Sports Academy
Stopsley Sports Academy is a first for the sporting landscape in primary education. As a successful school with sport, we are proud to be able to spearhead an ambitious, innovative programme which is aligned with the values of our school community.
Our Sports Academy aims to create life-changing opportunities for our children. We give our children high-quality coaching, structured pathways for talent development and exposure to performance environments that usually only secondary schools or external clubs can offer. We aim to make Stopsley a goldmine of sporting excellence. We want to establish Luton (and Stopsley) as a place where talent is discovered, nurtured and celebrated. We aim to raise the bar for primary sport and complement the outstanding academic and pastoral provision that is already in place here. The right conditions can transform local children into world-class performers. This is what our Sports Academy is about. It is an environment where our children can thrive, not because they are born exceptional, but because they are given exceptional support.
Sport is good for our fitness, mental health and well-being. Many of our children experience a lot of success in sport both in school and out and we know that lots of children love playing sport and want to do it at a high level. Sport can link our community together and we want to give our children a real opportunity that they would not get if they went to school elsewhere.
A place in our Sports Academy includes access to expert coaching, individualised support, enriched competition experiences, leadership and mentoring opportunities and a supportive culture that helps children aim high. We work closely with families, local clubs and community partners to ensure our young athletes have every chance to succeed – not just during their time at primary school but far beyond.
Year one (2025-2026) - Football
Sports Academy Lead
Mr Chart is our Sports Academy Lead and also delivers our football curriculum and coaching. He holds a UEFA A License and has coached at several professional football clubs, such as Northampton Town and MK Dons. He is a fully qualified teacher who is passionate about all sport, particularly football. Mr Chart is the current Lead of all of the coaches at London Lions FC in Borehamwood. You can contact Mr Chart via our Sports Academy email address:
sportsacademy@stopsley.primaryluton.co.uk
Getting a place in our Sports Academy
The Academy starts every September.
Any children in Years 4, 5 and 6 can register their interest for a place in our Sports Academy. The form to do this opens each summer so that planning can be done for the year ahead. The form for 2025-2026 closed on Friday 4th July. Using the form, parents tell us about their child’s interest and ability in the sport being provided (currently football). We use teacher assessment to help select the appropriate children so it is important that children who are from 'out of catchment' get a place in our main school first if they wish to be considered. We usually have space in Years 4-6 as we try not to cap our cohort number at 60. We hold trials in July, which we compare to the form and assessments, and this makes sure that everyone has a fair chance of getting in. Places in our Academy are fluid, meaning changes can be made during the year. Anyone who does not get in at first will always be placed on our waiting list so they may be offered a place at a later date.
Our curriculum and values
Children receive over three hours of our specialist curriculum every week. Most of our football curriculum is practical and involves regular coaching sessions that take place before school, after school and during lunchtimes. Some of our football lessons take place during the school day but they do not impact on other school lessons. Children in our Academy are taught our football curriculum alongside the National Curriculum. Our curriculum is progressive, well-sequenced and teaches every aspect of football - from playing to game management; from tactics to nutrition; from formations to exercise. To see a copy of our football curriculum, please visit the curriculum page of our website here.
Our Sports Academy goes beyond medals and matches. We are committed to holistic development and see this as being almost more important. We don't just aim to produce better athletes but better people.
Our logo is called the 'Stopsley 6' and this is because our curriculum revolves around our six key values. These can be seen above. Every lesson teaches the children about at least one of our values. Children in our Sports Academy are expected to model and believe in these values throughout their time in our Sports Academy. The values are not shown on our Sports Academy training kit (which is provided for families) but our Stopsley 6 logo is.
Looking ahead
We know that success takes time to achieve so we have to get football right first. We aim to offer further sports in the future and our second sport will be netball. If our Sports Academy proves to be a success over the years and the school can manage financially, we also hope to introduce further sports as we go along.
Stopsley Sports Academy is about more than just sport. It is about equity and it is about belief. It is about opening doors where none have existed before. Most importantly, it is about unlocking the potential that lies within every child who walks through our school gates...
Information for Parents
Please click on the picture below to download or view a copy of our information sheet for '25-'26 for parents. You can also read our Admissions policy by clicking on this at the bottom of this page. This is a provisional policy at the moment which still has to be ratified by our Governing Board. The policy demonstrates our plans for admissions moving forwards. You may also be interested to visit our link page with Luton Town FC as we are a fully pledged partner with them and have appeared several times now on TV with Luton Town players at our school.
