Connell Co-op College is a

Sixth Form College A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...

in the Beswick Hub development,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Run by the Co-op Academies Trust and formerly the Bright Futures Educational Trust (BFET) the college is located on the

Etihad Campus Etihad Campus is an area of Sportcity, Manchester which is mostly owned and operated by Manchester City Football Club. The campus includes the Etihad Stadium, the City Football Academy (CFA) training facility and club world headquarters, and u ...

training ground built by

Manchester City Football Club Manchester City Football Club are an English football club based in Manchester that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Association Football ...

as part of their redevelopment plans. The college is named after the Connell family, who were active in their local community in the 1880s and who created the church youth team which eventually morphed into the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side. The college also serves the secondary purpose of educating members of their

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

, who will be allocated some places to complete their secondary education. In addition to teaching the customary range of

A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

courses, the college also offers BTECs in Business, Science and Sport Science.

History

The sixth form college was one of three new free schools to be approved by Education Minister

Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...

in July 2012, when the name of the educational facility was revealed to be Connell Co-op College, a tribute to the Connell family of Gorton, who founded Manchester City F.C. (in its first incarnation as a church youth team) in the latter part of the 19th century. The announcement also unveiled the link between the new college and

Altrincham Grammar School for Girls Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, also known as Altrincham Girls Grammar School (AGGS) is a girls' grammar school with academy status in Bowdon, Greater Manchester, England. With about 1,250 students aged 11 to 18, it is the biggest single- ...

, who proposed the initiative and had been asked to handle the management and recruitment of staff. Later the same year, Manchester City Football Club announced that the area around the college was to be part of a larger redevelopment, with commercial space as well as community leisure facilities. The college took on its first classes in 2013 using a dedicated area in

The East Manchester Academy The East Manchester Academy is a coeducational secondary school located in the Beswick area of Manchester, England. It was established as an academy in September 2010, and was originally sponsored by Laing O'Rourke, Lend Lease, Manchester Ci ...

, and its facilities opened in September 2014. In July 2018, the college planned to leave Bright Futures Educational Trust (BFET) after government intervention in 2017. Education bosses have been looking for a suitable trust to take over the college. The Co-op Academies Trust has been chosen to run the college. The Co-op Academies Trust bosses say there are no plans to make any roles redundant at the college as a result of the re-brokerage

Notable alumni

Ellie Roebuck Ellie Roebuck (born 23 September 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the England national team. She has also represented England at youth level. Club career Ro ...

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

References

External links

Official website
* {{authority control Manchester City F.C. Sixth form colleges in Greater Manchester Educational institutions established in 2013 2013 establishments in England