The British School of Brussels (BSB) are delighted to announce that West Ham United Foundation and the International Soccer Academy will become official partners. Building on BSB’s already extensive and hugely successful enrichment programme for its students, the partnership means that the school will be the only international school in Europe to have an official premiership partner with full-time professional coaches employed on site.
West Ham United Foundation have Premier League men’s and women’s’ teams and the women’s team recently reached the FA cup final.
Appointed coach is Andrew Hill – a West Ham Academy coach who is UEFA qualified and previously worked at the FA. Football is to become a year-round sport at BSB as well as students having access to West Ham United Summer and Easter camps to be run on site. Coach education clinics will also be offered for those in the local community who wish to gain football qualifications through the Club. As well as guest speakers visiting the school, talent ID pathways for BSB players could also be recommended to West Ham United.
Mid-season tournaments will be hosted by West Ham United Foundation, and students will also have access to stadium tours and match day tickets.
Pete Dutton, the Director of The International Soccer Academy and former West Ham United player said: “Although we have worked with many schools we have never had a formal partner and placed one of our representatives in a school. BSB felt like a great fit for the club – we pride ourselves on our integrity, developmental pathways and family culture. Football is a sport that brings international communities together and if ever there was a school that clearly demonstrates this then that is BSB.”
Tristian Cook, Head of BSB’s Sport and Enrichment Faculty added: “Since my arrival in 2017 students and parents have consistently asked for football to become a year round sport. We knew that if we were to do this we wanted it to be a really special platform, something that no other school has. After liasing with a number of premiership clubs, the ‘West Ham Way’ became the philosophy that mirrored what we do at BSB. It has been months of planning and it feels great to finally have everything in place for the academic year 2019-20 and I cannot wait to see how this develops and improves our provision.”