New wave of scholarship students at Gower College Swansea follow in the footsteps of Welsh sporting heroes


Updated 30/01/2014

A group of twelve young people have been awarded scholarships to attend the Sport Academy at Gower College Swansea.

The specialist sporting scholarship programme, offered to promising young athletes by the college, provides a unique opportunity for students to benefit from financial and holistic support so that they can study academic subjects whilst developing their sporting talent to an elite level. They will join an alumni of former students at the college which includes rugby players Leigh Halfpenny, Justin Tipuric, Richie Rees and Eli Walker as well as GB Swimmer Jazmin ‘Jazz’ Carlin.

This year’s new intake of students  join Gower College Swansea after completing their education at secondary schools across the region, including Pontarddulais, Bishopston and Bishop Gore comprehensive schools. Each one joins the academy to study and train in their own chosen sport, such as rugby, hockey, netball, cricket, golf and running.

Mark Jones, Principal at Gower College Swansea, said: “To be able to offer promising young people the opportunity to develop their unique sporting talent, whilst at the same time studying towards an academic qualification, is something that makes us feel very privileged. The staff at Gower College Swansea work incredibly hard and we have tremendous resources on campus that allow us to work closely with the students so that we can have a real input into the future of our young sporting talent. Scholarships such as these also offer young people chances that they may not have otherwise had in life, so we welcome this scheme and its ability to develop the next generation of Welsh sporting heroes.”  

Current scholarship students include Aneurin Donald, captain of the England U17 cricket team, and Angharad Jenkins, who has represented Wales at both hockey and football during her time at Gower College Swansea.

The new group of scholarship students joining the college will each receive £1,000 during their first year. In return, they will be responsible for acting as excellent role models for other students and will undertake a range of promotional activities.

For more information on the scholarship programme, and to receive an application form, please contact Marcus Coxon at Gower College Swansea on 01792 284235 or email marcus.coxon@gowercollegeswansea.ac.uk

Pictured are:

Back Row (left to right): Mark Jones (Principal, Gower College Swansea), Ben Roberts (Rugby), Stuart Nicholas (Rugby), Ryan Samuel (Football), Aneurin Donald (Cricket), Ryan Kostromin (Football), Joe Lewis - Phillips (Golf)

Front Row (left to right): Matthew Aubrey (Rugby), Lucy Fligelstone (Athletics), Ruth Lowe (Netball), Lauren Huxley (Thai Boxing), Daniel Huxtable (Kick Boxing) Not pictured: Angharad Jenkins (Hockey and Football)