This year, the national agency of sport, sportscotland, is celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Active Schools, a long-term investment programme in health and well-being, providing positive experiences of sport and physical activity from a young age. The 20th anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate the sportscotland programme and its contribution to the Government’s national outcomes on health, education and children and young people.
Active Schools is a flagship sportscotland programme, investing over £13m of Scottish Government funding every year into local authorities to deliver the programme providing sport opportunities to young people. Across this 20-year period, there has been a staggering 62.5 million visits by pupils, over 3 million Active Schools sessions.
As part of the 2021-22 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government made a commitment to ensure that Active Schools programmes are free for all children and young people across the country by the end of this Parliament. Since 2021, sportscotland has been working closely with local partners to address the small number of cases where charges were still in place. As of the start of the 2024-25 academic year, this Programme for Government commitment has officially been fulfilled, with no charges remaining in the programme.
As part of Mr Swinney’s visit to St Augustine’s, the First Minister spoke with representatives from the school including the young sports ambassadors, members of the Active Schools team and volunteers who are integral to the delivery of these programmes. He heard more about the specific work that the school is undertaking to develop and promote sport and physical activity as well as first hand experiences from pupils and the impact that Active Schools has had.
First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, said: “The 20th anniversary of sportscotland’s Active Schools programme gives me the opportunity to thank all the partners, staff and volunteers who have made it an established and growing success, with support from the Scottish Government.
The success of the programme is why we pledged to remove the last-remaining charges by the end of the current parliamentary term in 2026. We wanted to make sure cost was no barrier to the enjoyment of sport and physical activity. I’m delighted that we’ve been able to deliver on that commitment early and in time for the start of the new school year. That means pupils returning to their classrooms inspired by a fantastic summer of sport can make the most of the opportunities on offer.
I met pupils at St Augustine’s RC High School who have a love of all kinds of sport. It’s important we do everything possible to help them hold on to that sense of fun because we know physical activity will improve their chances of living healthy and happy lives.”
Chief Executive of sportscotland, Forbes Dunlop, said: “Over the last 20 years, the Active Schools programme has been an integral part of Scotland’s sporting system. For so many young people, it is where their sporting journey begins and has provided opportunities that many may not have had otherwise.
Over the past few years, we have seen very strong signs of recovery post pandemic, and I am delighted to see the participation and session numbers continue to rise across the country. The national agency for sport will continue to support our partners in all 32 local authorities to ensure that the progress made over the past 12 months continues across this academic year.
Schools like St Augustine’s are a fantastic example of the dedication and undoubted commitment to ensuring that sport and physical activity is at the heart of school life and showcases the amount of hard work that goes into the Active Schools programmes across Scotland.”
St Augustine’s is a school which is very proud of its Physical Education and sports programmes. The school works in close partnership with its Active Schools Co-ordinator, staff and local club community to ensure a wide variety of sports clubs are on offer.
The school targets pupils in its school who have additional needs, be it those living in poverty or those with a disability and works well with other staff in learning support and guidance. The school offers over 14 clubs a week, covering S1-S6 and all clubs are full.
The school is committed to developing young people as leaders in sport, valuing the role of its Young Ambassadors and sports leaders with every one of these pupils playing a valuable role in the extra-curricular delivery and support at sports schools’ events; as well as being instrumental in securing the gold sportscotland School Sport Award.
Edinburgh Active Schools Manager, Tammy McKinlay, said: “Sport and physical activity is one of the key values at schools like St Augustine's and puts sport at the heart of their planning, practice and ethos. One of the great reasons behind the success of the programmes at St Augustine's is the excellent partnership that exists working across the entire school learning community. Active schools is embedded in the PE department and all work closely together to ensure success across PE and all extra-curricular clubs.
Young people are truly at the heart of all of the active schools' programmes and the school really values the role of its Young Ambassadors and sports leaders with every one of these pupils playing a valuable role in the extra-curricular delivery and support at school sport events. The time and effort Active Schools Coordinators put into all of our programmes wouldn't be possible without the support we have received from all of our incredible school sport volunteers. Active Schools Coordinators deserve endless praise for all of the hard work they do and every pupil, staff member, parent and carer deserve the recognition for the success of our active schools programmes."
