Football is the major boys’ sport in Spring Term. Our teams are known for playing attractive, passing football where pressing, creativity and teamwork are vital. The popularity of football means we put out 23 teams across all age groups and abilities with every pupil receiving coaching from our dedicated coaching staff. Whilst the principal aim is to develop players who are technically and tactically strong, there is considerable emphasis placed on the enjoyment and benefit gained from the camaraderie of the game.
The current fixture list sees us play the other great football schools within the area which include Brighton College, The Kings School and Sevenoaks. The U15A/B, U16A/B, 3rd XI, 2nd XI and 1st XI teams play in the highly competitive SKIL league. Our Under 13 sides have impressed in the Investec ISFA National Cup, recently reaching later rounds in the 2020/21 season. Additionally and, most impressively, our Under 15 side of 2017 were crowned ISFA National Futsal Champions which was a superb achievement from that squad.
The standard of football is high, with our players benefiting from impressive facilities including the use of Leatherhead Youth FC’s state-of-the-art 3G. We also run preseason training camps to assist with our preparations and have also trained at previously locations such as Villareal CF in Spain and at Manchester City’s Academy. These facilities and experiences are significantly enhanced by the expert coaching of our coaching staff who also work within the academies of Chelsea and Crystal Palace. Our 1st XI have also experience outstanding Pre-Season Tours at Loughborough University, combining educational purposed alongside competitive training and friendly fixtures.
We’ve also excelled across our girls football programme that commences during the Summer Term. With more training sessions now regularly scheduled for each year and additional competitive fixtures against local schools, the demand for this sport increases every year, and we’re now involved with the ISFA Girls Tournaments as of 2022/23 Season. We’re delighted to have two current St John’s pupils with signed professional contracts for Chelsea FC Women’s Academy. From the wider range of abilities to the higher end of performers, our participation levels have never been greater for girls football and we enjoy the continuation of this sport every season.
For those footballers who are keen to perform at the highest level we have good links with a number of academies and a number of our current boys are currently at Chelsea FC, AFC Wimbledon and Arsenal FC respectively.
Our footballers benefit from one to one mentoring and coaching and also individualised strength and conditioning programmes personalised by our Head of Strength and Conditioning. We have pride in our programme, which has supported our pupils to develop and succeed as footballers. In the last 12 months, an Old Johnian has signed a scholars contract with Chelsea FC and made his UEFA Youth League debut, and one of our current pupils was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament at the Kevin De Bruyne Cup and made his international debut for Sweden. Furthermore, another St John’s pupil has been selected for the England U19 Futsal side and a whole host of players have represented their academies, Independent Schools’ National side and the Surrey School’s teams.
