Category : News & Events

Well done to BTEC Level 3 student, Rhys Turner who performed brilliantly at the European Taekwondo Championships in Belgium, narrowly missing out in the competition’s latter stages.

To mark National Careers Week, we honoured the former Sports College learners who are currently working within Club Doncaster. Club Doncaster Sports College pride themselves on finding meaningful progressions into the sports industry for learners and over the years, hundreds have settled in careers in sport.

Currently, we have a squad of former learners, making a difference in the Foundation, at the Rovers, with the Belles and The Dons.

Here is our lineup for #NationalCareersWeek 2024.

Sitting down with Matthew Thompson, 6 months after starting his apprenticeship, you can see straight away how his confidence has progressed.

After applying for the role of ‘Apprentice Coach’ within the Foundation, Matty has spent time with a range of delivery staff at numerous sessions, getting to experience the role of a community coach while coaching a variety of participants.

Matty first came in the know of the apprenticeship programme within the Foundation, following his time with the Club Doncaster Sports College. He spent 2 years with the Sports College, studying BTEC level 3 extended diploma in sports, where he gained knowledge within coaching through modules within his course and on an international level, during the 2 week European Sports Tour to Holland, where he coached and refereed with mini soccer schools.

The apprenticeship programme gives those who want a career in coaching, to gain valuable experience in coaching within local partner schools and community sessions, all while completing their Level 2 Community Activator qualification.

Speaking of why he decided to apply for the apprenticeship, he said: “I started enjoying coaching while I was at the Sports College and I heard about the apprenticeship through the tutors, which made me think it might be something I’d be interested in.

“I did a couple of voluntary days on the pitch when they had school and Premier League Kicks tournaments, which I really enjoyed, so I thought the apprenticeship was a natural move for me.

“Multiple people recommended me apply and I’m glad I did. I’m loving it so far.

“I learnt and improved many skills in the past few months, but the one I’ve seen the biggest improvement on is my confidence. In delivering sessions, being able to engage with participants of different ages.

“The sessions I’ve delivered on have been a variety of ages, abilities and have challenged me, which is helping me massively.

“This has showed me that it’s definitely what I want to do and progress further with.”

Numerous staff members and lecturers from the Sport College praised Matty as a student during his time on his course.

Emma Harrison, assistant principal (head of FE & quality) at the Sports College worked regularly with Matty: “He was a fantastic learner during his time at college.

“We saw great progression over his time on the BTEC level 3 extended diploma in sport, and he excelled in the practical units including sports coaching, showcasing his fantastic leadership skills.

“We’re glad to see him doing so well on his apprenticeship with the Foundation.”

Mason Fairclough, who heads up the schools department has also seen the positive impact the apprenticeship has had on Matty in just six months: “I first met Matty through our Future Coaches programme, which we ran in late 2022 whilst he was still at our Sports College.

“He had raised his interest early on, while completing the course, about joining our team, because he had prior coaching experience through the College’s trip to Utrecht and with his college course.

“After helping volunteer on many projects and impressing in his interview, Matty was offered an apprenticeship with The Foundation, where he has gone from strength to strength and has especially impressed in his work with our SEND groups.”

Interested in an apprenticeship at the Foundation or want to find out more information? Contact mason.fairclough@clubdoncasterfoundation.co.uk

Participants from the Foundation have joined hundreds of young people for a special Premier League Youth Summit today, as part of the Premier League’s commitment to supporting youth voice.

Delivered via the Premier League Charitable Fund, through the national Premier League Kicks and Premier League Inspires programmes, the event see’s 16-to-18-year-olds from 39 professional football club community organisations come together to share their views on the issues that are affecting them and their communities.

Held at Burton Albion Football Club, the in-person summit, presented by DJ Kennedy Taylor, will encourage young people to engage in discussions around gender equality, anti-racism, LGBTQ+ issues, environmental sustainability and career pathways.

With the theme of Empowering Future Leaders, participants have the opportunity to hear from inspirational young people, including Sky Sports News reporter, Fadumo Olow, and former FA Youth Panel Chair, Nayim Ahmed, alongside interactive workshops and sessions devised to support the development of key employability and leadership skills.

Premier League Charitable Fund Chief Executive, Ruth Shaw OBE, said: “Children and young people are at the heart of our work and the purpose of the Premier League Charitable Fund. We believe in the power of youth to drive positive change, and we use the appeal of the Premier League and professional football to create platforms like the Premier League Youth Summit. This day is about giving young people the chance to thrive with the support of trusted and skilled adults. I’m excited to hear directly from young people about the issues affecting them, and how football can play a positive role in their schools, clubs and communities.”

2 young people, Owen and Emily, from the Foundation’s Premier League Kicks activity took part in this year’s Premier League Youth Summit.

Mark Cooper, Sport Development Officer spoke about the duo attending the event: “Owen and Emily have already volunteered on sessions and tournaments delivered by the Foundation, so we thought it was fitting for them both to attend the event to represent us.

“The Youth Summit Event will develop them as young leaders by taking part in workshops, discussions and activities, allowing them to have their say in shaping the programme and the communities future.”

Premier League Director of Community, Nick Perchard, said: “The Premier League is committed to promoting equality and giving young people from all backgrounds the opportunity to have their say. Football is more than a game and events such as the Premier

League Youth Summit offer young people the chance to come together to discuss the topics that matter to them, to help shape their communities.

“It is vital that we continue to support and empower young people from every part of the community to tell us how the Premier League can best support them with the challenges they face in their everyday lives.”

The Premier League Youth Summit began in season 2020/21, with the aim of involving and supporting young people in positive conversation, while empowering them to tackle issues that affect their communities. More than 1000 young people have contributed to the discussions to date.

Students from the Club Doncaster Sports College student council, have been coming up with a way of giving back to the local community this year.

After discussing ideas of what they could do to help those in need, this Christmas, they settled on creating small gift hampers for people during the festive season.

They were helped along the way with their idea, by Doncaster Rovers’ first team players, Jack Degruchy and Ben Close, who attended the Christmas wrapping afternoon at the Eco-Power Stadium earlier this month.

With festive songs playing in the background, Close and Degruchy, along with students and staff, worked together to sort out the items that had been donated and collected, into groups. With an array of items from books, to shower gel and even items of clothing, the gifts were wrapped and piled up, ready to be delivered.

Following a post on social media, which gave those in the local community the chance to reach out, students settled on Dunelm’s delivery joy appeal and Benton House nursing home in Rossington to deliver the gifts to.

Students and staff stopped by Dunelm’s store on Wheatley Hall Road to drop off a big box of presents, before meeting up with both Close and Degruchy earlier this week, to hand deliver the gifts to residents at Benton House.

Both players and students spent time with the residents at the nursing home, having conversations with them and handing the presents to individuals and helping open them.

Catherine Berry, home manager at Benton House spoke of how the act of kindness will really help the residents this Christmas: “It really means a lot to everyone here. There’s a number of men here who have played a lot of football in their youth, so it’s been a positive for them and brought them back to life a little bit. There’s a buzz round here now.

“It’s special to have been chosen by the Sports College and Doncaster Rovers. There’s a lot of places and care homes within Doncaster, so to choose us, is special.

“It’s good that youngsters are recognising the older population and people that are in care might not actually get much of a Christmas, they might not have anybody. So to get a gift, it’s special to them, however big or small. We can’t thank them enough.”

Close spoke about how rewarding it was, handing out the gifts personally to residents on Tuesday: “It’s a time of year which is really positive and people are supposed to spending time with families and that’s not always the case for everyone.

“We’ve been told some of these won’t be getting a huge amount of family visiting them, so to come and spend some time here, put a smile on their faces with gifts, it’s really rewarding. While we’re here, we get to see the incredible work the staff do aswell.

“You can really see the positive reaction from them, it’s not something that they get every day.”

Close also shed a light on the initiative from the sports college students: “The students have been really thoughtful with this idea. For them to get all the items in themselves, wrap them and then deliver them is really thoughtful.

“We helped the students wrap the presents and thought it would be a great idea for myself and Jack to go along with them to see the gifts being handed out and the positive reaction from those in the nursing home. It was a special afternoon.”

Leader of the student council and Sports Lecturer for the sports college, Kyle Croft said: “The students expressed they wanted to help others this Christmas, so we decided upon Dunelm delivering joy appeal and Benton House nursing home to ensure their residents received a gift.

“It’s been fantastic to see the students response, donating so many items. The learners have really gained a lot from helping others over the festive period and we as staff couldn’t be prouder.”

The brand new, state-of-the-art University Campus Doncaster High Performance Centre, in partnership with Club Doncaster Sports College, officially opened it’s doors yesterday.

The launch event saw partners, elite sports teams and many other organisations in attendance, to hear about what the centre has to offer to local grassroots and elite sports clubs across Doncaster.

Based within the Eco-Power Stadium, the new facilities boasts a vast array of brand new specialist equipment, readily available, including Vald systems involving force plates, dynamos and speed gates, Normatech compression gear and ultrasound therapy, some of which isn’t always available to most sports clubs.

Programme Lead, Josh Wroot discussed how they decided on what equipment they needed: “We went to partners within the city of Doncaster, whether that be strength & conditioning coaches or physiotherapists, asking what equipment students needed to be aware of for when they graduate.

“All the equipment we’ve invested in is only possible with having the high performance centre.”

Those who visited on the day got to the chance to see live demo’s taking place on Doncaster Rovers’ first team players. Joseph Olowu, James Maxwell & Owen Bailey utilised the space for their post-game recovery with the Cryotherapy Game Ready, massages and Normatech compression gear.

Olowu spoke of how the facilities will help with the game load throughout the season: “There’s high quality equipment that they’ve got here. Equipment that myself and the other lads are familiar with. Everything you need is here.

“With the busy game schedule we’ve got coming up, back to back games, I think having this facility to come in and get a bit of recovery and get that extra 1% out of ourselves will go a long way and will be massively important for us.”

Rovers assistant manager, Cliff Byrne, also came along to the event, to see how the squad could benefit from the use of the centre: “It’s really exciting to get an insight to see what goes on here at the centre and the learning environment for the students and really how we could utilise the whole space.

“It’s got everything that we would need. In terms of preparation and maintenance and recovery of our players and it’s right on our doorstep.”

The partnership between the Sports College and University Campus Doncaster will allow pathways for students looking to study degrees in sport.

Speaking of the partnership, principal of the Sports College, Adi Turnpenny said: “It was a great event to launch the High Performance Centre yesterday and it is a further sign of the fantastic partnership between Club Doncaster Sports College and DNGroup.

“The Centre will be a real asset to our students who will work with the Doncaster sporting community at all levels as part of their degree programmes.

“Studying here at the Eco-Power stadium allows our students to learn in a ‘live sporting environment’ that can only benefit their educational experience.”

Members of the public are able to access a variety of treatments throughout the week, to further enable students to gain valuable work experience as a strength and conditioning coach or a physio.

Wroot said: “We want to be there for every sport team in Doncaster. Whether that’s our elite teams, or our grassroots teams. We want every team in Doncaster to access and use this centre.”

Contact josh.wroot@don.ac.uk or 07730731149 to find out about the degree courses available and treatments available to book.

You can also sign up to the next open evening, taking place on the 23rd November: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/755489227617?aff=oddtdtcreator

Club Doncaster Sports College staff were in attendance as Doncaster Rovers beat Everton U21s 2:0 on 19/09/23 in the Football League Trophy. At the heart of Rovers’ excellent performance was an assured performance from former Sports College student, Bobby Faulkner, who was awarded the Man Of The Match on the evening.

Assistant Principal, Ben Thompson said, ‘We’re very proud, once again, to support and sponsor our former student of the Sports College, Bobby Faulkner, as he continues his career in professional football’.

‘We’re delighted to see Bobby becoming such a fan favourite, he’s an honest, hard working lad and his performance last night epitomised his attitude and application.’

We are excited to announce that applications for 2024/25 are open. Year 11’s can apply online via the Sports College website: clubdoncastersportscollege.co.uk/apply

It’s not every day you get asked if you want to apply for a place on a fully funded Sports Tour as a 16-18 year old! That’s exactly what happened to the Club Doncaster Sports College students earlier this year!

A trip that is a welcomed sight in the Sports College diary each year, more so after the cancellation of a handful of trips during Covid, students were given the opportunity to fill in an application form to be a part of the highly anticipated, two week European Sports Tour to Utrecht, Holland.

After a bumpy start to the trip, with long delays on the motorway, and a mad dash through security to their airport gate, 25 students took to the sky, from Gatwick Airport, before touching down at a sunny Schiphol airport.

Students experienced a range of sporting activities within the two weeks in Utrecht.

Following a number of days of training, students were given the opportunity to play against some of the local teams. The men’s team played in two fixtures during the second week of their tour, scoring an impressive 10 goals between them. The ladies team got on the scoresheet too with a fantastic worked team goal within the first half of their game, but unfortunately succumbed to the talent they faced.

They also took in some local sports in their downtime, with paddleball and bowling at a local centre close to the base camp.

Within their time in Utrecht, students also developed their coaching and officiating, with the unique experience of working with mini soccer teams, with children as young as 5 years old. They were required to use non-verbal communication along with the Dutch they had picked up prior to the trip, to help with training sessions and also refereeing mini soccer games.

Staff and students were also invited to visit Utrecht’s Sports College, a similar set up to our very own Sports College, which was situated at the stadium and boasted magnificent facilities, from a well equipped gym, to numerous sports halls, a swimming pool alongside many classrooms and study areas, with interactive mental and physical activities within the college.

Not only did they get to play their own fixtures, they experienced games from local professional teams too. A specific highlight being the FC Utrecht vs FC Twente fixture, where they cheered on the home side to a crucial 1:0 win.

The group were treated to a behind the scenes tour of the Utrecht stadium itself a few days later, getting to view the stadium and many of its VIP assets, including the hospitality sections, press areas and home and away changing rooms and have pitch side photographs too.

Students and staff rounded off their sports tour with a smaller local football game between Jong Utrecht vs Jong Ajax, just a stones throw away from the FC Utrecht stadium itself.

Matty Thompson, one of the students who took part in the sports tour, spoke of his experience: “It was a fantastic experience and I’m glad I was given the opportunity to go.

“This was just one of the many incredible opportunities the Sports College provided for us.

“Being able to play football and coach in a different country and learn about the local culture, has helped me gain new skills and given me memories that will last for a lifetime.”

Ben Thompson, Deputy Principal, who headed up the planning and organising of the trip said: “As staff, we are delighted with the success of the European tour and the incredible memories and experiences it has created for our students.

“I would like to thank the Doncaster College International team, Linda and Liam for their support in sourcing and booking our travel and accommodation, with 25 students and 4 staff and the time scales we worked in, their support was invaluable.

“During our time in Utrecht, we experienced professional football matches, cultural trips, tried some amazing local cuisine and the learners had the opportunity to play matches against local sides in fantastic surroundings. Again, I’d like to thank Robin, Nico, Toby, Maurice, Arnold, Gerrit and John (and many others) for supporting us whilst we were in Utrecht.

“We’re looking forward to offering our students more opportunities like this.”

The European Sports Tour continues to offer the fantastic opportunities for students to broaden their horizons and explore new cultures and this trip was no exception.

Do you want to study at the heart of professional sport in Doncaster, and have the opportunity to be involved in trips like this? Applications for 2024/25 are now open! Year 11’s can apply online via our website.

Club Doncaster Sports College students are celebrating after achieving a 100% pass rate across all
sport qualifications for this past year.

107 students, aged 16-19, contributed to the results which capped another remarkable year for the
Sports College based at the Eco-Power Stadium.

Many of the level 3 BTEC graduates will continue their studies by progressing onto university with
the College, studying specialist sports degrees at the stadium run in partnership with University
Campus Doncaster.

All first-year level 2 students attained qualified Gym Instructor status and all second-year students
have become accredited Personal Trainers as part of their courses.

Principal, Adi Turnpenny said “We are absolutely delighted with the results which reward the hard
work of all the students.

“For us as a College, we have had another year of outstanding results, of which, our incredible staff
are extremely proud.

“Alongside their studies students have had some great experiences including 25 learners going to
Holland for two weeks as part of the ERASMUS + programme, volunteering at the Rugby League
World Cup, and playing on the pitch at the Eco-Power Stadium.

“I’d like to wish all graduates the best of luck in the future and we look forward to welcoming our
new students and those returning to us for a second year in September.”

Student Cetori Ward, who achieved D*D*D, said “I’ve absolutely loved my two years at the Sports
College, I’m so happy with my grades.

“The tutors have been really supportive and I’m so grateful for the great experiences I’ve had like
the Utrecht trip, girls football academy and visits to Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium.

“I can’t wait to start my degree with University Campus Doncaster and stay within the college
setting.”

Alongside all academic programmes, students have the opportunity to represent Doncaster Rovers
FC and Doncaster Rovers Belles FC in approved EFL Leagues, gain experiences with the Dons RLFC,
and enjoy a host of other sports.

The College has a waiting list for this September and applications are now open for September 2024.

To apply or find out more details about Club Doncaster Sports College, visit
www.clubdoncastersportscollege.co.uk or call 01302 764663.

Students and staff, dressed in their finest outfits, came together for the annual Sports College graduation evening last Friday at the Eco-Power Stadium, to celebrate another incredible academic year.

They celebrated the end of the 2022/23 academic year with a 2 course meal, a look back on the achievements from the year and concluded with an awards ceremony.

First up on the awards ceremony, were the awards for the player of the season within the academy teams. Nathan Bradley won the Development Squad Academy player of the season, with Harry Westron being named CDSC Mens Academy player of the season for the second team. 

Ruby Connell obtained the Women’s Academy player of the season, with Bailey Willard receiving the player of the season for the Men’s Academy first team.

Matthew Thompson won the biggest award of the night and new for the 2023 graduation, the Commitment to Excellence Award. 

Awards were also given out for student of the year for each form group and both English and Maths qualifications. Take a look at the list of winners below:

Student of the Year Awards

Year 12 Level 2 (Kyle’s Form) 

Denzil Mbano

Year 12 Level 2 (Craig/Dave’s Form)

McKenzie Christie

Year 13 Level 3 (Will’s Form)

Thomas Bell

English Qualifications

Tymoteusz Wypych

Mathematics Qualifications

Owen Pawson

Year 12 Level 3 (Courtney’s Form)

Emily Bell

Year 12 Level 3 (Emma’s Form)

Lexi McGrane

Year 12 Level 3 (Chaneice/Brad/Emily’s Form)

Louis Robson

Year 13 Level 3 (Ben/Nathan’s Form)

Ben Barton

Alongside the academic learning, students enjoyed a range of opportunities and initiatives throughout the year. From educational stadium tours at Manchester City, to inspirational talks from Doncaster Rovers players & a world champion boxer, residential trip and community social action with the Youth Engagement team and annual football events such as Varsity, Form Cup and Christmas Cup.

Not forgetting, the highly anticipated 2-week Erasmus+ Utrecht Sports Tour, which gave students the opportunity to play international friendlies, gain vital work experience coaching and officiating local Utrecht grassroots teams and get to experience and learn about the local culture within Holland. 

Awards were also collected on the night for Erasmus+ Tour Outstanding Performance for both women’s and men’s team. Emily Bell, who scored a fantastic solo goal during the tour, won the outstanding performance award for the women, with Ben Barton securing the outstanding performance award for the men, following his excellent leadership within the group. 

Sports College principal, Adi Turnpenny, spoke about the academic year, saying, “It’s been another brilliant year where the students have represented Club Doncaster Sports College fantastically well.

“Alongside working hard on their qualifications they have had some amazing experiences including a trip to Holland, talks from professional athletes, and work experience at the Rugby League World Cup.

“The Graduation has been a wonderful celebration of the year’s achievements.” 

Applications for the Sports College are now closed for the 2023/24 academic year, as they are now at full capacity. Applications for the 2024/25 academic year will be opening up later on this year. Keep an eye out on our social media channels for the announcement.

If you want to take a look at the courses that are on offer at the Sports College and take a look at the prospectus, you can visit www.clubdoncastersportscollege.co.uk!