The Frank Dando Sports Academy first opened in 1980 to provide an education for boys of age 12 to 16 who, although usually highly intelligent, had failed in the mainstream schools. Such boys may occasionally arrive with reputations for bullying or violence. Others may lack confidence, showing symptoms of AD/HD or simply not working at all.
The school aims to increase their self-esteem and health through intensive physical education and quickly improve their mathematics and English through intensive small group tuition. Typically after one or two years boys can return to mainstream schools.
Equal time is given to academic subjects and physical education. The academic programme is taught in the same way as the physical education programme, by the same teachers; boys conform to a set of sensible non-negotiable rules, do regular homework and meet demanding academic standards in maths, reading and written expression. The low teacher-pupil ratio enables boys to progress to a higher than normal standard and boost their self-image.