BELLE Vue are taking part in a ground-breaking educational workshop which will give eight students the chance to gain Higher Education qualifications.
The seven-week course, headlined Speedway: Sport or Business, will see the students investigate all aspects of the club and includes class work as well as visits to the stadium to watch racing and talk to various personnel.
The scheme falls in line with the community programme the club have developed since the current promoters took over and comes from the link with main sponsors, One51, which will enter its third season this year.
The sponsorship began with local company Smith Metals, now part of One51, and they have a strong working relationship with the well-known Bolton Lads and Girls Club.
The eight participating students, aged between 14 and 16, are being selected from the club and will be announced at a formal Press conference on March 12.
They will study for an A.Q.A Higher Education qualification, which is similar to a GCSE, and the course could be a forerunner of more in the future.
Chris Morton, Belle Vue's Operations Manager and team boss, said: “The course will give the students an insight into all aspects of speedway as sport, entertainment and business.
“It has caused massive interest at the club with many members wanting to be in the eight chosen to take part.
“The Bolton club have done a lot of this sort of thing and it's a great idea. This is the first time speedway has been involved so it will be good for speedway to get this kind of interest in new surroundings.
“A lot of people have been involved in getting this off the ground but James Cubbon, of the sponsors, said they wanted to make more use of their association with us this year and they are doing.
“The course will offer something quite substantial to those selected to take part and we are pleased to be involved with it as part pof our community scheme.
“We will be doing a full presentation at the club on March 12 and, obviously, we hope there will be a spin-off for us with new people coming to watch the Aces.”
He added: “This is quite a leap from what we have been doing in the community with the 90-minute presentations by Steve Casey and Ged Blake which are proving very popular.
“This is a bold venture which we believe can develop into something bigger while spreading the name of the club.”

Richard Frost