THE highest number of schools yet across the country have received the school sport award from Sportscotland following the awards relaunch.
The Sportscotland School Sport Award is funded by the National Lottery and is given for achievement and innovation in delivering physical activity and school sport.
Over 1,000 Scottish schools are now engaged with the award throughout all 32 local authorities.
Sportscotland relaunched the award towards the end of 2022 to help schools strive for improvement which can be done through a self-improvement tool process.
Following this process involves the schools completing an action plan on what their goals are and how they plan to develop sports over the year which increases their chances of achieving the award.
Since the relaunch, 42% of schools in Scotland have signed up for the award, with 258 gold being handed out, as well as over 222 silver and 143 bronze awards.
The number of schools with the gold award is now the highest it’s been with more physical activity opportunities for students and more students being put at the forefront of sport planning and decision making in more schools.
The Gold School Sport Award is given to schools that put lots of work into promoting students physical activity, their general wellbeing and sports participation.
An example of this is seen in the Balfron Schools Cluster which has eight schools and is one of the first school clusters to receive the gold award.
During the last year the schools in this cluster made notable efforts towards supporting and encouraging student participation in sport which resulted in more than 90% of students attending extra-curricular activities.
This was celebrated last Tuesday at Balfron High School’s annual school Sports Awards Ceremony which had representatives from Sportscotland in attendance.
Elaine Bannatyne, Head Teacher of Balfron High School stated: “The achievement of another gold award and in addition to a whole cluster Gold is testament to the value placed on PE, Physical Activity and Sport within the Balfron High School Learning community.
“We are really proud of being the first cluster to achieve the Sportscotland School Sport Award at Gold level in every school.
“Our learning community work in partnership with a wide range of agencies, particularly Active Stirling, to provide young people with opportunities to have taster sessions, lunchtime and after school clubs and leadership opportunities within sport and physical activity.”
Minister for Sport, Maree Todd said: “I welcome this record level of participation in the School Sport Award by schools.
“It demonstrates that children and teachers across Scotland are passionate about sport, physical activity and the many benefits which participation brings.”
Chief Executive of Sportscotland, Forbes Dunlop, stated: “The importance of sport in school life cannot be underestimated and being awarded a Sportscotland Gold School Sport Award is testament to the hard work and effort of pupils, teachers, and volunteers across a school.
“As the national agency we are committed to helping build communities across the country where sport is a way of life, where young people are at the heart of it.
“Working with local authorities, governing bodies, and national partners, we are strengthening the links between school sport and the communities around them, as well as helping schools continuously improve and celebrate successful school sport models.”
