Schools win top sports awards
Schools in West Lothian have been awarded a prestigious national award from sportscotland, the national agency for sport.
The School Sport Award is given for innovation and achievement in delivering school sport and 69 schools in West Lothian have passed with flying colours.
The 12 new gold award recipients are Addiewell Primary, Broxburn Primary, Carmondean Primary, Dean Community High, Dedridge Primary, Knightsridge Primary, Livingston Village Primary, Simpson Primary, Springfield Primary, St Mary’s RC Primary (Polbeth), St Nichola’s Primary and St Ninian’s Primary, taking the region to 16 gold schools in total.
There are now 673 schools in Scotland that hold a School Sport Award, a record number, meaning more schools than ever are putting sport at the heart of their school ethos. The number of gold-rated schools has increased to 284, a record high and a jump of over a third from last year’s total of 212, with 307 schools being awarded silver status and 82 bronze.
Funded by the National Lottery, the sportscotland School Sport Award is a national initiative designed to encourage schools to continuously improve physical education and sport. It puts young people at the forefront of decision making and planning of physical education and school sport while increasing opportunities for pupils to take part.
The award also encourages sporting links between schools and the communities around them, providing opportunities for young people to progress.
Chair of sportscotland, Mel Young, said: “Congratulations to staff and pupils across West Lothian who are putting sport and physical education right at the heart of their school and local community. They should be proud of this fantastic achievement.
“Along with our partners, sportscotland is committed to building a world-class sporting system for everyone, and a crucial part of that is putting young people at the centre of our efforts. Working with local authorities and governing bodies of sport, we are creating closer links between physical education, school sport and club sport, which benefits young people by providing more and better opportunities to take part in sport.
“It’s great to be able to recognise more schools than we ever have before, it shows that pupils, staff and parents across the country see the undoubted value in having sport as a crucial part of school life.”
Executive councillor for culture and sport, Dave King, said: “I am delighted that schools in West Lothian have received recognition for their outstanding provision of high quality opportunities across PE, physical activity and sport.
“For our schools to hold over 10 per cent of all the awards nationally is a fantastic achievement for the authority and is testament to the hard work of the staff, pupils and volunteers within our educational communities.”
To achieve a bronze or silver sportscotland School Sport Award, schools self- assess their current practice. However, to gain gold status an extensive external assessment is also carried out by an independent panel of experts.
Congratulations to staff and pupils across West Lothian