Jumeirah College enjoyed a week-long multisport tour to the UK last week, visiting London, Loughborough, and Manchester as they took part in a series of sporting and cultural activities.
Over 40 footballers, netballers, and basketballers from the Dubai school made the journey to the UK looking forward to competing in a number of challenge matches and even training with professional clubs.
After jetting off from the UAE on Tuesday, the students got stuck in right away in London. The footballers trained with English League One side Charlton Athletic, whilst the netballers and basketballers enjoyed training and Q&A sessions with local professional players.
Day two saw the first challenge matches of the tour take place, with all three squads picking up impressive victories over hosts Emanuel School! JC then embarked on a guided tour along London’s famous River Thames before taking in a live basketball match in the evening – London Lions vs Leicester Riders at the Copper Box Arena in Olympic Park.
They then enjoyed their third and final day in London before heading up north to Loughborough – Colfe’s School were the hosts as all three squads took part in their second challenge match of the tour and put in some excellent performances against strong opposition.
Loughborough University is a world-renowned sports university and provided a great opportunity for the students of Jumeirah College to go behind the scenes and even bump into some international athletes on day four of their tour. A strength and conditioning session in the afternoon followed, before a trip to watch Loughborough Lightning take on Birmingham Panthers in the Women’s Super League rounded off another action-packed day.
The third and final stop on their tour saw JC head to Manchester and take on Wilmslow School in some challenge fixtures. Despite a difficult day for the footballers and netballers results-wise, the opportunity to take on one of the top-performing schools in the region provided some valuable sporting experience. JC’s basketballers, meanwhile, kept up their fantastic tour form, defeating Wilmslow by a 13-point advantage!
A trip to watch Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Leicester City in the Premier League in the evening was a real highlight for JC’s group of football fans, whilst the other group enjoyed tackling some mind-bending escape rooms and a netball coaching session from Manchester Thunder.
After a busy week of sporting action, the students enjoyed some downtime on day six before visiting Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium on the final day of their tour. They were granted a behind-the-scenes look at one of the world’s most iconic football stadiums – checking out the changing rooms, players’ tunnel, and ever-growing trophy cabinet.
A fantastic way to round-off an incredible, action-packed multisport trip to the UK for Jumeirah College who subsequently headed to Manchester Airport and back to Dubai on Tuesday morning!
To recap the whole tour as it happened via the official live blog, you can click HERE!
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Jumeirah College’s sports tour to the UK was operated by our partners at Trans World Educational Experiences (Twedex). You can check out their website and plan your own tour by clicking HERE.