The 23-year-old has been in sensational form for club and now country this season, but to those who knew him growing up, his success is of no surprise
Currently one of Arne Slot’s top men in midfield and scoring on his England debut during the recent international break – Curtis Jones is on fire. However, to those who knew him as a young boy, the levels the 23-year-old is reaching should come as no surprise.
Curtis Jones was born on January 30, 2001. His early years were spent living in Toxteth as he attended St Vincent de Paul Primary School in Liverpool city centre. It was on a school trip with the school that he would be spotted by the Liverpool FC Academy, aged nine.
On the back of the hid recent form, the ECHO paid a visit to St Vincent de Paul, to meet the people who were there at the beginning, and who helped mould him into the man he is today. Speaking about their former pupil, the school’s assistant head teacher Peter Allen and nurture lead Mel Wenton said they “only have good things to say about that young man”, who they both taught while he was there.
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Mr Allen said: “Me and Miss Wenton have been here for 18 years so we have lots of memories of Curtis. We’ve kept in touch with him and he’s come in to support the school financially; he put his hand in his pocket and paid for a whole new cupboard full of sports equipment.
“He was driving past the school and saw the kids kicking footballs into bread crates. He made a call, came in, chatted with the children and managed to equip the school so the children now have wonderful P.E lessons and great facilities.
“He also came in when he did an interview with the Telegraph because he wants to be seen in the community, and he’s still such a big part of it; this was the first place he thought of. In the summer, the camera crew who were following Liverpool for the last part of Klopp’s tenure were filming all the players and, again, he came back to school and did a little Q and A here – the kids gave him a good grilling.
“He still has fond memories of this place. The values which he picked up here; strong sense of community, strong family values – they make him who he is now.”
Miss Wenton has only taken an interest in football in the “past few years” and is “immensely proud” of Curtis. She said: “I worked in many year groups where Curtis was a pupil. I’m in a pastoral/nurture role now, and my big thing is about having visions, being mindful, becoming the best that you can be and getting out of your comfort zone.
“All the way back when Curtis was seven, eight, nine years old, he embodied all of that – before I even knew what having a vision was. He had goals of where he wanted to be in life and what it would take to get there, at a very young age.
“Obviously, we have a high percentage of children who want to be footballers and you tell them to maybe have a back-up plan. But when you said that to Curtis, he’d say that there’s no back-up plan and that was what he was going to do.”
There is one special memory Miss Wenton has of Curtis, which she says will stick with her “forever”. She continued: “One day he came in – he must’ve only been about nine – and he said: ‘Miss! Miss! I need to tell you; I had a dream last night.’ I said: ‘Oh, did you?’ He said: ‘I was playing for Liverpool, then I got selected to play for England and I scored the winning goal at Wembley.’
“When I heard he was playing for England, I said: ‘It’s going to come true. His vision’s going to come true.’”
Mr Allen adds: “He didn’t get it quite right, but he was very close! It’s great to see him on the international stage and I think he will thrive and thrive with the more responsibility he is given.
“Curtis was always a confident lad. He had so much understanding of his ability and knew he would be able to fulfil his dreams. His talent shone through. At the age of five, he already had balance, speed and agility. He could dribble through everyone on the playground, but he wanted to bring his classmates into the game too.
“He’d be in year 3 and be playing with the year 6s – and still standing out. He was actually an all-round sportsman; I remember him taking to cricket and basketball. He was just an exceptional sportsman and was really good at everything he turned his hand to. He threw himself into everything, wholeheartedly. That’s the feel of the school – to encourage every child in every area.”
Miss Wenton added: “He tried hard in all subjects, but he shone at creative activities like arts, drama, poetry and performance. He embraced everything and had bags of personality.
“Curtis was very popular and was kind to all of the children. The other children gravitated towards him but he was never cocky or arrogant with them; he was encompassing and welcoming, and a friend to all of them – I can’t think of anyone who ever fell out with him.”
Those traits sound like a sign of a future captain. Mel agrees: “100 per cent! 100 per cent!”
St Vincent de Paul uses football as a way of bringing out the best in its pupils. Miss Wenton said: “Curtis is a big inspiration to all of us and we use football now as a real tool for growth and development.
“For example, our pupil Ali is an EAL student who’s only been in our school since July and didn’t speak one word of English. Now he speaks some English and has found his place in our school through playing football. He joined our team from day one, has really benefited and is an outstanding football player.”
The school says that pupils of all different footballing skill levels have made the most of the opportunity to play. Mr Allen said: “Because of the kickabouts we do, there’s never any issues on the playground and there’s a sense of fair play and respect which comes from it.”
One pupil, Dolly, only started playing in September. She said: “I started because there was loads of drama on the yard and I just wanted to get over it and play some football”.
Youngster James is another child who only began playing football recently. Humble, he states: “I’m really good”. He said Curtis Jones is his idol because “he’s kind and he put a lot of money into our school”.
Speaking about Curtis’ generous donation to the school, pupil Annabelle added: “We literally used to make goals with crates and tyres. P.E is great now and we’ve got goals on the yard. We’ve got a whole cupboard dedicated to P.E, so we do tennis, basketball, football of course and there’s so much equipment to use.
“Even for people who don’t know as much football as others and might be a bit nervous to join in, we do games every lunchtime and you’re more than welcome to just come and play.”
The kids seem to unanimously agree that their classmate Kai is the best footballer. Kai’s sister – another former pupil of St Vincent de Paul – currently plays for Liverpool FC girls. He said: “Curtis said that if you follow your dreams, they could come true one day. I like him because of his skills, when he passes the ball, he runs into space and has a brilliant shot on him.”
Kai says he wants to play for the Reds one day as a left winger. His favourite player is Mo Salah – “and Curtis,” Mr Allen quickly says, with a raised eyebrow.
Miss Wenton added: “While it’d be great to be like Curtis Jones and play for Liverpool one day, football gives pupils much more than that. And, who knows? When Curtis visited, he told the children that if he can do it, they can too. We are all so proud of him.”
