The Liverpool Echo reports on the launch of our Everton Football Academy:

A Wirral school has become the first in the borough to launch an Everton Football Academy.

Wallasey secondary The Mosslands has partnered with Everton Free School to create the institution.

From September it will launch a yearly opportunity for 20 students aged 16 to 18 to complete an innovative two year course which mixes football coaching and study.

The Everton BTEC, which is the equivalent of three A-Levels, covers a range of different subjects including coaching, physiology, sociology, nutrition and performance analysis.

In addition, participants are able to gain FA coaching and first aid qualifications.

The new partnership follows successful Liverpool academies established at Childwall Sports and Science Academy and Woolton secondary St Julie’s – with Huyton Arts Centre for Learning also set to join the football academy team in September.

Confirming the new venture officials at The Mosslands said students will be taught by qualified coaches and teachers from Everton Free School, with the curriculum a mix of classroom based and active sports lessons.

 And today Adrian Whiteley, headteacher at The Mosslands School, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for young adults who would like to go into a career in sports – whether it be coaching, development or sports science.

“The Diploma gives students a strong base to go directly into employment or to continue their studies at university and other further education institutions.”

Students, who have managed five GCSEs at C or above can apply and they will be interviewed by staff from the Everton Free School run by Everton in the Community, Everton FC’s charity.

The free school is based in Liverpool Community College’s Learning Exchange on Roscoe Street, but students also accesses sporting facilities at the Toxteth Fire Fit Hub.

Students signing up to the academy at The Mosslands will mainly study and use sports facilities at its Wirral base,  but others sessions will be in Toxteth.

James Croxton, head of education for Everton in the Community said the expansion into Wirral and Knowsley would “cater for the growing demand for the qualification, which boasts a 100% pass rate and has acted as a springboard for students to further their careers in sport via an alternative approach to learning.”Please enter some content for your news story here