Lioness legend Alex Scott returns to her secondary school to surprise pupils and reflect on the importance of role models
5 min | 15 October 2026
- Lioness legend Alex Scott surprised pupils at her former secondary school, Langdon Park in Tower Hamlets, to celebrate the coaches, teachers and role models who helped shape her career
- Scott joined a football training session with the children and their coach, before sharing insights from her journey from grassroots football to representing England, reflecting on the brilliant coaches and sports teachers who helped her along the way
- The Chase football coaching programme is helping to create more inspirational role models for children across the UK by providing fully funded access to introductory coaching qualifications and professional coaching bursaries for people from low-income backgrounds
London, 15th October 2026: Former Senior England Women’s legend, Alex Scott, surprised pupils at her former secondary school, Langdon Park School in Tower Hamlets, as she returned to celebrate the coaches, teachers and role models who helped shape her path from grassroots football to the international stage.
Scott joined a football training session with the children and their coach, before speaking to the group about her own experiences growing up and pursuing a career at the highest level. She reflected on the influence of the coaches and sports teachers who encouraged her during her formative years, including those who supported her at grassroots level.
The homecoming marks Scott’s announcement as a new Chase ambassador, with the former England international joining the brand to celebrate the power of coaching and the important role coaches can play in inspiring and supporting the next generation.
The visit comes as YouGov research* revealed the significant influence that role models in sport can have in inspiring future sports talent: 4 in 5 young people who look up to someone in sport admire a famous player or athlete, while 1 in 4 look up to their coach or PE teacher. Talent and hard work emerged as the attributes young people most admire in their sporting role models, highlighting the influence of both elite athletes, as well as coaches at all levels.
Meanwhile, in terms of inspiring coaching as a career, YouGov research went on to reveal that females are almost twice as likely as any other group to say that having more identifiable role models would help them overcome barriers to coaching, as well as significantly more likely to see the potential benefits of coaching to develop key skills.
Alex Scott, an ambassador for Chase and former Lioness, said, “It’s a privilege to come back to my secondary school, meet Liam and the kids and reflect on some of the key role models I had when I was growing up – which included my junior coaches and teachers when I was here. The work that Chase is doing in bringing through a new wave of coaches and role models will help inspire young people across the UK.”
The Chase football coaching programme is helping to create more inspirational role models for children across the UK by providing fully-funded access to introductory coaching qualifications and professional coaching bursaries for people from low-income backgrounds across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. To date, Chase has funded over 7,000 coaching qualifications, of which more than 5,000 have been completed since 2024.
Pupils also had the chance to put their questions to Scott in a Q&A, where she discussed her journey from playing football locally in East London to becoming one of England’s most capped players. Scott shared some of the lessons she learned from her own coaches and mentors, as well as the qualities that helped her throughout her career.
Liam O’Hara, Sports Teacher at Langdon Park School, said, “Today has been a brilliant opportunity for the students to meet Alex, hear about her mentors when she was younger and ask questions on what it takes to make it to the very top of your profession. To see a former student who grew up in the same place, went to the same school and even had some of the same coaches and teachers do so well, shows them what’s possible.”
Deborah Keay, Chief Marketing Officer at Chase, added, “It’s fantastic to bring Alex back to her school, see the reaction of the pupils and hear about how coaches and sports teachers had such a big impact on her when she was younger, which has helped turn her into the role model she is today.
We are proud that the Chase coaching programme continues to provide support to individuals, helping more individuals to get into coaching so they can not only develop key life skills, but also inspire young people in their own communities.”
For more information on the Chase football coaching programme, visit: Chase football coaching programme
About YouGov research
*Research was conducted by YouGov between 2 and 20 May 2025. The survey was completed by 610 respondents (aged 6-16) across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
About Chase in the U.K.
Chase is the consumer banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $5.1 trillion and operations worldwide.
The U.K. bank is designed specifically to meet the needs of customers in the country, providing a range of banking products and features. Launched in September 2021, Chase serves over three million U.K. customers and was named Best British Bank (2023 & 2024) and Best Current Account Provider (2023-2025) at the British Bank Awards. It was also named Banking App of the Year for the third consecutive year at the Awards 2026.
In November 2025, Chase was named a Which? recommended provider for its current account for the first time.
In the U.K., Chase is a trading name of J.P. Morgan Europe Limited. J.P. Morgan Europe Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. For more information, go to www.chase.co.uk.
