Published on:
29
August 2016
School pupils across Clackmannanshire have made 115,000 visits to Active Schools supported sport and physical activity sessions in the past year - a 17% increase over the last 3 years.
The figures released by sportscotland, the national agency for sport, show that during the 2015/16 academic year the number of activity sessions offered have increased by 22% to 5836, with 33 different sports and activities on offer.
The number of people delivering these sessions also increased to 337, an increase of 33%, with 293 of these volunteers.
All 22 primary, secondary and ASN schools deliver the Active Schools programme in partnership with sportscotland across the area, which offers opportunities for school pupils to get involved in sport and physical activity before school, during lunch and after school, for more than a decade.
Stewart Harris, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said: "Coming on the back of the Scots on Team GB returning home with a record haul of medals, sportscotland is delighted to announce that the Active Schools Network has once again reported a record high number of visits over the past year.
"We hope to motivate and inspire young people to participate in sport, so it is encouraging to see that the network of over 400 managers and coordinators, along with the dedicated volunteers, are doing just that.
"Our strong partnerships with local authorities and the Scottish Government are helping to further strengthen and improve our Active Schools Network across the country. Together, we will continue to ensure that young people in Scotland have the best sporting opportunities and experiences available.
"We are continuing to build a world-class system for all and now have better and stronger connections between schools, clubs, and performance sport with more opportunities for people to participate and progress."
As well as recruiting volunteers to assist in delivering Active Schools sessions, a key part of the initiative is to build partnerships locally to develop a sporting pathway between schools and clubs.
Over the last year Clackmannanshire has seen an increase in the links between local clubs and schools and 55 local sports clubs are involved.
Education Spokesperson Cllr George Matchett said: "I am very pleased to see that so many of our young people are enjoying the sporting opportunities that our Active Schools team is delivering throughout Clackmannanshire with the help of dedicated volunteers. The chance to take part in sporting activities, and the encouragement to make progress is an important part of the opportunities that our young people enjoy."
98 Sports Leaders in Clackmannanshire are delivering extra curricular clubs with 30 primary leaders leading clubs. Girls only provision is provided as well as a wide ASN and Disability Sport programme is in place.
sportscotland works in partnership with all 32 local authorities to invest in and support the Active Schools Network of managers and coordinators who work with primary, secondary, and Additional Support Needs (ASN) schools across Scotland.
For more information on Active Schools and to view the full report, please see sportscotland