TWO colleges will team up with a former Darlington Football Club star to offer students a qualification in sports development.

The Martin Gray Football Academy will work with Greenfield Community College and Darlington College to deliver the full-time Btec course.

The two-year level 3 diploma, equivalent to three A-levels, will cover areas including physiology, sports coaching, nutrition and sports performance, and will provide scholars with a route to university as well as enhance their footballing ability.

Gray and his team, including former Sunderland and Darlington midfielder Brian Atkinson, will help run the course, starting next September.

Gray, who also works as Greenfield's director of football, said: "This is a unique course in that it's the first of its kind being made available in the area.

"It will give schoolleavers in the town who love sport the opportunity to study their passion full-time, while improving their education and career prospects in the long-term.

"The course is focused on elite young footballers, giving them the opportunity to progress within the game while having a clear focus of academic attainment to help them to the next tier of higher education or employment.

"We're really excited by this and we're looking forward to starting the trials next April before narrowing the applicants down to 30 for the inaugural year, starting next September."

The course will be taught at Greenfield College, in Newton Aycliffe, and at the Excel Centre, at Aycliffe Business Park Applicants must gain at least five good GCSEs to be eligible for the course. For more details or to apply, visit martingrayfootballacademy.co.uk