A former Bristol Rovers youth team manager has been appointed head coach of the new football academy being launched at Writhlington Business and Enterprise School.

Billy Clark will oversee the development scheme for 16- to 18-year-olds, which has been set up by the Radstock school in partnership with Bath City FC.

He will meet Writhlington headmistress Marie Getheridge this week to discuss the scheme, which kicks off when the new school year starts in September.

"I cannot wait to get started," said Mr Clark, who played in the Football League with Bristol Rovers for 10 years before moving into coaching.

"I met with Bath City officials last week and was very impressed by what they had to say and their ambitions for the academy. We are also fortunate in that we will have very good facilities at Writhlington."

Students at the academy will study towards a BTEC National Certificate in sport four mornings a week and train in the afternoons.

It is a similar set-up to the one Bristol Rovers had at Filton College and Mr Clark agrees the focus should be on both sporting and academic achievement.

"Not every player goes on to enjoy a career in football," he said. "My role is to not only to develop them as footballers but also to stress to them the importance of their education."