Wells Cathedral School is excited and proud to announce the launch of its new Football Specialism – a high-performance football pathway created in association with Chelsea FC, one of the world’s most successful football clubs and brands. The specialism will launch in September 2026, with registration of interest open now. Application will be officially opened on 15th September 2025 and will include a variety of steps including interviews and submission of a football CV. Potential candidates will then be invited to a trials day. There has already been substantial interest in the programme, so early registration of interest is recommended.
The Wells Cathedral School Football Specialism will offer aspiring footballers – both boys and girls – aged 11–18 (Years 7 – 13) a unique opportunity to combine top-level football coaching with first-class academics as well as broader holistic education. Open to UK as well as international day and boarding pupils, the specialism is tailored for young athletes already playing club football and who are ready to take the next step in their academic studies and football development.
Your Future, Your Game, Your Education!
The specialism includes:
- 9 weekly coaching sessions from Chelsea FC UEFA-qualified coaches
- A permanent Head of Football from Chelsea FC based at Wells Cathedral School
- A comprehensive focus on player development, performance conditioning, and long-term athletic care
- Training sessions and visits to Chelsea FC training ground in Cobham
- The opportunity to play at Kingsmeadow Stadium and to visit Stamford Bridge.
- Access to career pathways in football – both on and off the pitch
- Kit Package
- And much, much more.
In a standout move, pupils will have opportunities to be coached by Chelsea FC staff on a regular basis, with visibility across professional pathways for players and future industry professionals.
This is a one-of-a-kind programme where all pupils successfully enrolled on the football specialism programme will continue to study towards their GCSEs or A Levels, fully supported by Wells Cathedral School’s experienced award-winning academic and pastoral teams. The uniqueness of the specialism ensures pupils excel not only on the pitch, but in life – embodying the School’s and Chelsea’s ethos of educating the whole child and developing good young people.
“We are incredibly proud to launch our High Performance Football Specialism in association with Chelsea Football Club. This unique collaboration offers our pupils unrivalled access to top level coaching, world-class facilities, and a player development pathway that reflects the very highest standards in the sport. At Wells, we are committed to nurturing talent both on and off the pitch, and this programme exemplifies our ambition to combine academic excellence with sporting opportunity at the very highest level.”
Director of Sport, Tom Webley
Innovation with Intention
The launch reflects a forward-thinking shift in the School’s already broad and high-achieving sporting offer. Football will become a core sport alongside our other highly successful sports such as hockey, netball and badminton.
“We are delighted to launch this specialist programme with Wells Cathedral School, the first of its kind for Chelsea Football Club. With qualified coaches delivering high-quality sessions, we are committed to enriching pupils’ school experience while developing their football skills and understanding both on and off the pitch. This inclusive programme is open to both boys and girls aged 11-18 and has been created with a shared vision of developing exceptional young people with education and participation at the heart of it. This association between Chelsea FC and Wells Cathedral School will allow us to proudly engage with the wider Wells community by coordinating outreach work, to broaden accessibility and participation within sport.”
Steve Shipp, Football Projects Manager, Chelsea Football Club
Wells Cathedral already has hugely successful specialisms in Music and Mathematics, and this new football programme underscores the School’s commitment to developing exceptional talent across an aspirational range of disciplines, continuing its reputation for excellence and innovation.
No other school globally offers all three of these subjects (Football, Maths and Music) at a high specialist level within a full academic, co-educational, day and boarding school context.
“This is a wonderfully exciting moment for us. Wells Cathedral School already has a global reputation for its provision of Music Specialist pathways, and our experience of delivering these alongside pathways for Maths Specialists as well means that we are well-placed to provide this unique opportunity for aspiring young football players. Importantly these young players, just like all our pupils, will be able to specialise while still accessing our existing excellent all-round education provision. At Wells Cathedral School we believe that ‘excellence inspires excellence’ and this exciting new association with Chelsea FC is another important way for us to nurture our aspirant and high-achieving environment which benefits all our pupils, whatever their talents or interests”.
Head Master, Alastair Tighe
Apply Now for 2026 Entry
Registration of interest is now open for pupils joining in September 2026, ahead of the full programme launch.
Find out more and apply at: http://chelsea.wells.cathedral.school/
If you want to attend our September Open Day register here. Chelsea will be hosting a training session for current and prospective pupils and parent information presentation.
Enquiries: football@wells-cathedral-school.com