Sunderland College's partnership with South Shields Football Club helps to develop the skills and qualifications of aspiring football talent that perhaps missed out on professional contracts at 16 or 18 years old. The individuals that are accepted into the Academy combine a full-time football development programme, delivered by a high-quality team of coaches including Wess Brown and Jon Shaw, alongside a choice of various educational pathways ranging from A levels to BTECs in sport.

Each week, students will receive up to 12 hours of unrivalled professional coaching including specialist technical coaching sessions and strength and conditioning sessions delivered by Martin Nugent, alongside tactical performance analysis and regular elite athlete screening. The games programme is also supplemented by many professional youth team fixtures throughout the season in order to fully test and develop our young players, and hopefully prepare them for first-team football at South Shields FC.