Whitburn, Tyne and Wear

Whitburn is a village in South Tyneside, in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear on the coast of North East England. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the city of Sunderland and 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the town of South Shields. Historically, Whitburn is part of County Durham. Other nearby population centres include Seaburn, Cleadon and Marsden. The village lies on a south-facing slope, part of Durham's Magnesian Limestone plateau, which overlooks Sunderland. The population for the combined Whitburn and Marsden Ward in the 2011 UK Census was 7,448. For much of its history, Whitburn was a fishing and agricultural community. The village contains three schools, three churches, a cricket club, recreational grounds, a pub and a variety of shops.

Nearby Places View Menu

436 m

Whitburn Church of England Academy

Whitburn Church of England Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Whitburn, South Tyneside. Its motto is "Excellence for all". The academy was known as Whitburn Comprehensive School before moving and receiving major upgrades funded by the Church of England. It has specialist status in maths and computing and is a national teaching school.

Whitburn Lifeboat Station

Whitburn Lifeboat Station was located at the lower end of Sea Lane, to the south of Whitburn, a village 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Sunderland, on the coast of the county of Tyne and Wear. A lifeboat was first stationed at Whitburn in 1818, by the Sunderland Lifeboat Committee (SLC). Management of the station was transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1854. After 100 years service, Whitburn Lifeboat Station closed at the end of April, 1918.

Academy of Light

The Academy of Light is the name of the UEFA five star certified training facilities and youth academy for English football club Sunderland A.F.C. Officially opened in March 2003, the Academy of Light is a state-of-the-art training facility in Cleadon - just north of Sunderland. It covers an area of 220 acres (0.89 km2) of which 60 acres dedicated to football. It replaced the aging Charlie Hurley Centre, located nearby. The site is used as the primary training facility for the first team, but is also used to train the youngsters in Sunderland's U23 and U18 teams, it's the location of Sunderland's U18 home games, and is also the home of Sunderland A.F.C. Ladies. The academy plans were the focus of protests from local residents who were angered at the development on a green belt. After withdrawing initial ambitious plans, the club submitted new plans in 1999 which were rejected by South Tyneside Council. Following a public inquiry, Sunderland launched a successful appeal, and work began on the academy in 2001. Before building work was complete, Sunderland submitted plans for expansion to the site, to include indoor training facilities, which The Football Association had added to the list of necessary facilities for academies to achieve Category 1 status. Plans were rejected, and a further appeal was also rejected, meaning Sunderland were forced to use a disused ice rink in Sunderland City Centre for indoor training. Indoor facilities were finally added to the Academy of Light in an expansion completed in 2012. The initial site cost over £10 million to build, with the indoor training facility expansion costing an extra £3m.

Sunderland A.F.C. Under-21s and Academy

Sunderland A.F.C. Academy is the collective name for the youth development squads of Sunderland Association Football Club, primarily the U18 and U21 teams. Sunderland have an 'Elite' Category 1 football academy based on the Elite Player Performance Plan and their teams are members of the Professional Development League. Sunderland's academy is based at the Academy of Light in Cleadon, South Tyneside. Sunderland academy teams play at the Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground, in Hetton-le-Hole (U21s) or at the Academy of Light (U18s). At least three U21 games per season are played at Stadium of Light as per the rules of the Professional Development League. Numerous notable professional players have graduated from Sunderland's youth system over the years. In recent seasons, Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford have both represented England at senior international level. and Lynden Gooch has been capped for the United States.