From as young as I remember Football has always played a huge part in my life. At the age of 8 I entered the then Newcastle United School of Excellence and when I was 16 left Ashington High School to embark in my professional football career signing a 3-year scholarship with Newcastle United. I played junior football with Bedlington Juniors and represented both East Northumberland and Northumberland winning the Under 16 ESFA Cup respectively.

At the age of 19 and after successfully recovering from a broken femur sustained in a car crash at the age of 17 I was awarded a 1 year professional contract and promoted to the reserve team. Unfortunately and as with so many others my career at Newcastle came to an end through a lack of opportunities and unsuccessful trials at Darlington, Hamilton and Motherwell my professional career came to an end.

I then reverted back to what my parents instilled in me from a young age about my education being so important. During my years at Newcastle I achieved a BTEC National Diploma in Sport and this allowed me the opportunity to join Newcastle College and Northumbria University to achieve a BA honours in sports studies. During this time I played for numerous Northern League clubs including Bedlington Terriers, Morpeth Town, Dunston Federation and Ashington and worked as a coach for Newcastle United Football in the Community. When I concluded my degree I decided coaching was not for me but working with young people interested me and I successfully enrolled and completed my PGCE in Secondary Education.

Paul Dunn
Academy Manager