ungracious : it made us laugh that they wanted the credit without the work ....

difficultpickle · 23/02/2013 19:55

Dn's school prospectus is full of the pupils' external sporting achievements.

Bowlersarm · 23/02/2013 19:47

I'm nervous to say too much because i love the anonymity of MN so don't want to out myself! However our experience of DS being an elite footballer was at total odds to what the school wanted. Having been signed with the club before he went to the school our loyalty lay with the club rather then the school, and it didn't go down well when matches coincided.

In my opinion, what schools (or at least the private school we were at) want is a talented child who they are able to 'bring on' in the particular sport they excel, and therefore then take the credit

difficultpickle · 23/02/2013 19:39

Bowlers no not at all. I'd be disappointed if I were you that your ds's school is not more supportive of your ds's sporting commitments.

Dn puts his external sporting commitments above his school ones and even though he is the school's star player they are happy with that. They understand that he has the opportunity to make a career from something he loves and hopefully get to play for England.

Talkinpeace · 23/02/2013 19:34

agreed
schools are great at taking the credit for work done outside the school day

Uni friend even got grief for missing lectures to go to Olympic training camp.

Bowlersarm · 23/02/2013 19:33

Hmmmm are you suggesting I am being untruthful bisjo?

difficultpickle · 23/02/2013 19:31

None of the elite athletes I know were 'discovered' by their school sporting depts.

difficultpickle · 23/02/2013 19:30

At ds's old school they had dcs who were elite athletes and the school was very good about them taking time out of their studies to meet their sporting commitments. Dn's school is good too and that is a state school. Ime the schools like the prestige of their name being linked to sporting achievements.

Bowlersarm · 23/02/2013 19:23

I can pm the OP if she would like. However I keep rereading her post and it doesn't say she wants him to be a professional footballer just that he would like to play football at school.

I don't think it is a question of being valuable talkinpeace. The boy I am talking about did get a one year professional contact at 18 which I believe has then since been extended. A lot of private schools have exceptional coaches who have the ear of a lot of scouts, and can get the trials with the professional clubs.

In my DS's case it was a bit of a PITA as club football conflicted with school football as he was signed at a much younger age. The schools would love to 'discover' a footballer, or any other sport, talent and are in a position to help them on in the future. Well IMO!!

Talkinpeace · 23/02/2013 19:15

odd that they signed him at 18 : clubs normally aim for much younger than that so that the kids are locked in until they become valuable.

difficultpickle · 23/02/2013 19:15

Maybe you should PM the name of the school to the OP so they can do the same.

Bowlersarm · 23/02/2013 19:12

That the school, being a football school, got another boy into a professional club!

difficultpickle · 23/02/2013 19:11

Then Bowlersarm I'm not sure what your point is

Talkinpeace · 23/02/2013 19:08

as I said on the Netball thread ....
a Uni friend who has two Olympic medals was sent to a school that left them free to do the sport in their own time, not a sport school.

Bowlersarm · 23/02/2013 19:07

Bisjo He was already signed to a club when he joined the school

difficultpickle · 23/02/2013 19:03

There are always exceptions but I'd be surprised if that is more usual than going via local clubs. I know several boys contracted at different clubs and all did it through their local clubs (different areas of the country too) rather than their state/private schools.

If your ds plays football at a high level what have you said to the school about them failing to contact league clubs to see him?

Ladymuck · 23/02/2013 19:01

Precisely. Which is why there is no reason for the op to limit her school choices to the 4 named in her op just because the GSG list them as being good for football.

Choosing a school from overseas is a difficult task. What strikes me is that the OP has named 2 boys only day schools with main admissions at 11+, a co-ed boarding school, and a 50:50 mixed day and boarding co-ed school. I would suggest that for any child the choice of single-sex v co-ed, or day v boarding is far more important than the prominence given to football (to say nothing of the suburban v more rural locations), and I would start with those aspects, include consideration of what size of school might suit (Whitgift is twice the size of Ardingly for example), and only look at football fixtures as a tie-break. I really wouldn't view football performance as a big thing, as any sporty school will have boys playing football - ds plays football daily at his "rugby" school even though it is now the hockey term!

Bowlersarm · 23/02/2013 18:59

Disagree bisjo. My DS plays football to a high level, although despite not because, he was at one of those schools. However, I know of one boy at his school who was looked at by a club because it was instigated by the school and went on to have a contract with them at 18.

difficultpickle · 23/02/2013 18:54

No school will play football at as high a level as an academy linked to a Premiership football team, hence my suggestion up thread. There is absolutely nothing to be gained by going to a 'good football school' if it is the OP's intention for her ds to play football to a high level. Ds's old school is very sporty but the boys who got picked up by Chelsea did so via their local clubs not school.

Bowlersarm · 23/02/2013 18:14

Yes but the OP hasn't said she wants her son to be a professional footballer has she? Just that she wants her son to go to a school which is primarily thought of as a football school so that he can play football to a high level?

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