Big Tall Order Bristol Academy Flyers and Filton College Basketball Academy student Richard Loftman will be studying at Chadron State College, Nebraska, USA next year. Loftman has been awarded a full scholarship to study and play basketball at the NCAA Division II School.

18 year old Loftman who graduates from Filton College this summer after studying a BTEC National Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science will leave for Nebraska in late August.

Loftman has been a major contributing factor to the successful Flyers senior team, playing for the Flyers Division I men’s team throughout this season helping to cement the Bristol team in England Basketballs top flight.

Richard’s game schedule next season will see him replace teams such as Sheffield and London with Wyoming State University, The University of Nebraska and the University of South Dakota to name just a few. He has achieved a basketball dream to play basketball and attend University in the home of the game in the USA. This is a huge achievement and is not just based on his basketball skills as the scholarship is also based on his academic ability.

Loftman a Milton Keynes native came to Filton College to combine his studies with the opportunity to develop his basketball skills two years ago. In his two years at the college he has constantly made improvements and developed as a player, for him to attend an American University is proof that sport and education mix extremely well and the opportunities that Filton College offer provide a platform for this.

Danny James, Director of Basketball comments: “We are extremely proud of Richards’s achievements in his two years in the basketball academy; he has been a role model student on the court and in the classroom. His maturity and discipline have enabled Richard to achieve his dream which he thoroughly deserves. He has not only worked hard to improve as an individual but has also positively affected the lives of other young players with his work within our development centre and community schools projects. We wish Richard well in his new adventure and know that he will be a very positive member of the University both on and off of the court. We will keep in touch with Richard and will have regular updates on his progress on our