Students in the town weighing up whether to go on to  sixth form, find an apprenticeship or look for full-time  work have an alternative on  the door step.

Liverpool-based Little League  Sports, which provides FA coaching qualifications and NVQs  through 1st4Sport, helping young  people to achieve their dream of  becoming a professional sports  coach, is running  post-GCSE courses at  the University Church of England  Academy.

A spokesperson said: “You don’t have to  have been a keen footballer to sign  up for a coaching qualification.

“At the end of the course coaches  may earn the opportunity to secure an apprenticeship with Little  League Sports, earning money to  deliver training at football camps  and in schools.”

Little League sports director  Joe Mulhearn believes the chance  to earn coaching qualifications  offers a unique opportunity.

“The training we provide can  open up the world to young  people,” he said.

“Through the relationships and  reputation for quality education  we have built we have been able to  send student coaches who may  never have been abroad to coach  in Europe, the USA, South America and Africa.

“But most importantly we have  opened up to them the possibility  of achieving more.

“With the qualifications we  provide coaches can get on a pathway to the professional game or  working in football club  academies.

“They can coach young teams or  school groups or they can travel  and take their skills all over the  world.”

Launched five years ago, the  firm sends trained coaches out to  deliver programmes in 50  primary and secondary schools  across Merseyside and offers  training programmes for coaches  in 10 sixth form colleges, schools  and academies.

They have recently completed a  partnership deal with the Liverpool FC Foundation to provide  coaching in schools under a joint  banner.

“To be asked to work with such a  big name shows that our coaches  are delivering a high standard of  training that is being noted within football,” said Joe.

“The coaches we train are grasping the chance to learn and improve with both hands and that is  going to open a lot of doors for  them in the future.”

Details on the training courses  Little League Sports provides  are available by  emailing info@littleleaguesports.co.uk.