Queensland Football School specialising in soccer proposed for the Gold Coast

A former national futsal player wants to build a specialist independent football school for young athletes on the Gold Coast.

A FORMER national futsal player wants to build a specialist independent football school for young athletes on the Gold Coast.

Proposed to open in January 2020, the Queensland Football School — touted as the only one of its kind in the state — has been approved by the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board.

The school would be open to male and female athletes from Years 4 to 12, with a total of 25 students per age group.

Its original commencement date was listed for January 2019.

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The school would be open to kids in Years 4 to 12. Picture: Thinkstock.

To have been given approval a school must have an active board and meet a range of assessments including educational programs, student welfare, resources, and financial viability.

New independent schools are assessed again within six months of opening.

The project is headed by Marty Calvert, a former national futsal player and owner of Calibre Futsal.

He also works as an executive director of the Futsal Group and is a technical director for the Federation of Australian Futsal.

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The proposed school’s address has been listed at the former site of the Queensland independent College at Ghilgai Road, Merrimac. However, Mr Calvert did say a new site would be announced in coming months.

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The project is headed by Marty Calvert.

Mr Calvert has stated online that boarding at the facility would be considered in the future for talented students travelling from outside of the Gold Coast.

“Boarding is definitely something we will be considering once established. We don’t have the facilities to offer boarding as yet, however we are happy to assist you with homestay arrangements,” Mr Calvert said on the proposed school’s social media page.

According to his comments online, the structure of classes would not be based on any existing Australian school.

“We are not looking to replicate something that is already on offer in Queensland.”

The school was described as non-denominational and coeducational.

It already had a motto — “per aspera ad astra’’, which was Latin for “Through hardships to the stars’’.

Trials for a proposed intake at the school next year would be opening in the September school holidays, with positions offered and confirmed in early October.

Mr Calvert said online that scholarships would be available for students in financial hardship, to ensure it was accessible to all potential students.

The Queensland Football Association said it had no connection to the Queensland Football School.

A website for QFS has not been established.