Football Summer School in the UK for Teenagers: Liverpool FC and Chelsea Camps, Ages, Costs and How to Choose

Choosing a football summer school in the UK for teenagers usually starts with a club badge: your son or daughter sees a camp in their favourite team's colours and asks to go. That is a fine starting point — but underneath the badge, what you are really buying is coaching hours, a level group that matches your child's ability, a boarding campus, and a welfare team you will never meet but have to trust.

This guide compares the two club football camps we offer: the Liverpool FC Football Summer Camps at Repton School and Radley College, and the Chelsea FC football camps within the Nike Sports Summer Camps at Charterhouse School. Both cost £2,295 per week, both include up to 24 hours of football coaching per week, and both are residential. The differences that matter are age bands, venues, who each camp suits, and what sits around the football.

What a football summer school in the UK for teenagers actually involves

A residential football summer school is not a trials week and not a holiday camp with a ball. It is a short, structured boarding course, normally one or two weeks, built around daily training: two coaching sessions a day, small-sided games, a weekly tournament, and coaching groups set by age and ability after an assessment at the start of the week. Around the football sits boarding life — meals designed for young athletes, evening activities, excursions, and staff living in the boarding houses with the players.

Most international families also choose between two formats: football all week (training plus workshops), or football plus English lessons. Both camps offer that choice.

The two camps at a glance

The headline numbers are unusually easy to compare, because the weekly fee is the same. What differs is everything around that number.

Both camps run for one or two weeks and include full-board accommodation, an individual coaching review and certificate, travel insurance and on-site medical care. Neither camp page, however, states a deposit figure of its own — we return to that honestly in the costs section below.

Liverpool FC camps at Repton and Radley

The Liverpool FC page describes these as, in its own words, "the UK's only official LFC residential football camps" — that is the course page's claim, quoted as it stands. The camps are planned, delivered and coached by Liverpool FC coaches, working through a curriculum drawn from the club's Academy.

The two venues do not offer identical camps. Repton School in Derbyshire hosts the full range: the Development Camp for boys aged 9–12, the Performance Camp for boys aged 13–17, the Goalkeeper Camp for boys aged 12–17 in selected weeks, and the Girls Camp for girls aged 12–17. Radley College, near Oxford, about an hour from London, hosts the boys' Development and Performance camps, with Development there running in the August weeks only. Rooms are mostly single, some shared, at Repton, and single at Radley, with boys and girls in separate houses.

Total Football players take 8 hours of football workshops per week alongside their coaching — sessions using match footage to study how Liverpool players play, including the psychological side of the game. Football + English players take 13 hours of English lessons per week instead, in classes averaging 12, built around football itself: coach interviews, dream-team debates and commentary on famous Liverpool matches. Every player receives an LFC International Academy kit pack, a 1:1 coaching review with a report and certificate, and the Anfield tour; two-week players get two further excursions.

Chelsea FC football at Charterhouse, with Nike Sports Camps

The Chelsea route sits inside a larger multi-sport programme. Nike Sports Summer Camps run six sports across Charterhouse School, Radley College and Bradfield College, but parents should note the detail the headline hides: on the course page, the Chelsea FC football camps are the Charterhouse camps. Radley and Bradfield host the programme's other sports. A football booking here means Charterhouse, in Surrey.

That is no hardship. Charterhouse has a 250-acre campus about 50 minutes from Heathrow and Gatwick, with 17 grass pitches and three full-sized all-weather pitches. Its football camps are grouped by level: a Development Camp for all abilities aged 10–12, an Advanced Camp for regular players aged 13–17, and a Goalkeeper Camp for regular players aged 13–17. The wording matters: there is no all-abilities group for older teenagers in this programme, so a keen beginner of 14 should talk to us before booking.

The timetable mirrors the Liverpool structure: a 1:14 average football training ratio, English classes averaging 12, and the same choice — Total Sport (8 hours of workshops per week) or Sport + English (13 hours of English lessons per week). Players receive a Nike/Chelsea FC gift pack, an individual coaching review and certificate, and the excursion choices include Stamford Bridge.

Ages, levels, girls and goalkeepers: fitting the player to the camp

Because the weekly price is identical, fit decides — and fit is about the group your child will actually train in.

Younger players, 9–12. Only Liverpool takes a 9-year-old: its Development Camp (boys 9–12) runs at both venues, while Chelsea's starts at 10. Both camps assess and regroup by ability, so a young player will not be left marking teenagers.

Teenagers, 13–17. This is the heart of both programmes: Liverpool's Performance Camp and Chelsea's Advanced Camp. The difference is entry expectation — the Advanced Camp is described for regular players. A teenager who trains weekly will be at home in either; one whose football is mostly casual should be placed carefully, and we would rather discuss it first than sell you the wrong group.

Girls. Liverpool has a dedicated Girls Camp for ages 12–17, running at Repton only — not at Radley. At the Nike camps, boys and girls stay in separate houses, but the Charterhouse football listings have no separate girls' camp. A girl who wants a girls' playing group should look first at Repton.

Goalkeepers. Both programmes run a specialist goalkeeper camp — rarer than it sounds. Liverpool's runs at Repton for boys aged 12–17 in selected weeks; Chelsea's at Charterhouse for regular players aged 13–17. If your child is a goalkeeper, check the camp type first and the badge second.

Total Football or Football + English?

Every booking includes this choice. The football coaching — up to 24 hours per week — is the same either way. What changes is the block beside it: 8 hours per week of workshops, or 13 hours per week of English lessons.

Choose the football-only option if your child plays seriously and speaks English comfortably: the workshops add video analysis, performance topics and recovery work. Choose the English option if the summer has two jobs to do — football motivation is a powerful engine for language learning. One caution: a player with only basic English will struggle in a football-only group, where all coaching runs in English. Both camps list levels as Elementary to Advanced.

Life off the pitch: boarding, meals and welfare

Parents always ask who looks after their child at night — rightly. At both camps, players live in boarding houses grouped by sport and age, with boys and girls in separate houses, and house staff stay in the houses with them. Liverpool describes a welfare team on site providing 24/7 support, with a sports therapist at coaching sessions. The Nike programme describes a welfare team on site all day and night, medical staff daily, physiotherapists at sessions and an on-call private doctor. Both include travel insurance and on-site medical care.

The daily basics match too: three cooked meals a day plus an evening snack, with a vegetarian option; packed lunches on excursion days; laundry once a week with bed linen provided — but towels are not provided at either camp, so pack them. Evenings are programmed, with a players' lounge in each house.

Costs per week, transfers and what to confirm before you pay

The arithmetic is plain. Each camp costs £2,295 per week: one week is £2,295, two weeks are £4,590 at the same per week rate. There is no cheaper or premium badge — choose on fit, venue and camp type, not price.

Two costs sit outside the weekly fee. Airport transfers are not included at either camp: £130 each way, or £160 each way with the Unaccompanied Minor service, where staff handle the formal handover with the airline. Budget for both journeys. Our fees and dates page gives the general booking picture for our courses, and notes that around £100 per week is plenty for pocket money.

Now the honest gaps. Neither camp page states a deposit amount for these sports camps, and the camps do not appear in the 2027 fees table on our fees page, so we will not invent a figure here: ask us to confirm the deposit and payment schedule for your chosen camp, in writing, before you pay anything. The same applies to exact dates: both camp pages lay the season out as six Monday-to-Sunday weeks from early July to mid-August, but the tables are not labelled with a year, so confirm the available weeks for your summer when you enquire.

How to choose: a parent's checklist

• Start with the player, not the badge. Age, then playing level, then position.
• Check the venue behind the programme name. Liverpool means Repton or Radley depending on camp type and week; Chelsea football means Charterhouse.
• Decide the English question on purpose. 8 hours of workshops per week, or 13 hours of English per week, at the same weekly price.
• Read the level wording literally. "Regular players" means regular players; if unsure which group fits, ask before booking.
• Add the transfers to the budget. £130 each way (£160 with the Unaccompanied Minor service) is not in the weekly fee.
• Do not expect a scouting promise. These are coaching camps run to club academy curricula; no honest camp can promise trials or academy places. For background, the official Liverpool FC International Academy residential camps page describes what the club itself offers.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a football summer school in the UK cost per week?

A football summer school in the UK for teenagers costs £2,295 per week at both camps, so a two-week stay costs £4,590. Airport transfers are extra, at £130 each way, or £160 each way with the Unaccompanied Minor service.

Which football camp is best for a 9- or 10-year-old?

Liverpool's Development Camp takes boys from age 9; Chelsea's, at Charterhouse, takes players from age 10, of all abilities. Both group players by age and ability.

Is there a girls' football camp?

Yes — Liverpool runs a dedicated Girls Camp for ages 12–17, at Repton School only. The Nike programme houses boys and girls separately, but its Charterhouse football listings have no separate girls' football camp.

Can my child combine football with English lessons?

Yes, at both camps, for the same weekly fee: the Football + English and Sport + English options each add 13 hours of English lessons per week. The alternative at both is a workshops option — 8 hours per week — for a football-only timetable.

Are airport transfers and insurance included?

Transfers are not included at either camp: £130 each way, or £160 each way with the Unaccompanied Minor service. Travel insurance and on-site medical care are listed among the camp essentials at both camps.

What deposit do we pay, and which weeks can we book?

Neither camp page publishes a deposit figure, so ask us to confirm the deposit and payment schedule in writing before you pay. The camp pages show six Monday-to-Sunday weeks from early July to mid-August, but the tables are not year-labelled; tell us the camp type you need and we will confirm the available weeks.

Talk to us about the right camp for your player

Let us check the fit before you book: the right age group, level, venue and weeks matter more to how the week feels than the crest on the kit. When you are ready, you can complete the booking form, or contact us at info@summerschool-uk.com or on +44 (0)7414 936818.