Hazlehead’s football pupils excel on and off the pitch

07 September 2017

Pupils in the Scottish FA JD Performance School at Hazlehead Academy are proving to be as a big a hit in the classroom as on the pitch it was announced today (Thursday 7 September).

The twelve S4 and nine S5 footballing pupils have achieved fantastic exam results, amassing an impressive haul of 14 National 4, 47 National 5 and 32 Higher awards.

Among the highlights were a fabulous five straight A’s at National 5 for S4 pupil Shaun Spence and an equally perfect five A’s at Higher level for Jack McKenzie. Jack’s top marks were among the 11 A awards at Higher grade for the S5 SFA pupils. A further 13 Higher grade B marks contributed to the glittering haul.

The pupils, 7 of whom signed full time contracts with Aberdeen FC, and one with Wolverhampton Wanderers, also got top marks for their attendance record of over 96%.

Councillor Tauqeer Malik said: “We are justly proud of Hazlehead Academy being a regional Scottish FA JD Performance School and absolutely delighted with the pupils’ results. I would just like to congratulate them all on their hard work and dedication in balancing their academic and sporting activities so successfully.

“The success of our performance school pupils is also a tribute to the excellent teaching staff at Hazlehead and to Stuart Glennie, the Regional Elite Performance Coach at the school.”

Gayle Gorman, Director of Education and Children’s Services, said: “This is a fantastic set of results and clearly the performance school pupils have not taken their eye of the ball when it comes to their studies!

“The pupils have integrated really well with their peers and have studied as hard as everyone else to achieve these results. These will stand them in good stead in later life and will increase their options once their playing days are over. Well done to everyone involved”

Stuart Glennie said: ”The exam results highlight that individual pupils can be successful in both football and Education if they are prepared put in the desired effort both on and off the pitch. There is no secret formula for either, it is simply hardwork and effort.

“They should be really proud of their achievements and I am confident they will all to go on to have successful careers, whether that be in football or in any other field.

“I would like to congratulate the students and all the staff at the school on these fantastic results.”

The Scottish FA JD Performance Schools are an integral part of the Scottish FA's Performance Strategy where the best young players in Scotland marry their football education with their normal curriculum from between the ages of 12 and 16.

Each school has a full-time coach that works in conjunction with the clubs and school to enhance the players’ technical skills at a key stage of their development and support the academic potential of the players.

Every year, each school takes in a number of the most talented under-12 players in their region – both boys and girls – and provides extra coaching sessions during the curriculum focusing on skills development.

The seven schools, and their coaches, are:

Braidhurst High School (Motherwell) – Andrew Goldie

Broughton High School (Edinburgh) – Greg Miller

Graeme High School (Falkirk) – Ian Ross

Grange Academy (Kilmarnock) – James Grady

Hazlehead Academy (Aberdeen) – Stuart Glennie

Holyrood Secondary School (Glasgow) – Joe McBride

St John’s High School (Dundee) – Iain Jenkins