Ten Yorkshire 16-year-olds have kicked off the current season with a place on Barnsley FC’s Shadow Scholarship programme, now in its second year of operation at the club.

The team’s Academy, which oversees the development of the club’s youth teams, is already recognised as providing an excellent training and education programme for young players, who leave either with a professional contract or the qualifications to go to university.

The new Shadow Scholarship programme, which is being supported by PFA Education through their Union Learning Fund project, extends the club’s learning and development offer to local youngsters by giving them the chance to train every day in a professional environment and study too. It’s aimed at nurturing the talent of late developers including former members of Barnsley’s own Academy and academies at other clubs in the area, by giving them a second chance at a career in professional football.

Participants can enrol on a BTEC National Diploma in Sport at Level 1, 2 or 3 or a foundation degree in football coaching that has been specifically written for such programmes by the English Football League (EFL) and the University of South Wales.

They also have access to:

• Barnsley FC’s sport and fitness facilities and programmes

• free physiotherapy

• sports psychology and lifestyle one-to-ones

• nutrition and anti-doping workshops and podcasts.

This story first appeared in the Autumn 2019 Learning Rep.