The Centre of Sporting Excellence will provide high quality, technical education programmes from levels one to three for 16 to 19-year-olds in Preston and the surrounding areas.
Through the partnership, young people enrolling at the Centre of Sporting Excellence will have the opportunity to undertake a variety of work placements in a range of sporting disciplines, improving students’ academic attainment, developing their life skills and increasing their employment opportunities.
Students will represent both organisations by training and competing alongside their studies, whilst benefitting from the excellent facilities and experienced tutors at both Preston’s College and PNECET.
Head of Preston North End Community and Education Trust, Tom Drake said:
“Ultimately, more young people across Preston are going to have the opportunity to study as part of the Centre of Sporting Excellence programme. What’s really important is that we provide a platform for young people to have a career in sport. There are an abundance of work placement opportunities that young people can get involved in to support our staff in the Community and Education Trust, including match day experiences or the football industry as a whole, as well as generally supporting the staff at PNE.”
“I think we’ve got two really powerful brands in PNE and Preston’s College and now we can have a greater reach in combining our resources. We’re able to utilise the expertise and experience of tutors and staff at Preston’s College, as well as the excellent sports and training facilities, the 3G pitch and the gym. These will complement the exceptional provision that we have at PNECET, culminating in outstanding learning opportunities for the young people of Preston”
Preston North End Community and Education Trust has been a subcontractor of Preston’s College for three years, delivering ‘Diploma in Sport’ programmes for young people at Deepdale and across the club’s other facilities.
Preston’s College Vice Principal, Mick Noblett added:
“By working together, not only can we deliver outstanding curriculum with world class resources across both organisations, we can also give young people real exposure to work experience – including sports coaching, media, or the business elements of sport.”
“We’re building and designing a curriculum that will really engage people in learning through sport whilst preparing them for the next stages of their life, whether that be employment or progression to university. From a partnership perspective, our collective strengths as organisations can really help develop young people into being the professionals of the future, in whatever guise that might be.”
