Donington School F.C. was an English football club, based in Donington, Lincolnshire.
The club represented the Donington Grammar School, and claimed a foundation date of May 1870,[1] it had actually joined the Football Association in 1868,[2] possibly to gather information.
The club entered the first ever FA Cup in 1871–72, as a way of increasing the pupils' physical fitness.[3] Having been drawn against Queen's Park of Glasgow in the first round, the two teams could not agree on a date for the match, and both were allowed to progress to the second round of fixtures.[4] However, the two teams were again drawn together in round two, and in this instance Donington School withdrew, rather than face the cost (around £2 per student) and time of the trip to Scotland.[5][6]
The club did not enter the FA Cup again, although it did remain a member of the Football Association until 1882;[7] its remoteness and status as a school team meant it had few matches as a "senior" side, in the 1874–75 season only playing three times, scoring four goals and not conceding.[8]
In 1949 the school was renamed the Thomas Cowley School. A team of ex-pupils played an exhibition match in Glasgow against Queen's Park in May 1972, as part of the Football Association's centenary celebrations.[5] The match was won 6–0 by Queen's Park.
The club originally wore white trimmed with blue.[9] In 1874 it changed to scarlet and black jersey, cap, and stockings,[10] and the school was still wearing the same schema (with black shorts) up to the Second World War.[11] The final kit the school wore as Donington was white shirts and black shorts.[12]
The club played on the school premises, six miles from Surfleet railway station.[13]