EVERTON-BOUND brothers Courtney and Tyrone Duffus will continue their education in Cheltenham.

Both boys attend the All Saints Academy, with Courtney in Year 11 and Tyrone in Year Ten.

Having progressed through the ranks in the Robins' Centre of Excellence, they attracted the interest of several top-level clubs but have now agreed contracts with Everton.

They impressed Everton's Academy manager Alan Irvine while playing in a pre-season friendly for Cheltenham against the Toffees.

Ex-Preston and Sheffield Wednesday boss Irvine invited them to the North West for a week earlier in the season and they took part in a 6-2 friendly win over Wednesday.

The Premier League club are putting together an FA-approved educational and technical programme with the support of the school so the boys can develop as well as possible while still remaining in Cheltenham.

A compensation package has been agreed for the Duffus brothers and Robins chairman Paul Baker says that while the deal will not be in the same bracket as the six-figure sum Arsenal paid for 15-year-old Jamie Edge in 2009, it is a significant deal for club.

All Saints Academy opened in September in a £26 million building.

It currently has 851 students including 120 in the sixth form, with a capacity to grow to 1150.