Southend United Community & Educational Trust Head of Education, Andy Edmunds has provided an update on how the Autumn term is progressing for our Post 16 Football & Education Programme.
The first half of the Autumn term for the Post 16 Education programmes have gone extremely well, with a high number of student enrolments from young people in the local area. We currently have 89 learners enrolled on our BTEC Level 2 and Level 3 BTEC programmes (all U19 provision). The start of the academic year saw a new structure to the Education team with Alex Clark (ex-academy player) being promoted from Community coach to Head of Coaching / Education tutor, through his hard work and commitment to the trust. Alongside the re-structure, John White (former club captain for the Shrimpers) joined the trust as Community Officer / College Manager. Furthermore, to assist both Alex and John, Luke Reeve (former Academy scholar) has been recruited as Community Coach and College Manager, who all bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the department.
Our programmes offer different education and football pathways where alongside their college experience, we provide a professional football provision, with players being placed in appropriate squads. The teams have their own enrichment programme which consists of training, strength and conditioning sessions, VEO analysis workshops, opportunities to play against our u19 academy players and educational trips / friendlies against other teams across the country. Our home pitch is Garon Park Astroturf, and we play showcase matches at Southend United Football Stadium.
On the pitch, football results have been good, and the students are developing in the short amount of time they have been together. Our teams compete in the EFL Community & Education Football Alliance League and enjoy playing against the likes of Norwich, Brentford, Fulham, Chelsea and Watford, who are some of the teams in our region.
For the last 6/7 weeks, it has been extremely busy where I have been visiting secondary schools and careers events to raise awareness, network and promote our September 2024 education provision.
This is important where we provide current year 10, 11, 12 and 13 students with the exciting opportunities available for them within further education and higher education, here at Southend United Community & Educational Trust.
We also hosted our first successful ‘Open evening’ during October half term, showcasing our exciting opportunities with a practical session for students and education presentation for parents. Applications are now open for September 2024 and if you wish to find out more information or apply for the 2024/25 academic year, please visit our website www.sufccommunityco.uk or contact me on 07538 350 457 / a.edmunds@southendunited-cet.co.uk.
I would like to finish by thanking my staff for all their hard work over the last few weeks. They have helped generate a positive learning environment for our current and new students, to enjoy their football and reach their full potential. I would also like to thank colleagues within Southend United Community & Educational Trust, my CEO Dale Spiby, Southend United Football Club, our trustees and partner education providers, who continue to work tirelessly behind the scenes, to make a positive experience for our students and people within the local community.
Andy Edmunds
Head of Education