South Devon Primary School celebrates their Euro 2024 link

The success of Ollie Watkins as a footballer is a source of huge pride for many people in South Devon and it all began at a fabulous community primary school in Newton Abbot.

Before moving on to South Dartmoor College in Ashburton and an Academy Scholarship at Exeter City, Watkins, who is part of the England squad competing out in Germany and also a striker for Aston Villa, was kicking footballs across the playgrounds of Decoy Primary.

When Watkins was just seven years-old, he joined a friend in a training session at Newton Town FC and immediately impressed. “The team was local to where I grew up in Newton Abbot in Devon and I then got scouted by Exeter City maybe only a year later, so it all kicked on quite quickly,” he said.

Watkins initially didn’t make it through the Exeter trials but the Grecians asked him to come back at a later date. That later date turned out to be three years in the future, when he was accepted as an Academy player, although he still continued playing local grassroots football.

“I remember when I left Decoy Primary School to join South Dartmoor, I didn't know anything about the school but chose it purely because it had an astroturf pitch and I knew I would be able to train on it regularly,” Watkins told England Football.

His football journey since then has been a wonderful story of success, earning a pro deal with Exeter City and then a move to Brentford, where his goals led to a £33m move to Aston Villa and ultimately recognition with England.

This inspiring local story prompted a camera crew from ITV to descend on Decoy Primary and the students loved it, as described by Zachary in Year 6.

“Ever since I got into football, I have always kept up with Ollie and how he was doing. He’s sort of a role model for a lot of children in our school, and he entirely deserves it.

“Ollie is a superb player for Villa. Just to think he came from grassroots school football at Decoy to playing professional football in the most competitive league in the world.

“Everybody in our school is massively inspired by him. Watkins is such a good player and is one of the most famous and magnificent players in the Premier League. He will do so well in the Euros, I’m sure.”

It is a remarkable local tale of achievement and it could be even better if Ollie scores the winning goal for England in the Euro 2024 Final. If that miracle does happen, our loudest cheer will come from the kids of Decoy Primary.