Ellesmere College Don’t Tell The Truth On Sports Scholarships

Pollycat

EllesmereCollege_fake said:

Ellesmere College Golf Academy In Shropshire could be a fraud and I’m looking for advice to find out if it is?

Ellesmere College have falsely represented to me that they offered a “high performance” golf academy. They made my son and I lots of promises about how the golf academy at Ellesmere College works, including that they had professional golf coaches available, all coaching was carried out by professional coaches, that the coaches would assist my son with his practice drills that his County Coaches has given him.

After 3 visits to Ellesmere College on taster days, including a session for my son at the Golf Academy, and numerous emails and phone calls to ask lots of questions about how it works we decided to sell our house and move 120 miles to take my son to the Golf Academy.

however since September 2019 to date everything they told us about the golf academy and how they could support my sons golf program has turned out to be a lie. 

We recently received the bill for the summer terms fees, however after 6 months of lies on how the golf academy works, including:

- no coaches being available
- being taught by staff who were not qualified golf coaches 
- my 10 year old son being left on his own numerous times to practice and play golf on his own
- no body helping My son with his practice
- no access to golf equipment and facilities

i have had enough. And I told Ellesmere college I would not be paying the summer terms school fees.

this was also partly because the online teaching due to COVID was a shambles with staff not being able to operate the online learning facilities however I think after 6 months of dealing with the lies, spending 60k to move house to access a supposed golf academy from an elite school that offers lots of sports scholarships they should have delivered on what they promised.

we have reported this matter to trading standards who are investigating this and our solicitors are involved, however I think this is a fraud?

I allege they deliberately lied to us to induce us to spend money with them, does anyone have any other advice about this alleged fraud at Ellesmere College Golf Academy?

This sort of behaviour should not be allowed and i hope this post is found by anyone looking at the Golf Academy at Ellesmere college, so you don’t get caught out and lied to like we did.

EllesmereCollege_fake said:

we all know the answer to that - they wanted our money and was prepared to say wherever was required to get it. 

Is your solicitor aware that you are posting on a public forum saying that this Academy lied to you?

And 'falsely represented' to you?

You had advice recently about deleting your posts.

I would seriously consider doing just that.

What are you gaining - after getting Trading standards and a solicitor involved - by continuing posting?

DoaM

Agreed ... there's more than enough in this thread for the OP and son to be easily identified by the other party.

Manxman_in_exile

EllesmereCollege_fake said:

... ive actually got a MSC in sports psychology and worked inside football academies so I know how this works and how low the success rate is

you asked why did he bring his own programme? Not wanting to disrespect any PGA professional, there is a huge gulf between quality of the local club pro against elite coaches. The programme that was designed included the input from European Tour coach and based on the framework of elite golf from England Golf for performance, the person who was running the golf academy at Ellesmere doesn’t come from this background and I’m not saying he doesn’t have the skills to deliver a program however the only attraction to ellesmere college golf Academy was they the school committed to delivering a programme that was designed by this countries elite golf coaches.

we spent considerable time working with the school discussing how this could be delivered in practice and they stated on a number of occasions they could do it - however when we got there they couldn’t. We feel we have been completely missold and we have started to look at other schools and guess what - the other schools we’ve looked at have all made it very clear they can’t support this type of program - so the question is very simply..... why did Ellesmere college say they could?

Leaving aside for the moment my irrelevant views as to the appropriateness or otherwise of this undertaking...

I don't think you are disrespecting any PGA professional by pointing out that there is a huge gulf between your average club pro as opposed to an elite coach - of course there is - that's why you have elite coaches.  What I don't understand (and to be honest I understand it even less now you've revealed you have an MSc in Sport Pyschology and have worked with football academies) is your apparent ready acceptance that a programme designed with  "...   input from European Tour coach and based on the framework of elite golf from England Golf for performance..."  could be delivered by a person who didn't come from a similar background, even if they are a qualified PGA professional.  Especially when all the other schools you had looked at had "... all made it very clear they can’t support this type of program".   No disrespect to the person running the academy, but this sounds a bit to me like believing that a qualified teacher with no more than an A-level in a subject could teach students to degree level in that subject from a recommended text where they were only reading one chapter ahead of the students.  It's incredibly unlikely to be successful.

Was the person (or persons) who devised your son's programme supportive of it being delivered by a third party?  Obviously a vital part of delivering a coaching programme is that the coach has to be aware of feedback from the pupil and has to be prepared to flex and adapt the programme as they think is required.  You can't stick rigidly to the programme, but I don't see how a third party delivering the programme can do otherwise because it's not their programme.  One of the most important skills of a really good coach in a non-team sport is building up a rapport with a young student and identifying how to create and introduce new and inventive drills and routines so that the student doesn't lose interest but at the same time advances.  Does this bespoke programme allow the coach at the academy the freedom to do that?  Can they do that to good effect?

I go back to my question from an earlier post, what do you want to achieve?  Your money back or delivery of the programme to your son?  I'd never heard of this college before this thread, but I see Bill Beaumont and a couple of other rugby players went there.  Can they deliver what you want in terms of golf tuition, or is this more a job for somewhere like Millfield?

(Was Millfield one of the schools you also approached?)

EDIT:  You may want to consider Pollycat's and DoaM's comments...

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Manxman_in_exile said:

EllesmereCollege_fake said:

... ive actually got a MSC in sports psychology and worked inside football academies so I know how this works and how low the success rate is

you asked why did he bring his own programme? Not wanting to disrespect any PGA professional, there is a huge gulf between quality of the local club pro against elite coaches. The programme that was designed included the input from European Tour coach and based on the framework of elite golf from England Golf for performance, the person who was running the golf academy at Ellesmere doesn’t come from this background and I’m not saying he doesn’t have the skills to deliver a program however the only attraction to ellesmere college golf Academy was they the school committed to delivering a programme that was designed by this countries elite golf coaches.

we spent considerable time working with the school discussing how this could be delivered in practice and they stated on a number of occasions they could do it - however when we got there they couldn’t. We feel we have been completely missold and we have started to look at other schools and guess what - the other schools we’ve looked at have all made it very clear they can’t support this type of program - so the question is very simply..... why did Ellesmere college say they could?

Leaving aside for the moment my irrelevant views as to the appropriateness or otherwise of this undertaking...

I don't think you are disrespecting any PGA professional by pointing out that there is a huge gulf between your average club pro as opposed to an elite coach - of course there is - that's why you have elite coaches.  What I don't understand (and to be honest I understand it even less now you've revealed you have an MSc in Sport Pyschology and have worked with football academies) is your apparent ready acceptance that a programme designed with  "...   input from European Tour coach and based on the framework of elite golf from England Golf for performance..."  could be delivered by a person who didn't come from a similar background, even if they are a qualified PGA professional.  Especially when all the other schools you had looked at had "... all made it very clear they can’t support this type of program".   No disrespect to the person running the academy, but this sounds a bit to me like believing that a qualified teacher with no more than an A-level in a subject could teach students to degree level in that subject from a recommended text where they were only reading one chapter ahead of the students.  It's incredibly unlikely to be successful.

Was the person (or persons) who devised your son's programme supportive of it being delivered by a third party?  Obviously a vital part of delivering a coaching programme is that the coach has to be aware of feedback from the pupil and has to be prepared to flex and adapt the programme as they think is required.  You can't stick rigidly to the programme, but I don't see how a third party delivering the programme can do otherwise because it's not their programme.  One of the most important skills of a really good coach in a non-team sport is building up a rapport with a young student and identifying how to create and introduce new and inventive drills and routines so that the student doesn't lose interest but at the same time advances.  Does this bespoke programme allow the coach at the academy the freedom to do that?  Can they do that to good effect?

I go back to my question from an earlier post, what do you want to achieve?  Your money back or delivery of the programme to your son?  I'd never heard of this college before this thread, but I see Bill Beaumont and a couple of other rugby players went there.  Can they deliver what you want in terms of golf tuition, or is this more a job for somewhere like Millfield?

(Was Millfield one of the schools you also approached?)

EDIT:  You may want to consider Pollycat's and DoaM's comments...

If you are serious and have engaged in a solicitor, this thread is not doing you and your golfing offspring any good. You have been given advice, but unfortunately, it is not what you wanted to hear or receive. We have had plenty of barrack room experts on here over the years, your are not the first and certainly not the last.

Manxman_in_exile

I see Brian Barnes went to Millfield.  I suspect that golfing opinion may be divided as to whether his attendance there would be a recommendation or not.  It must have been fun when he was there...

Concerned_of_Ellesmere

Hi EllesmereCollege_Fake.  It would be great to compare notes because there are other parents with similar concerns relating to other Ellesmere College Academies.  I'm new to this platform - is there a PM facility?

EllesmereCollege_fake

Hi Concerned_of_Ellesmere thanks for your PM message and this comment.........

Hi EllesmereCollege_Fake.  It would be great to compare notes because there are other parents with similar concerns relating to other Ellesmere College Academies.  I'm new to this platform - is there a PM facility?

I’ve sent you my contact details through PM feel free to give me a call anytime. 

We currently have a case proceeding against them therefore if you have experienced something similar, happy to share the legal advice we have received 

Manxman_in_exile

What is a "state academy for lawyers" and why would being good at basketball get your niece into one?  (This is a UK forum).

PS - this thread has nothing to do with funding or scholarships - the OP was complaining about the standard of golf coaching at Ellesmere College - and I for one would like to know the outcome.  Come on, OP!

user1977

Manxman_in_exile said:

What is a "state academy for lawyers" and why would being good at basketball get your niece into one?  (This is a UK forum).

Looks like a would-be spammer upping their post count with nonsense replies, just flag appropriately.

Manxman_in_exile

I've heard of "state schools" and I've heard of "academies", but never a "state academy".  And it has a law faculty like a "university"?  And they give sports scholarships?

Which one is it?

EDIT:  Oh! Their posts have disappeared!  Banned?