Sport Colleges: learning in sport and physical School Sports Partnerships: increasing participation in, and
activity in the wider community improving access to, PE and school sport
Our Lady & St Chad Catholic Sports College, Wolverhampton – The Team United The Dorothy Stringer Partnership in Brighton – expanding a School Sport
project comes together to impact on local unemployment and reduce youth crime Partnership Festival to benefit the whole city
The whole ethos of our school offer regular sports and education • Over the four year period we
is focused on empowering our workshops to young people have seen a dramatic rise in the
students to believe in themselves, who have been excluded from number of users accessing the site
aim high and challenge neighbouring schools, young during community hours from 13
generations of low aspirations. people with ASBOs and other – 500 showing the positive feeling
School attainment has improved young offenders. For example, the community now have to our
considerably from 30% to 78% 63 young people are registered in Team United approach.
5A*-C over four years. To continue weekly football coaching sessions,
to develop we felt that one of our 26 participate in weekly boxing • 653 people have attended a
next challenges was to ensure that and fitness sessions and 9 young learning programme through our
this philosophy became embedded people are involved in a Multi-skill Team United approach.
into the mindset of our local activity programme.
community. • Team United runs, on average,
The school Student Empowerment seven courses a year during school
Meeting the challenge Through Leadership programme holiday time.
has resulted in a large number
Prior to gaining specialist status of qualified leaders now being
only 13 young people were actively deployed into local community
engaged in weekly sports activity clubs, who are housed on site, to
that linked to learning on the act as leaders and mentors. Many
school site during key crime hours. leaders work for Positive Futures
This has increased to nearly 500 and during their weekends and
young people in the fourth year evenings they mentor and lead on
of our specialism. By liaising with different projects.
TAKEPART, the Brighton and Hove engaged and hard to engage brought the sporting community of
local police, the school learned that
International Festival of Sport, young people and adults. Clubs the city together as never before and
crime peaks between 5pm-6pm Stakeholder involvement “As a Sports College we believe
emerged as a development of the were targeted and invited to offer by the end of the two week festival
and again between 9pm-10pm. throughout anything we do in the that every person has a unique gift.
successful school sport festival free taster sessions and coaching 16,000 young people and a total of
During these hours each week Sports College is vital and students We have to help each one find their
introduced by the School Sport in schools in return for support 40,000 residents had engaged in
the school has 183 young in the local community who do not gift and empower them to use their
Partnership (SSP) and Dorothy in the training of new coaches. TAKEPART in some form.
people actively engaged in sport normally attend sports activities talent for the common good.”
Stringer Sports College. With 6,000 A TAKEPART brochure was also
education programmes. were asked to design a programme Mary Keelan, Headteacher
participants in 2006 and 11,000 in distributed to 40,000 homes and This year the 2009 festival has
which would encourage them. This
2007, the schools festival outgrew information was placed on the continued to grow and in terms of
Working in partnership with programme is called U Chooz! and “Our Lady & St Chad Catholic
available capacity therefore in council’s website. participation and engagement has
Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, results in nearly 150 young people Sports College is a great example
November 2007, Trevor Allen, the been even more successful with over
we offered football as a vehicle to returning to the Sports College on of an institution which is aiming
Headteacher of Dorothy Stringer and Dance groups and minority sports 12,000 people involved in the launch
engage local young people (aged Friday nights. The students take to empower everyone involved in
PDM Andy Marchant, met with the such as Nordic walking all recognised day and over 22,000 school students
9–21) to attend weekly sport and part with their friends from the their dreams. They spread passion,
chief executive of the city council that TAKEPART was a showcase and 58,600 people overall taking
education workshops. Specifically local community in a wide range of drive, enthusiasm and happiness
to float the idea of establishing a event and the SSP was able to add part during the two week festival.
targeting influences on crime, sports and other activities. to all. I spoke at a presentation
citywide festival of sport which variety, to its programme. At the
the workshops aimed to educate evening to inspire others and left
would cater for all residents of the festival launch prior to Lloyds TSB In six months time our data
young people/adults on drug Impact inspired myself.”
city, irrespective of ability. National School Sport Week, fifty collection and ongoing audit with
awareness, alcoholism, health and Giles Long, Paralympic
clubs were represented and 10,000 the clubs involved will help to inform
careers advice, whilst competing • A recent review of both the Medal Winner
The City Council Sport Development people flooded into Preston Park, us of new member participation and
in a season long football league Wolverhampton unemployment
Team, Brighton and Hove NHS and for free taster sessions with the clubs retention rates particularly with our
programme. and police crime statistics have “This Sports College has opened
the Sussex County Sport Partnership involved. Ice skating and scuba target group of partially engaged
shown that crime rates during key doors for me that I always thought
threw their weight behind the diving were on offer, the city play bus and hard to engage young people
In partnership with Positive crime hours has reduced by 11% were closed for the likes of me.”
venture and fully supported the catered for the under fives and the and adults. This in turn will support
Futures, a government-funded and unemployment in the WV10 Ricky Reynolds, Community
SSP and Sports College in its aim County Sport Partnership took the our planning for next year and the
crime concern organisation, we postcode has fallen by 2.1%. Boxing Mentor
to increase participation of partially lead on disability sport. The event further development of this very
successful event.
16 www.youthsporttrust.org ahead of the game Issue 07 www.youthsporttrust.org ahead of the game Issue 07 17
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