'It would be unbelievable if he came back to the school as a World Cup winner', LBC visits the old school of Declan Rice

Arriving at Grey Court School in Ham, in south west London, Declan Rice was 11-years-old playing for the Chelsea academy, when he was taken under the wing of PE teacher Stephen Willmore.

Mr Willmore, now the head of PE at the school, beamed with pride when Declan’s name was mentioned.

The pupil he coached from year 7 until year 9 prepares to start the World Cup as England’s vice-captain.

“He’s a lovely down-to-earth young man”, Willmore said.

“He’s still in contact with his friends [from school] now, the boys from the football team, he still has a WhatsApp group with them, and he still makes time”.

Reflecting on his school days in 2022, Rice – who was born locally in Kingston – recalled his unique playing situation where he persuaded Mr Willmore to change the times of the kick-off ensuring he could play for Grey Court and still make Chelsea training later that night.

“We wanted him to play, and he wanted to play”

“He would play a full game, give it his all and then he’d go straight to train for Chelsea. With Declan, when he played for the school, he played 100%, and he wasn’t above anybody”.

“He was our captain, working hard, playing as well as he could every game for us was a massive thing for how our school team developed”, Willmore told LBC.

Declan Rice has previously recalled how his mum would pick him up from school with the Chelsea training kit and a bowl of pasta, which he’d eat in the car.

However, the England international suffered an early setback during his schooldays when he was released by Chelsea Academy.

“Declan was devastated. We all thought he was going to be kept on by Chelsea. The news was extremely disappointing, but within 24 hours he was snapped up by West Ham”, and the head of PE credits the Rice family for their support.

“His family were very supportive. It was a great family to work with and to communicate with, so I'm not surprised he is still this level-headed young man”.

With the 27-year old’s callup, and appointment as vice-captain, pupils at Grey Court school are determined to build on his success.

Toren, an Arsenal fan in Year 7, said Rice was “an inspiration”.

“It is really inspiring how he could come from as little as us all the way to the World Cup. He’s such a leader and he leads his team to win the games”, he told LBC

For Finlay, a fellow Gooner in year 7 who plays for the school team, it’s “great” to see a former pupil playing at the highest level.

“To see how well people in our school have done and what we can achieve, it’s nice to see how far he’s gone”.

Ifan is in year 10 at the school said Rice’s success was “incredible” and that he was a “phenomenon”.

He told LBC, “With the Champions League final, it’s hard to comprehend just how incredible he is”, before adding that they are “many fantastic athletes” at the school who will now believe they can go pro”.

And Ruby, who plays for the school’s girls team said it “definitely helps the girls football standard and makes us work harder”, describing Rice as a leader”.

The 73-capped England international has also been quick to respond to his former teacher.

Mr Willmore told LBC that he would regularly help with videos for school sports celebrations or to wish luck to teams.

“We were very close, he does have time for everybody, he constantly has a smile on his face”

“It would be unbelievable if he could come back [to the school] as a World Cup winner”.

“He’s such a role model and inspiration to not only the students at Grey Court but so many young boys and girls around the country. It shows what you can do with hard work, and it gives our children something to aspire to.”