The Birmingham school which boasts two England soccer stars

Nov 20 2011 by Adam Aspinall, Sunday Mercury

IT’S the Birmingham school that is top of the league for football and sporting stars.

Four Dwellings High School was celebrating last week after TWO old boys pulled on England shirts during the 1-0 win against Sweden at Wembley.

Manchester City star Joleon Lescott, 29, and Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge, 22, attended the Quinton school in the 1990s before going on to carve out successful careers at the highest level of the game. But the footballers are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the school’s sporting success over the last 15 years.

Because it has produced one Commonwealth Gold medallist in gymnast Cuong Thoong and supplied many other footballers to professional soccer clubs.

Headteacher Bernard Smith, 58, spoke with pride about his famous past pupils – and admitted their success could sometimes be a double-edged sword.

He said: “I must be the only headteacher in the country who cannot tell the kids to stop dreaming about sporting glory.

“How can you tell them to concentrate on their subjects and not get distracted by sport when so many former pupils have had so much success in that field?

“It’s a tough one for us, that is true. But then again, it’s a nice problem to have!’’

He added: ‘‘We are so proud of the success our pupils have had in sport that we want to shout it from the rooftops.

“I remember both Joleon and Daniel – who left in the third year – very well. They were lovely kids.

“Joleon was the quieter of the two but he was obsessed with his football. He really did live for it and would take any chance he could get to play a game.