FCV International Football Academy has provided a greater insight into what life will be like at Grace Dieu for students in the upcoming season.

Work is already under way to ensure FCV Academy can welcome a new cohort of full-time students this coming Autumn - with further expansion to follow subject to planning permission.

The building is the former Grace Dieu Manor School in Thringstone which had to close two years ago because it could not guarantee its financial future - saying at the time it had to make a 'difficult decision'.

The first developments for the Grace Dieu estate will include four football pitches – two of which will be full-size 4G fields – and three new accommodation blocks, as well as a two-storey gym that will allow players to train in accordance with their own fitness programme.

The Manor House itself will predominantly be used as offices, chill-out spaces, and classrooms where new education partner SCL Education and FCV Academy's academic staff will provide a programme that includes NCFE qualifications such as the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport and Physical Activity.

SCL Education uses sports-centred learning to provide academic opportunities for thousands of aspiring sports people each year, working from more than 70 education centres in a variety of sports up and down the country.

Students will spend time in both theory (classroom-based) and practical settings, as well as through face-to-face and digital learning, so they develop workplace skills.

Being able to announce our first improvements to our new home is a stage we have been looking forward to since we became owners of the Grace Dieu estate

Out on the field, meanwhile, FCV Academy's first team, FCV Grace Dieu, will compete in the English Colleges Football Association's Premier League.

It is a nationwide competition split into groups based on location and provides a high-level platform for students aged 16 to 19 years old to compete. FCV Grace Dieu will compete from September 2022 in Group Three, which includes teams from the north-east of England, and north Wales.

The Premier League is the highest level of ECFA competition and continues the theme of providing FCV Academy students with the best platforms to succeed following their time at Grace Dieu.

Graham Starmer, FCV Academy Managing Director, said: "Being able to announce our first improvements to our new home is a stage we have been looking forward to since we became owners of the Grace Dieu estate.

"Having enjoyed several meetings discussing how best to use the space we have acquired; we are excited to progress towards students being able to use them in the coming months.

"There is still work to be done, but day by day Grace Dieu is becoming more and more like the home that we envisaged it would be for students and staff as a go-to place for football education in the Midlands."

Competing in the Premier League is going to be a challenging and rewarding experience for our FCV Academy students

Lewis Glover, FCV Academy Head of Education, said: "We are using sport, particularly football, as a vehicle to unlock potential and find positive destinations within the sports industry for our young people.

"The educational experiences we provide are designed to achieve so much more than just an academic award. Learners gain new skills and achieve a qualification that will set them on a career pathway in an industry they are passionate about."

Grant Brown, FCV Academy Head Coach, added: "Competing in the Premier League is going to be a challenging and rewarding experience for our FCV Academy students.

"To be welcomed into a higher-sanctioned division is a testament to the progress FCV Academy is making on and off the field, and we are looking forward to getting the season under way in September."