‘Work hard, play hard’ at Piggott academy
Wargrave pupils combine professional football training with sixth-form
Since launching its new Chelsea FC Foundation Girls Football Academy in September last year, The Piggott School in Wargrave has received a large number of applications from girls keen to combine professional football training with their academic studies in sixth form.
The academy is in its infancy, but 15 girls signed up for the school’s inaugural programme in September and 25 more have applied from across Berkshire to join the academy in 2021/22.
It’s a unique opportunity for the students to gain their A-level qualifications while benefiting from first-class professional football coaching.
The students are being coached by Simon Jackson who is the Berkshire, Middlesex and Buckinghamshire development officer for Chelsea FC Foundation as well as the u16s Chelsea Women’s Academy coach.
“We are seeing first-hand how the Girls’ Football Academy is enriching students’ academic studies, striking a healthy balance of ‘work hard, play hard’ by combining first class education with first class coaching,” said Amy Holloway, Marketing Communications for the Piggott School.
Like last year, 10 students from schools other than the Piggott School applied to take part in the programme.
Year 12 student Chiana Clark, one of the first students to join the academy, said: “I joined the football academy because I think it’s a really good way to develop your skills and do it while studying. The coaches are really engaging and want to know how you’re going with your studies, they really put your studies first.”
The aim of the collaborative programme between the school and Chelsea FC Foundation is to inspire more female footballers to reach their full potential, both academically as well as in the game.
As part of the programme the students also play competitively in league and cup football and take regular trips to the Chelsea FC training ground in Cobham.
They also have the chance to watch u23s matches and take part in tournaments against other football academies.
Daisy Mifflin is studying A-level biology, PE and a CTEC in health and social care alongside her academy commitments.
“The football gives me a chance to get out of the classroom and do some extra training,” she said.
“It’s really good because we’ve got professional coaches and it’s really helped me to improve my game.”
Head of the academy, Andy Freeman, is thrilled to see take up for the academy rise from 15 to 25 in the second year of the programme.
He said: “Following the success of our Coaching Academy and the rapid growth in women’s football in the UK, we are encouraged by the number of girls applying to the Football Academy in its second year.
“We want to see more girls participating in football so ideally we would like to see that number grow over the coming years, but this is a great starting line-up.”
The Piggott School is one of 16 Chelsea FC Foundation Academies around the country. Contact the school on freemana@piggottschool.org or visit www.piggottschool.org for details.