Twins William and Joseph Leggatt have a habit of doing everything together – including achieving identical GCSE results to pursue their shared sporting dream.
The ambitious 17-year-olds achieved distinction stars in their BTEC Level 2 Sport qualification, as well as securing Grade 5 in GCSE Maths and Grade 6 in English at Loughborough College after moving from the Philippines last year.
The identical twins, who live in Loughborough, will now go on to study for a BTEC Level 3 Sport qualification at College next year and aim to pursue careers in professional football or in coaching.
William said: “We’re very happy with our results. Just to pass would have been great, but these grades are better than we expected.”
Joseph added: “I’m really happy. We both want to have a future in sport, that’s why we chose Loughborough College because it was one of the best schools for sport in England. We want to become professional footballers or work in elite sport. Getting these qualifications will help us to do that.”
Joseph and William only moved to the UK in 2020 having been educated in international schools in Hong Kong and the Philippines where their British parents taught over the years.
After a nationwide search, they handpicked Loughborough College because of its sporting reputation, excellent facilities and teaching and hope it will help them achieve their dream of becoming professional footballers.
Joseph, who plays as a midfielder, said: “Loughborough has such an amazing reputation for sport that we really wanted to come here. We both played in the Kaya FC elite team and some of our teammates played in the Philippine national team, but we couldn't because we aren't Filipino. We moved to England to try and get to a higher level in football.”
William, who plays on the wing, added: “We were always selected for the age group above us because of the level we play at and we want to get even better and hope that our time at Loughborough will help us do that.”
Both will now go on to study the Level 3 Sport BTEC with a view to going on to university if their footballing careers don’t take off.
William added: “Getting on the Level 3 means we can expand our knowledge of sport, we love learning about anatomy and physiology and to know which muscles do what. It’s perfect for us. If we don’t make it as professional footballers, we would go into coaching or even refereeing, but we definitely want to work in football in England.”
The brothers, who are also keen middle-distance runners for Charnwood AC, said the biggest challenge for them was the culture shock of moving to England after years in close-knit international schools.
William said: “Lockdowns were challenging because it was hard to concentrate for so long online. But the biggest challenge was getting to know people and making new friends after being so long in our international school where all the kids knew each other.”
Jo Maher, Principal & CEO of Loughborough College, said: “We’re so proud of William and Joseph, not only because of their outstanding results, but because of the way they adapted to a new culture, new ways of learning and for giving 100% in every single lesson. Their approach to learning inspired their classmates and they have been a pleasure to teach.
“With our proud and long history of helping develop elite sportspeople, I’m delighted that they’re staying on with us to pursue their dreams and we’ll be doing everything we can to support them.”