Another Year Of Growth For Active Schools

16th October 2019

The latest data published by sportscotland shows that Active Schools continues to have an impact on children's physical activity levels with 7.3 million visits made to activities across Scotland in 2018/19, an increase of 0.4% on the previous year.

More opportunities have been created for young people to take part in sport and physical activity through the network with 440,000 visits made to sessions in Highland in the last twelve months.

15,700 children and young people took part in Active Schools sessions in Highland, across a wide range of activities.

The number of people delivering the sessions has also increased nationally, up 3.3% with 94% of deliverers in Highland being volunteers.

Mel Young, Chair of sportscotland, said: "It is fantastic to see that Active Schools continues to grow year on year with more opportunities delivered and another increase in the number of people participating.

“Our mission is to help the people of Scotland get the most out of the sporting system at every level and Active Schools has a crucial role to play in engaging young people in sport and physical activity.

“We talk about making an impact together and Active Schools is a great example of working with the right partners in the right way to deliver results. The Active Schools network is reliant on strong local partnerships with schools, local authorities, sport development teams, regional managers from governing bodies of sport, volunteers and the clubs who welcome children and young people into their communities."

Active Schools, one of sportscotland’s longest running flagship programmes, is designed to provide more and higher quality opportunities to take part in sport and physical activity before school, during lunchtime and after school. Developing effective pathways between schools and sports clubs in the local community is a key factor in its success and there are now 2,700 clubs linking directly with schools giving children and young people the opportunity to continue in sports to the level they choose.

Chair of The Highland Council’s Care, Learning and Housing Committee, Cllr John Finlayson said: “Active Schools is a great success in the Highlands and the inclusive and supportive approach it takes allows children of all abilities and from all areas to participate in a wide variety of activities. Going forward I believe it is essential to build on the success of Active Schools to ensure we keep our young people fit, active and healthy in a sustainable and enjoyable way.”

Donald McLachlan, chair of High Life Highland, said: “As one of the highest performing authorities in retaining and recruiting volunteers, we are extremely proud of our volunteer team, and their commitment to sport and Highland communities. Over 500 of the 1500 volunteers in our organisation are young people who are supported and developed through the High Life Highland Leadership Programme.”

Delivered in partnership with all 32 local authorities and their leisure trusts in primary, secondary and ASN schools, Active Schools is now a well-established network of over 400 managers and coordinators and makes a significant contribution to delivering an active Scotland.