Arsenal Soccer Schools Summer 2016: A Season to Remember
The final whistle has blown on another brilliant summer. Over the past ten weeks, hundreds of young footballers from more than 60 countries descended on four of England's finest boarding schools to train, learn, and grow together as part of the Arsenal Soccer Schools programme. Now that the last students have headed home, it feels like the right moment to look back on a summer that exceeded every expectation.
A summer across four venues
This year's programme ran at Charterhouse School, Clayesmore School, Seaford College, and Oundle School, each offering its own character. Charterhouse, set in the Surrey hills, hosted boys aged 10 to 15. Clayesmore, tucked into the Dorset countryside, provided a more intimate residential camp experience. Seaford College in West Sussex offered expansive grounds and first-rate facilities, while Oundle School in Northamptonshire brought the programme to the English Midlands.
Between them, these four venues welcomed boys and girls aged 9 to 17 from every corner of the world. Every student received the same quality of coaching, structured English tuition, and pastoral care that families have come to expect from our Arsenal residential camp programme.
Training the Arsenal way
The football coaching remains at the heart of everything we do. Every student received three hours of professional coaching each day, delivered by UEFA B qualified coaches working to the Arsenal Soccer Schools methodology. With a coach-to-student ratio of 1:10, sessions were tailored, hands-on, and focused on genuine development rather than simply running children through generic drills.
Morning sessions concentrated on technical work: ball mastery, passing patterns, movement off the ball, and positional awareness. Afternoons shifted towards tactical understanding and match play, giving students the chance to apply what they had practised in real game situations. The emphasis was always on playing football the way Arsenal play it, with confidence on the ball, intelligence in possession, and a willingness to express yourself on the pitch.
Whether a student arrived as a near-beginner or with years of club football behind them, the programme met them where they were. That range is one of the things that makes the Arsenal football camp UK experience so rewarding.
Football and English, side by side
Every student combined their football coaching with three hours of English language tuition each day. Students spent their mornings in structured classroom sessions, grouped by ability, then headed out to the pitches in the afternoon already warmed up socially and linguistically.
What surprised many parents was how quickly their children's English improved. When you place a student from Japan alongside students from Brazil, Spain, and Kuwait, English becomes the shared language not just in the classroom but at mealtimes, in the common rooms, and on the pitch. That natural immersion does more for a young person's confidence than months of textbook study back home.
The international community
The diversity of the Arsenal Soccer Schools summer programme is one of its defining strengths. This summer, we welcomed young people from across Europe, including Spain, Italy, France, and Germany, alongside students from the Middle East, with strong representation from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. Families from Japan, China, and South Korea sent their children to train in England for the first time, and we continued to see growing numbers from South America, particularly Brazil and Argentina. In total, more than 60 countries were represented.
That mix creates something you simply cannot replicate in a single-nationality football camp England experience. Friendships formed across languages and cultures, and we watched students who arrived barely knowing anyone leave with contacts in a dozen different countries, already making plans to return next year.
Beyond the pitch
Football and English formed the core of the daily programme, but the experience extended well beyond scheduled sessions. Evening activities kept students entertained after training, from quiz nights and talent shows to swimming and film evenings. Students who stayed for two weeks or more also had the opportunity to visit Emirates Stadium, touring the home of Arsenal Football Club. It was a genuine highlight for many, and the photos from those trips consistently rank among the most shared on social media.
Every student also received their own Arsenal Soccer Schools training shirt and water bottle, a keepsake that, judging by the number we still see being worn in airport departure photos, clearly means something.
A fitting backdrop
It would be impossible to reflect on summer 2016 without mentioning the 2015-16 Premier League season. Arsenal finished second under Arsene Wenger, putting together a strong campaign that in most years would have challenged for the title. But this was the year Leicester City produced one of the greatest sporting stories ever told, and their fairy tale run to the championship was something the entire football world could only admire.
For our students, that backdrop added real excitement to their Arsenal summer camp experience. Many arrived having watched Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez light up the Premier League, eager to develop the skills they had seen on screen.
Looking ahead to summer 2017
As we close the book on this summer, planning for 2017 is already underway. We expect all four venues to run again, with dates and fees to be confirmed in the coming months.
If your child attended this summer and wants to come back, or if you are considering the programme for the first time, we would encourage you to register your interest early. The programme is delivered by Exsportise, and places at the most popular venues and dates tend to fill well in advance.
For more information about what the programme includes, from accommodation to the coaching curriculum, visit our website or get in touch with the team. We are always happy to help you find the right course for your child.
It has been a summer to remember. We hope to see many of the same faces, and plenty of new ones, in 2017.
