Doncaster College are once again Doncaster Rovers sole education providers for their 18 full-time scholars. They attend the excellent facilities at The Hub on a Monday afternoon and all day Wednesday to study for the Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence which comprises of the BTEC Subsidiary/Extended Diploma and the NVQ Level 3. Successful students can advance to University in England or abroad if they so wish and achieve the highest grades.
The qualification is of great benefit not only for those who are not offered a professional contract but to those who want to build on their academic qualifications later in or after their career as a player is at an end. The modules studied at college also helps the scholars make sense of what they do practically at the club on a day to day basis, such as the Nutrition, Physiology and Psychology modules and helps them to better understand what is required to become a modern day professional footballer. Four of last year’s cohort were successful in gaining full-time professional contracts.
Again the latest set of results achieved by last year’s cohort are comparable nationally, in terms of added value, to all of the other English Football League clubs. We again congratulate the boys on their academic success which is of great credit to the scholars themselves but also of great credit to the work done by Doncaster College. This year’s results are also expected to be excellent in terms of added value, most of the students studying for the extended diploma. John Heaton, their tutor at Doncaster College, is working hard to ensure that the scholars are achieving either in line with or beyond their target grades.
All at the club, including the First team manager, help provide a support mechanism to help the scholars become the best person they can be. The professional players at the club also provide support for the scholars and act as excellent role models, some have also acted as mentors for the younger players.
Education at Doncaster Rovers is seen as a very important aspect of a player’s development. From Under 9 upwards we monitor the education standards of our Academy players and continue to track their academic progress from that point onwards. The Youth team coaches, Paul Stancliffe, John Schofield and Paul Driver along with The Academy Manager Kieran Scarff, also emphasise the importance of education to the scholars on a daily basis.
The scholars benefit not only from all the advantages associated with being a student at the college but also from having John Heaton as their tutor. John can empathise with the scholars because of his own background being involved in professional sport for a number of years. John also still competes in sport at a high level and knows what it takes to be the best.
Article provided by Tony Morton Head of Education Doncaster Rovers.
