After the most successful intake to date, last week saw the return of our Blackpool FC Sports College as we welcomed 70 students to Bloomfield Road following many months away from face to face education due to the national lockdown.
The first week gave the students the opportunity to safely return to college and take part in our NCS college induction week, during which they had the opportunity to get to know the new tutors and new students through a variety of opportunities and activities.
On the first day back, the students got the opportunity to take part in ice breaker activities, let us know what they would like to achieve while studying and tell us what would make their college experience the best it could be. After such a long time away from education the staff team felt it was important to make sure that the students got the chance to have their say.
Activities continued throughout the week including an opportunity to play football at AFC Blackpool, take part in a socially distanced sports tournament, and the opportunity to venture into the local community around the stadium.
We also made sure that the students felt prepared for their return to education by delivering a mental health and resilience workshop. This workshop focused on the students identifying coping strategies to help them deal with life at college and at home, as well as the affects of social media on mental health.
No return to Blackpool FC Sports College would be complete without the unique opportunity to receive their exclusive Blackpool FC Puma Kit and to meet the Blackpool FC Head Coach Neil Critchley. The students got the chance to ask the him some questions about his journey into professional football management and gain some great tips and advice for their future careers in sport. One student even managed to book himself his work experience with the first team shadowing Neil himself!
Our students will be continuing their NCS journey in the coming weeks where they will undertake their social action project. Our students want to give back to AFC Blackpool who kindly let us use their pitch for our home games. They are looking to paint the fences, make the pathways more presentable and help cutting the grass.
We would like to welcome all our students to our college and wish them all the success in the future.
Caroline Bailey, Further & Higher Education Manager, said: “It has been a great week welcoming the new students to Blackpool FC Sports College and of course welcoming back our returning students too. We have lots of opportunities available for the students to take part in alongside their studies and in week one they have already met the Head Coach for Blackpool FC and received their free Blackpool FC Puma kits. Let’s see what else this year holds”.
If you would like to learn more about our education and NCS opportunities, please contact the office on 01253 348691.
