SERC Stars Shine at Intercollege Football Tournament

Students from the SERC Lisburn Campus Foundation Skills Academy showed off their soccer skills at an inter-college tournament in Belfast recently.  

The 2025 Inclusion Shield was organised by sports students at Belfast Metropolitan College and brought 13 football teams from five FE colleges to compete at the Avoniel Leisure Centre, playing across two ability bands. There were more than 100 students attending altogether, making for a great atmosphere.  

Two SERC 5-a-side teams, drawn from Foundation Learning and from Skills for Life and Work years 1,2 and 3 had been training for several months before the tournament, under the guidance of Declan McClure, Foundation Skills lecturer.    

At Avoniel, SERC Level 2 team played 4 matches, winning 2 and losing 2, finishing in the top half of their table.  SERC Level 1 team won all four of their matches. This led them to a playoff against Belfast Met (the host college) who were on equal points. Unfortunately, victory was snatched from the SERC team on the last shot of a penalty shoot-out!   

Foundation Skills lecturer Tessa Montague, who was one of the SERC staff team accompanying the players, said: 

“Our students made the most of the opportunity to compete, demonstrating their sporting ability and socialising with other teams, making it a great day out. Events like this cement the SERC campus community as well as offering interaction with other colleges. We are very proud of the way our teams played, and players and supporters were all excellent ambassadors for SERC.”